Roller Skate Wheels Buyers Guide
Which Roller Skate Wheels are best for me? Good Question as there are a few different shapes and sizes to choose from. In this blog we will take you through the differences in the shapes, sizes and hardnesses of Roller Skate wheels and let you know which style of wheel would be best for your discipline of skating.
The Different Types of Roller Skate Wheels
In Roller Skating we have Wide wheels, Larger wheels, Smaller wheels, Hard and Soft wheels.
Let’s see how they differ.
When would you need Wide Roller Skating wheels?
Wider wheels are very popular with Roller Derby skaters. The large surface area allows them to get that maximum grip needed to execute those quick changes of direction needed when playing the game. This is great for handling corners at speed whilst playing or when skating on the streets at speed.
Wider wheels will be around 40 to 42mm in width.
When would you need Large Roller Skating wheels?
Larger wheels are great for maintaining speed. These would be a great choice if you are someone who likes to skate long distances on the streets. The larger diameter will also allow you to roll over more uneven ground as well compared to a smaller wheel.
Larger wheels will be around 65 to 70mm
When would you need Small Roller Skate wheels?
Small wheels would be useful when Dancing/Jamin’/Artistic skating. Bigger wheels would get in the way during some of the moves you would be trying to perform with your skates. The smaller options encourage better manoeuvrability making those sweet dance moves easier.
Small wheels can also be a good option for beginners as they don’t allow for too much speed and like we mentioned above, they won’t get in your way too much whilst you get used to having wheels under your feet.
Smaller wheels will be around 55 to 60mm
What hardness do I need my Roller Skate wheels to be?
The hardness of a skating wheel can be quite confusing for those who are new to the sport. Let us take you through what the Durometer of a wheel means. The Durometer or hardness of a wheel will be measured by a number usually between 60 and 110 followed by an A. A few popular examples would be 78A, 85A or 90A.
The smaller the number the softer the wheel will be. 78A would be a great hardness for street skating and 90A would be a great hardness for the Skatepark. This is because softer wheels will absorb the vibrations of a bumpy street to allow for a more comfortable smoother ride. The softness will also allow for better grip on surfaces. The harder wheels will perform better on smoother surfaces allowing you to maintain faster speed due to the wheels not changing shape. The harder wheel will also make it easier to do grind tricks in a skatepark as they will slide easier than a softer wheel.
What bearings do I need for Roller Skating?
When choosing bearings for your skates don’t look for anything too fancy. Unless you are doing high impact skatepark skating or racing in your skates you will not need anything expensive. Our recommendation would be the Roller Bones from Bones. They simply do what you need them to do and are around £30. The standard bearings that come with roller skates are more than good enough to skate around a city, skate at the park or jam at the roller disco. If you are looking for a pro bearing for skatepark or speed then maybe you should look at some of the inline skate bearings as they come in packs of 16. Ceramic bearings will roll super fast and smooth and aggressive inline skate bearings will be great for those high impact landings. These stronger bearings will be sealed at both sides and the faster bearings will only be sealed at one side and are a bit easier to clean. Bones also offer strong and fast bearings but these mostly come in sets of 8 for skateboards.
All Roller Skate, Inline and Skateboard bearings on our websites will fit on your Roller Skates.
Are Roller Skate Wheels Universal?
Because all skates are made in different factories with different designs not all of the hangers will be the same length. The hangers are the metal trucks with threads that the wheels slide onto. With some wheels the bearings will be further apart than others meaning some shorter hangers may not be able to come out far enough to get your bolts tightened properly. Feel free to pop into our store with your skates so we can test some wheels on them first before committing.
For example, the big Air Wave wheels do not fit on some of the more budget roller-skate brands with smaller threads sticking out.
