Tips for Product Use
Radical Buckle Operation
- Make a “peace” sign with your first and middle finger
- With the tips of your fingers, press the two black levers inward simultaneously, toward the boot
- While holding the levers down, pull the ladder free of the spider buckle with your free hand
- When buckling up, push the ladder in as far as possible to insure proper centering.
- “Ratchet” the ladder strap tight with the silver lever
- Pressing one black lever at a time allows for micro loosening adjustments
Heat Molding and Fit Instructions
Heat Mold fitting is available for K2 Grid and Surge Inline Skate models.
The Grid and Surge Inline Skate models come with a heat-moldable Intuition liner.
Please carefully read the Intuition Home Fitting instructions before you start the fitting process.If you have any questions about this procedure, please “(contact us)” or your local K2 skate shop professional.
PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW:
IMPORTANT
Before molding, try on both liners in your skates with any footbeds/orthotics/shims you intend to use, to ensure they fit your boots and feet properly. Not too tight, and definitely not too loose.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Intuition Fit Kit: 1 pair of stockings, 1 rubber toe cap. Kit may be purchased from the Intuition website: https://intuitionliners.com/products/home-fit-kit
- Microwave oven
- Uncooked rice. Do not use instant rice. - Use 3 lbs of rice for sizes up to US Men’s 9 / 27 - Use 4 lbs of rice for sizes larger than US Men’s 9 / 27
- Block of wood or doorframe to elevate toes
DIRECTIONS:
- Begin by removing any footbeds/orthotics/shims from inside the liners before heating, placing just the liner inside your shell.
- Fill one fitting stocking with 3-4 lbs of rice and tie a knot at the end. Do not use instant rice.
- Microwave the rice stocking based on the output wattage on back panel of your microwave, for appropriate time:
100-900W = 7min / 1000-1100W = 5 min / 1200-1250W = 4 min - Once heated, pick up stocking carefully by the knot (CAUTION HOT!) Place rice-filled stocking inside first liner (in boot). Continuing to hold by knot, work the stocking into toe box and heel by tapping boot hard on floor multiple times, first on heel and then toe. Keep on tapping, going back and forth between heel and toe until rice stocking has settled deeper into liner. Set a timer and let boot stand with rice stocking inside for 5-7 min for the Skate Premium liner model.
- Meanwhile, place a toe cap on the bare foot to be fit (Intuition logo goes over big toe) and place 2nd fit stocking over top.
- After reaching the suggested time; remove the rice stocking from liner, quickly remove the liner from the shell, and insert footbed/orthotic/shim now, returning it back to the shell with the footbed now placed inside.
- Place the prepared foot into heated boot liner, avoid pulling hard on the grab handles and tabs, kick heel back on the floor to ensure you are in the heel pocket firmly. Do boots up to a neutral tension.
- Stand with your toes elevated 1-2” by placing a block of wood under the toe of your boot or using a raised door frame. Keep still with equal weight on both feet in a neutral stance without flexing (5-7min).
- Remove cooled boot, stocking and toecap, and repeat for other liner.
- Check fit before heating liners. Put liners in boots with footbeds/orthotics/shims if you plan to use them. If toes are touching the end, that’s ok, the toecap will create extra space for you during molding. If toes are curled up or jammed into the end of the liners, they are too tight, and you may need a longer or thinner liner. Ideally, the liner should feel snug all over, like a firm handshake, with minimal pressure points. Feeling a bit too tight is okay because the liner will compress when heated and buckled.
- We do not recommend heat molding a liner that feels loose. Our foam is designed to be compressed, do not rely on the liner to expand to fill voids or sloppiness, instead consider choosing a thicker liner.
- If liners felt tight when you first tried them on, lace extra tight when molding to compress foam and thin it out.
- If liners felt just right, lace loosely so liner is held firmly but not compressed. This allows you to retain maximum thickness.
- Be mindful of thickness and size. A 9mm (thin) liner requires less heating time than a 15mm (thick) liner, and a size 4 will require less time than a size 15.
- After initial molding, if you need to adjust the fit in a specific area (ex.: cuff, ankle or toe box) consider making a smaller rice bag to make small adjustments rather than re-molding entire liner. The molding process can be repeated as many times as necessary.
- A break-in period is expected. Try riding a few times and adjust the fit as needed.
Skate Maintenance 101
Like any high quality mechanized product, K2 Skates need some basic care to keep them up to their optimum performance level and offer maximum longevity.
These are all elements that can rob your skates of performance and durability. Keep your skates dry, clean, and wheels rotated, and you can expect many happy miles out of your skates. So here goes:
You've been out rolling on the asphalt, getting back in shape or just maintaining the great shape you are already in, and you notice that your first and last wheels have flat spots worn on the insides. This is a great time to rotate your wheels as well as get in there with a paper towel and clean up your frames, wheels, and bearings!
AXLES:
You'll want to get your T-handled K-Tool hex wrench and loosen your axle screws or threaded axle shafts. Remove the axles and pull the wheels out of the frame. We find it's best to lay them out in order (first wheel through last) on an old newspaper. Now wipe out those frames really well with the paper towel.
Okay, now for the wheels and bearings. Let's keep those wheels in order!
THE BEARINGS:
If you have K2 skates with 5mm black steel axles (the diameter is smaller than a #2 pencil), the bearings can be removed by using the 'stepped down' end of the K-Tool Handle. Just push the middle of a bearing and the other bearing will pop out the other side of the wheel.
If you have 8mm aluminum axles (same diameter as a #2 pencil), you can remove bearings by prying them out with the metal hex-end of the K-Tool. Be sure not to dent the flat shield on the bearing. Okay, now take them all out. Get a clean paper towel and really polish them up. Make them shine! Turn them with your fingers. If it feels like there is grit in there, now is a good time to replace them. Push cleaned or new bearings back into the wheel hubs with their spacers.
WHEELS:
Please note the side that has the printed graphic on it, while keeping the wheels in order. On new skates, the graphic started out life facing the outside of the skate. It will soon be transferred so that it is facing the inside and moved to another position on the frame.
WHEEL ROTATION & REASSEMBLY!
Same Size Wheel Configurations: The front wheel, we'll call it #1, should be swapped with the #3 wheel, with the graphic now facing the inside. The #2 wheel should be swapped with the #4 wheel. You can do this on the same skate or swap wheel from the left skate over to the right skate - your choice.
HiLo Wheel Configurations: Some K2 Inline Skates have two different size wheels therefore they require a slightly different rotation pattern. Using a criss-crossing pattern as listed above swap the #1 wheel the #2 on the opposite skate and the #3 wheel with the #4 wheel on the opposite skate.
You’ve completed skate maintenance, now tighten those axles, and go have fun!