In this article i’m going to talk about the significance of roller skate wheels. Why do they matter? How do they affect your skating? What impact can ‘changing your wheels’ have on your skating? Let’s take a look!
What types of roller skate wheels are available?
Roller skate wheels come in all different types of shapes, sizes and materials, and all of these variables can have a significant impact on your roller skating. The types of roller skate wheels available, include:
- Thin wheels;
- Fat wheels;
- Soft wheels;
- Hard wheels;
- Wheels with a large diameter;
- Wheels with a small diameter
Each one of these roller skate wheels variables has an impact on the feel and performance of the wheels. Let’s take a look at each in turn and the type of impact changing the variable can have, on your skating.
Thin or fat roller skate wheels
The thickness of the roller skate wheel can impact thh stability of the skates, and the grip on the floor. The thicker the wheel, the more grip and stability will be present. The flip side of this is that the wheels could feel less agile to skate on with very thick wheels. Thick wheels can be difficult to use for sliding, and complex, quick manoevers.
The diameter of the wheels
The diameter of the wheels can have a big impact on the speed of the skates. With larger wheels, more distance is covered with each rotation. They can also maintain their momentum more easily. It takes more energy to get them going, but once rolling, they the speed is easier to maintain, when compared with smaller wheels. Larger wheels also absorb impacts from debris and cracks in the ground more than smaller wheels.
A drawback to using larger wheels is that you are further away from the ground, making them feel less stable when compared to smaller wheels.
What about the hardness or softness of the wheel?
The hardness of rolle skate wheels has an impact on shock absorption, durability, speed and grip. Let’s consider each of these;
Shock absorption – the softer the wheel, the more shock absorption is present;
Speed – the softer the wheeel, the slower they will roll;
Durability – harder wheels are more resistant to being worn down which can help them to last longer when compared to softer wheels.
So there you have it! All the ways your roller skate wheels can be impact the performance and feel of your roller skates.
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