Wheelin’ and Walkin’

It’s something of a stretch to think that an airplane inspired a pair of roller skates, but that’s the case with Street Flyers, the newest thing on four wheels.

As the story goes, a New York shoes and accessories importer and wholesaler named Ike Tawil was out skating one day and decided to take a shortcut through the Empire State Building. His plans were foiled by a security guard, and Tawil had to doff the blades and don shoes. Looking up as he left the building, he spied an airplane. Hey, he thought, wouldn’t it be great if . . .

Street Flyers debuted in December. They’re roller skates that convert, “Get Smart”-style, to street shoes--or, street shoes that convert to roller skates, depending on how you look at them. As street shoes, they’d pass as thick-soled high-top sneakers or boots. But turn them over and the soles reveal two fat inline wheels (made for concrete and asphalt) that flip down and lock into place, creating roller skates.

“We started selling them in FAO Schwartz on Fifth Avenue,” said Jackie Franco, Tawil’s business partner at IMT Accessories. “They were very successful with it, and then we took it to Toys R Us, and it’s been a big, big hit, it’s been on TV, all over the place. We were on ‘Regis and Kathie Lee.’ Once one kid has them, they all want them. They see the wheels pop in, pop out, and it’s crazy.”

Franco felt certain the shoes would do well, since he conducted his research and development on the streets of Manhattan, where “people stopped every minute to ask what they were. We get e-mails from people every day, it’s unbelievable.”

There have been some bumps in the road--early versions of Street Flyers featured wheels that sometimes suddenly retracted while in use. But Franco says the glitch has been corrected with bigger springs and locks. In addition to the e-mailed kudos, some customers offer constructive criticism, such as, “make the wheels go faster.”

Street Flyers have hit the market at a time when sales of inline skates are declining after years of growth. From 1996 to 1999, sales dropped 51%, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Assn.

“The growth trajectory of inline skates exceeded anything that had been expected of the category,” says David Leibowitz, a toy industry analyst and managing director of Burnham Securities in New York. But because sales were brisk and reached a large portion of the market in a short period of time, the current slowdown was no surprise.

So will this new variation provide the spark the industry needs?

“It’s far too early to make a value judgment,” Leibowitz says. “It’s also a question of who becomes early devotees to the product. If the opinion leaders in a particular peer group buy it, then it becomes the hip, appropriate thing for the peer group to purchase. If you reach those decision makers, there is a better chance of success.”

The introduction of Street Flyers is evidence of inline skating’s evolution, despite its drop in sales, says Michael May, spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Assn. “There have been some positive spinoffs of the sport, like roller hockey and extreme skating. The fact that inline skating is firmly entrenched and is a sport that people recognize is a positive.”

Ten styles of Street Flyers are on the market, in child and adult sizes. Prices range from $100 to $150, and according to Franco, the company is developing new styles that will be on the market in the next two years. Franco says he has shipped 200,000 pairs of Street Flyers to stores in the United States.

Kids are the major buyers, but Franco says customers also include “grandmas that walk in for them. A lot of ladies are buying them, maybe for aerobics, or going to the store. I don’t know. The kids love ‘em.”

It seems Street Flyers have yet to catch on locally. Nary a pair could be spotted on a recent busy day on the boardwalk at Venice and Santa Monica beaches.

We found that Street Flyers performed ably as roller skates, with no wobble. Stopping, however, was a little difficult, since the shoes have no braking device. The heels, toes or sides of the shoes are used to slow down or stop.

As shoes, well--don’t plan on traversing the city. Street Flyers are extremely heavy because of the metal hardware. Also, the soles don’t give when walking, so it feels as if you’re clomping around in Frankenstein boots. However, if you love to skate but hate the hassle of changing in and out of shoes, they certainly are convenient.

The company’s Web site is at https://www.streetflyers.com.