Generally, racing skates will fit up to 80mm wheels, high-end skates up to 77mm (sometimes 80 now), and the rest of the models up to 72mm. Although these are the designated max-sizes, skates can often take slightly taller wheels than the official specifications. For instance, in the old Bauer XF/3's, with the front and heel wheel spacers moved in (for a shortened wheelbase), can use 76mm wheels for all four positions. Extension modification (i.e., scraping down) of skates are need for wheels much larger than the intended size.
In general, taller wheels will let you cruise faster but take longer to spin up. Taller wheels also tend to be less manueverable than shorter wheels. Shorter wheels are cheaper, but in general don't last as long since they have less material to wear down overall, given the same durometer. However since many of the small wheels are for stunts, they all tend to be sold in higher durometers anyway (they slide better), so they won't necessarily wear out that quickly.
70mm 72mm 76mm 80mm Average speed____________________________________________Fast Quick Turns______________________________________Slower Turns
Note: there is a Rockwell scale which is used for steel. Only one wheel uses it now, Pebbles by Kryptonics, with a rating of 50R Recreationa wheels generally run from 74A to 82A. For outdoors, the softer the wheel, the better the shock absorption. The trade-off is that softer wheels wear out faster. Harder wheels, since they have less drag, are preferred on indoor surfaces which are usually very smooth (e.g. hockey).
Some skaters vary their wheel durometer depending on the temperature outside. Cold weather will mean the ground is harder so soft wheels are more suitable. In really warm weather the road might start literally melting, in which case a high durometer setup would be more preferrable.
74A 78A 82A 85A Average Wear_________________________________Longest Wear High Grip____________________________________Average Grip High Rebound______________________________Average Rebound Low Body Weight__________________________High Body Weight Smooth Ride_____________________________________Hard Ride
Wide/fat Normal profile Narrow (race) Best Cornering___________________________________Less Stable Slow____________________________________________________Fast
Misalignment is a serious problem, not only because it causes drag, but because it heats up the wheel. This will soon cause it to seperate from the hub and expand, and eventually destroy the wheel.
The first sign is that the wheels creak as you switch your weight on the skate. If you remove the wheel from the frame, you can see an arc clear of dirt and dust where the wheel was rubbing. If you notice this, put your hands on your wheels after a long fast skate and see if any of them are much warmer than the others. If so, they are probably rubbing.
This can happen a lot easier on frames like the Mogema and the Darkstar that have very close tolerences and the side of the frame is close to the side of the wheel. I'm not sure if is as big as a problem (or a problem at all) for recreational skates like the Aeroblade. The creaking is bothersome in any event.
Closed Core Tri Spoke Core Racing Core High Wheel Weight_________________________________Low Wheel Weight Longest Wear__________________________________________Average Wear
In general, your wheels are due for maintenance when your skates are much slower and not rolling as smoothly as when new. The inside edges will wear more quickly, which you will eventually notice:
For those of you without the benefit of a graphics-ready computer:
| | | |
inside | | outside inside \ | outside
edge | | edge edge \ | edge
\____/ \__/
new wheel worn wheel
There are two things you can do to get the most from your wheels: rotate
and flip. Rotating your wheels means to switch the positions of the wheels.
Different positions (like the heel or toe wheels) receive varying amounts of
wear. By rotating the wheels, you can even out the wear on each wheel.Flipping your wheels means to turn each wheel so that the worn edge now faces the outside. This lets you wear down the other edge of the wheels.
There are several patterns for wheel rotation. The one you use isn't crucial, since there's no "magic" rotation formula that works for all situations. The main point is to maintain an even wear on your wheels. Often times you may find yourself swapping wheels at random until you get a good wearage distribution on your skates.
Some common rotation patterns:
The front wheel is "1" and the back wheel is either "4" or "5".
For 3-wheel skates: 3->2, 2->1, 1->3
For 4-wheel skates: 4<->2, 3<->1 OR 4->3 3->2 2->1 1->4
For 5-wheel skates: 5->3, 4->2, 3->1, 2->5, 1->4
OR 5->3, 4->5, 3->2, 2->4
Whiled you're rotating and flipping your wheels, you might as well wipe
off your skates, rails, wheels and bearings with a damp cloth. Some
people wipe down their skates everytime they go out, even if they don't
do any rotation, but I recommend you do it at least everytime you rotate
your wheels. This keeps the amount of dirt on your skates and wheels to
a minimum, which helps keeps grit out of your bearings.
Racing skates are also adjustable, but only in the horizontal direction, allowing for a longer or shorter wheelbase.
Although subject to some disagreement, many skaters find rockering provides much more maneuverability due to the curved "blade" of the wheels. Whether you rocker or not is really up to you. Many hockey players prefer to have their skates rockered for sharper turns on the court, while racers keep their blades flat for more stability at high speeds (rockers at high speed will produce speed wobble). Artisitic skaters may also prefer rockered, while extreme skaters may opt to keep them flat.
Depending on your skates, there are various rockering configurations possible. If your skates can adjust the height of only the middle two wheels, you can have your skates flat or rockered:
Flat : ==frame==
1 2 3 4
Rockered: ==frame==
1 4
2 3
If your skates can adjust the height of all four wheels then you have
the positions of
short even rocker: ==frame== (wheels closer to boot, for more
control)
1 4
2 3
tall even rocker: ==frame== (taller, for sharper turns)
1 4
2 3
front-lift rocker: ==frame== (a little more stable than regular
rocker)
1
2 3 4
front-lift, : ==frame== (tilts skates forward)
rear-down, rocker 1
2 3
4
Wheels run from $3.00 to $10.00, depending on the 5 criteria referred to
at the beginning of this section. There are many inline wheel manufacturers
out there: Hyper, Kryptonics, FR Progressors, Senate, Labeda, UFO, Cyko,
Cozmo, Grizzly Gear, Kuzak, RollerEdge, BrakerWheel, Ultimate, Bullzeye,
Chaos, Core, Heavy, Kopp, Square, Sims and probably several others.
Chen, Anthony D. (1995) "rec.sport.skating.inline Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)"
Usenet rec.sport.skating.inline, available via WWW:
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~adchen/rec.skate.html
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