Article by Daniel Nodzak
Photography & Video by Lawrence Ingraham
Lawrence Ingraham has claimed his place as one the hardest working bladers in the sport. When he’s not vlogging on YouTube, hosting the ‘Gear Talk’ live show, or diving into lengthy discussions with co-host Ben Venderhaeghen on the Back to Blading podcast, he serves as the mastermind behind Balance Distribution and it’s brands, 50/50, Compass, and the newly launched premium brand Chroma Wheels. Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Lawrence about a project I’ve been very excited about, the first UFS big wheel frame from Compass. Law was kind enough to share a bunch of exclusive images and videos while explaining the development process of this upcoming frame. So let’s take a closer look at the latest hardware from Compass.
Hey Lawrence, thanks for your time today. The last time you and I sat down to talk like this it was to announce the resurrection of 50/50 Frames in February of 2018 so it's only fitting we're back here to talk about a brand new frame you've got up your sleeve. After a successful relaunch of 50/50 the brand has gone on to release several new 'Balance Frames', you've built a world-class team, and you've even added wheels, bearings, and grind plates to the product range. But you also moved into the big wheel market in early 2019 by launching a company called Compass. Why did you decide to create a separate company when it arguably would've been easier for you to just market big wheel products under the 50/50 brand?
Yeah, it's crazy to think that this time last year Compass was just getting out there and now we're in more than a dozen shops around the world. 50/50 had just started selling wheels and now we have 7 models available. The community has been super supportive and we couldn't be here without them.
50/50 has a long history in the community going back 25 years. People know 50/50 makes amazing frames for aggressive thanks to the incredible team we've had over the years. Big wheels are a very different market, one that I'm still learning. One thing I knew for sure is that a 110mm wheel didn't fit the 50/50 brand, so Compass was born.
So from your perspective do you think there's a need to keep products from different inline skating disciplines separate for the health of each brand?
Absolutely. I think branding is something most skate companies struggle with, myself included. I look at what Jon does with Them as the model for what a skate brand should be. It's very deliberate, very opinionated, but everyone knows what Them is all about (and what they're not).
Your YouTube channel is all the proof anyone needs to see that you're passionate about skating and you divide your time between aggressive skating and big wheeling. I'm not going to ask you to choose a favorite style because most bladers these days realize that's kind of like asking someone to pick a favorite child. It's tacky and you're only going to get a defensive answer. But as someone whose background before getting "back to blading" was aggressive, what is it about big wheeling that speaks to you now?
Ha! Skating is a ton of fun, whatever your discipline. I love aggressive and am a huge proponent of antirocker skating for everything possible, but I'm also spoiled by the amazing skate parks I have access to and their smooth surfaces. Skating around on normal surfaces antirocker is a horrible experience.
There's also the stress and shock you put on your body by grinding and skating antirocker. I'm 44 now, and it takes a lot longer for me to recover after an injury than before. When I skate big wheels I can skate more regularly with less risk, which means I get to skate more.
Can you walk us through the development process for these frames?
Sure. I've been thinking about big wheel UFS frames since the early days of UFS. I got my hands on a pair of prototype Salomon UFS FSK frames back in the early 2000s and absolutely loved them for playing hockey or skating around town. When I got back into blading in 2016 I still had those Salomon frames and skated them as my big wheel setup for a while.
As I got more educated I realized there were plenty of big wheel UFS frames out there I missed. So I started collecting and testing them to see what I liked best. Everything from the 72mm Kizer Level 3.1 up to the GC 110 Triskate frame. They all brought something unique to the experience, but nothing hit the right balance for me.
I knew the market for Compass was aggressive skaters like me who wanted to skate everywhere, so I decided early on that this frame would need to support all UFS boots. That meant keeping the ride height low so I wasn't breaking ankles, 72mm and 80mm at most. I also knew that most UFS big wheel frames felt far too short for my size 10 boot, so I made sure to design it for the sweet spot between size 8-11.
Funny enough, Covid was the kickstarter for the project. Everything was selling super well during lockdown so I had extra money to invest. I also noticed a lot of people getting back into blading and knew they'd want to skate big wheels eventually. Most importantly, there are plenty of parents out there who wanted to skate with their family/kids and learned real fast that 58mm antirocker wasn't much fun on the sidewalk.
So I bought a 3D printer and learned how to use Fusion 360 to take my drawings and make them real. The beauty of product design today is you can create a skateable frame over a weekend. Back in the days you'd have to send your drawings to the factory and get prototypes made to learn how bad the design was. I printed a dozen frames before figuring out the right formula of ride height and wheel base.
What are the specs?
We have two frames available, 72mm and 80mm. They're both 260mm wheel base from wheel 1 to 4, which is right in the middle of the 50/50 frames lengths. They're made out of a glass filled nylon which means they're more affordable than aluminum and provide a bit more cushion. We've also countersunk the axles so you can do the occasional makio, though they're not really designed for grinding.
The best part of the frames in my opinion is that we've positioned the middle wheels such that you can always access the UFS bolts. This means if you want to swap between antirocker and big wheels, it's just 4 bolts. This makes it much more convenient than any other frame out there, and much less expensive than a dedicated big wheel skate.
Okay so why do you believe the average blader should buy these new Compass frames?
I think every aggressive skater should try big wheels, whether it's with Compass frames or a dedicated skate. We tend to have a narrow mind when it comes to what's possible with skating. The Compass frames are an inexpensive option to get more life out of your UFS boots, and might open your eyes to a new style of skating.
When will the Compass UFS Big Wheel Frame be available?
We're in production now and will have limited quantities available mid November. The full run will be here in January. We'll have them available as frame only as well as complete sets with Compass wheels, preassembled so you'll just need to swap your UFS bolts to get out there.
Before I let you go, I just caught this in the last episode of Gear Talk, and wanted to ask about it. You're apparently partnered with a group called "The Helmet Initiative" which provides two helmets for you to give away in every episode to your viewers. How did you get involved with them, any why do you personally believe bladers should be strapping up?
Yes, that's a bit of a long story but the short answer is I got sick and tired of seeing my friends get hurt and wanted to do something about it. Wearing a helmet when skating reduces potential serious head injuries by like a million percent, yet we very rarely see people skating with one. So I decided to donate a helmet every video to someone who needed one. After that first announcement, the Helmet Initiative contacted me and asked if they could donate some helmets for the cause. It's been getting a response and I'm seeing a lot more helmets out there.
That sounds like a great project to get involved with and a topic for an interview all on its own. So we’ll have to save that one for another day. Thanks for your time.
