Riedell Lace Lock

[FigureSpins]

An adult student asked me to look at her skates tonight because she was worried that they were breaking down.  The Riedell boots were different-looking with decorative stitching and they had this bronze metal rectangle between the eyelets and the hooks, where the boot was bulging/creasing a little.  When I put my finger inside to flex the crease, I realized that there was another eyelet under the doo-hickey that she wasn't using.

The doo-hickey is called a "Lace Lock" -- you thread the laces through the hole, toggle the little lock to pull the lace up and out, then release to lock the lace in place so it doesn't slip. 

They're Riedell Gold Medallions (300) that were discontinued back in 2008, right around the time that she purchased them.  She bought the skates mail order, so she didn't realize that the lace lock was a feature, she also thought it was decorative.  If she uses it, it'll probably stabilize her foot a bit since that's where it's bulging - she's essentially been skipping a lace eyelet. 



I love a research mystery - she didn't remember what model she bought. They came as a set with a Jubilee blade.  She's gotten good use out of them to have them last three years.  She is a low-level adult freestyle skater, but she practices regularly.

[Sierra]

These are the skates I have. For the life of me I could not figure out how to use the lace lock. I knew it was a lace lock and spent hours lacing up the skates at home trying to figure out how the lock worked, then finally gave up. I didn't know that it worked like an eyelet.

thread the laces through the hole, toggle the little lock to pull the lace up and out, then release to lock the lace in place so it doesn't slip. 

First thought was hole- what hole- I never saw a hole. I looked inside the skate with a flashlight and sure enough there's a hole.

My skates have little bulges too, only little ones though, barely noticeable, and they aren't really creased at all, just a little.. wrinkled (for lack of a better word.) That only applies to my left skate and the inside of my right skate though- the outside of the right boot has a crease starting and it's actually got an indent going. I pulled the laces through the lace lock and tied up the hooks and the bulges straightened out.

I love a research mystery - she didn't remember what model she bought. They came as a set with a Jubilee blade.  She's gotten good use out of them to have them last three years.  She is a low-level adult freestyle skater, but she practices regularly.

Three years! I'll be happy if mine lasts a full two. This upcoming April they will be a year old. I was concerned the breakdown was beginning because of the creased indent on the right skate but looks like the lace lock will fix that.


Thank you!!  :worthy I hope there's other Medallion users out there who see this!

[FigureSpins]

I thought there were flex notches on her boots, but the picture doesn't show notches (aka: scallops)

The crease is right where the top lace crosses in the picture above, and where a flex notch would be if there were one.  That's why it's creasing.  It's from not lacing the hole, but I wonder if lacing it will interfere with ankle bend?  She's going to try using the lace lock hole this weekend, so I'll get a report from her.

Riedell doesn't offer it on any of their stock skates anymore, so it may not be such a great option.  Maybe the hardware came loose or it was more expensive to manufacture.

I do like the lace lock hardware, but I don't think I like the stitching.

[icefrog]

Does the stiching do anything? I've always wondered.

[Sierra]

I tried using the lace locks today and the skates got too stiff, so I untied them and skipped over the lace lock. Next week I'll try it again. I probably just tied them too tight.