Curious about those skaters at your local roller rink with the teeny tiny, extra noisy wheels? Explore the Cali slide style with a custom Stacy Adams/Stacy Baldwin Dress Shoe Rhythm Roller Skate (shoes not included*). This is a unique skating style with a rich history and ties to the African American roller skating subculture. We recommend you research the history of this style and be confident in the roller skating fundamentals before experimenting with this style of skating.

Several factors make a slider roller skate unique: They have extremely hard and extremely small wheels. These wheels usually have no hardness rating because they are too hard to be measured on the standard Shore A durometer scale. They are made of synthetic clay or fiberglass and generally measure 32mm - 48mm in size. The small size means they can only be used on specialized plates, such as the Sure-Grip LoRide. On a standard roller skate plate, the kingpin would scrape the ground. These plates usually have no toe stop (denoted by NTS), and they are often intentionally mounted 1-2 sizes smaller than the shoe or boot. This is known as a "short mount" and it leaves more empty space at the front of the skate, changing how you distribute your weight. 

Popular Plates

• Sure-Grip LoRide Plate (recommended) - can accomodate wheels as small as 32mm. These come with softer yellow cushions. We recommend adding a set of 4 barrel-shaped, harder (purple or red) cushions if you know you tend to like your trucks tighter. It is easy to strip the inner portion when tightening the trucks on this plate. 
• Sure-Grip Century NTS Plate - can accomodate wheels as small as 39mm

Popular Wheels 

• Sure Grip Phenolic Wheels (32mm-39mm) in Black or Brown
• Sure-Grip Fo-Mac Harmony Mini Wheels (47mm)
• Sure-Grip Fo-Mac Premier Mini Mac Wheels (45mm)
• Sure-Grip Fo-Mac Slicks (47mm)

*Medusa Skates is not affiliated with the Stacy Adams brand. We are not an authorized retailer of this shoe. Custom shoe skate orders require you to separately purchase your shoes and ship them to our store. Please see instructions below. 

Local customers must drop off their shoes at our storefront in Austin. Out of state customers may ship their shoes to us at the address below (you pay shipping). After completion we will ship them to you with $7 flat rate shipping. 

Medusa Skates

6005 Burnet Rd

Austin, TX 78757

Our professional-quality service includes mounting and hardware. All parts (plates, wheels, bearings, etc) must be added to your cart as separate items. If you are supplying your own plate please ensure it is the correct size for your shoe. Contact us with any questions! Stacy Adams shoes do not always come with a separate insole. We recommend adding either the R-Fit Insole or separately purchasing a shoe insole to cover the mounting hardware and prevent pain. 

Street shoes are more difficult to make into skates. Please allow 7-10 business days for completion once we've received your shoes. There will be an additional wait time if we do not have all parts in stock. 

Disclaimers:

• All custom skates are non-returnable and non-refundable.
• Your shoes will have holes drilled through the sole, and will not be fully usable as normal shoes after being turned into skates.
• We recommend marking the location of the ball of your foot on the sole of the shoe. It is extremely difficult to change the placement of the plate once it is attached to the shoe. We will take care to ensure they are placed correctly but ultimately you are responsible for ensuring the length of the plate is not too short. 
• We recommend using brand new shoes. Vintage shoes can crumble, and the bolts are more likely to pull through the sole if the material is fragile and damaged.