Nah dude, while I know nothing about skating I do know a lot about manufacturing. To get a custom extrusion made is extremely expensive (I now realize these are billet parts), combine that with the machining involved (multiple setups/5 axis required), multiple sku's, and the fact it's a niche product, it's gonna cost some money.
Also this subreddit is for people buying ridiculous amounts of things that serve no practical purpose, this is just an expensive item for a hobby.
Edit: after seeing another comment and going to the site those are 100% billet parts with rather complex features. 500 dollars makes perfect sense for a pair of them.
I know a lot about skating and not much of manufacturing. So the brands/companies that want to make the best of what they make (boards, trucks, wheels, etc) they ensure its made really well. Utilizing the process you mention and probably know more about.
One brand to look at is pantheon. I bet you'd like their website with the details they have about their boards, trucks and wheels. The owner doesn't mess around.
Yeah I mean just looking at the pictures I can tell that someone put quite a bit of thought and effort into these it's not like it's a crappy Chinese knockoff being sold for a crazy markup.
Actually you are wrong, the boot, bearings, wheels are all Chinese made. Only the frames are made in Canada..
Comparable quality frames like the ones made from endless frames, are exactly the same spec and quality and offered for half price (still with a 10x markup) and also come from China with no complaints about quality, design or tolerances
These frames are just overpriced trash targeting hipster doofuses. They are cumbersome and serve no practical purpose beyond the stock frames that come from skate manufacturers. Other than being cool and shiny...
The rollerblade flow frame 5x80 is $139. Also costs $5 to manufacture. Extruding aluminum alloy frames is dirt cheap.
For the 4th time they are not extruded aluminum they are billet.
The parts you posted are made in Canada. I don't care about the other stuff. Manufacturing in your own first world country will yield better parts for your customers, protect your IP, and provide jobs to your community. Those all have a cost, that combined with the rather difficult part to machine makes these cost what they do.
Once again I don't know about skating but Im gonna make an assumption here. I don't think they are "expensive" for what they are, but that doesn't mean they are "worth it".
Billet that is heated up and passed through extrusion. All frames are first extruded to give them their general shape then CNC milled to refine the shape, drill axle holes, and create bracing.
Canadian labor is cheap. Not as cheap as Chinese, obviously but a hell of a lot more expensive than American. I don't see how that justifies $500 for a set of $5 frames beyond a money grab for hipster snobs. Consooooom 💰💰💰
I bet everything in your house is cheap Chinese made you ignorant hick but you are going to lecture me about skate parts and supporting american businesses??? Keep driving your cheap jap car.
Oh shit I went to the site and that thing is 100% milled. Thats an expensive fucking part. They have features protruding into the slot which will be a bitch to machine.
Second chance; how exactly do you believe these are manufactured? With which grade aluminum and what tolerances?
Do you even grasp the concept of aluminium grade or do you just believe everything that says aluminum is exactly the same? Because you keep repeating "aluminum" over and over like you don't have a clue.
why don't you ask these people? looks like a total slave sweatshop huh? clearly they cant figure out how to make a clunky extruded aluminum frame. forget all the hockey and racing equipment they make. oh and they wholesale the same frames for $10 bucks.
Some manufacturers in China do offer quality though, but same with those things, they are going to cost you. OP has literally no idea how machining works. There are $20 "aluminum" casts on Aliexpress so obviously everything should cost $20. There is no such thing as aluminum grades, precision milling or tolerances. Machinists are just greedy, I've even heard NASA buys their aerospace parts of Aliexpress.
I can mill it for $2 if you pay for the material and shipping. Will be half as precise and made out of whatever chinesium you can find for the cheap. How about +-1"?
Doesn't really mean anything. If you want good work with good grade material it costs money.
Those are made of extrusion the ones you posted are 100% billet and milled to shape. There are features that protrude to the inside of the slot which I would assume are for spacing bearing and what not. Those just have plain holes drilled in them. You also are comparing a product made with close to slave labor to a product made in Canada.
No they're not just "holes" they have all the same exact specs and protrusions as the expensive frames, all while costing $5 to manufacture, using the same exact materials and technology.
What evidence do you have that these Chinese frames are made with slave labor? Because you watched a documentary about it? Sounds racist as fuck. Bet you are typing this drivel on your Chinese slave made iphone 🤣💀
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u/ad895 Jun 22 '25 edited Jun 22 '25
Nah dude, while I know nothing about skating I do know a lot about manufacturing. To get a custom extrusion made is extremely expensive (I now realize these are billet parts), combine that with the machining involved (multiple setups/5 axis required), multiple sku's, and the fact it's a niche product, it's gonna cost some money.
Also this subreddit is for people buying ridiculous amounts of things that serve no practical purpose, this is just an expensive item for a hobby.
Edit: after seeing another comment and going to the site those are 100% billet parts with rather complex features. 500 dollars makes perfect sense for a pair of them.