Let's face it, you could spend a fortune in time and money searching for the best wheels for the surfaces you skate on, and your skating style.
I am a poor family man with no "extra" money to risk. My sons and I are currently using low-end wheels with plastic hubs, in the 95A to 96A durometer range. 62mm x 40mm. They seem to work fine, especially with fresh grooves.
From what I have read, there are probably better choices out there at reasonable prices, but what to look for? Everyone has favorites and their help quickly becomes overwhelming.
My question is how do you go about determining the characteristics of a wheel that will suit your needs. More specifically, if you know your weight, skating style, typical surface and typical surface cleanliness, can we come up with some base line sizes, durometers, hub types, widths, etc. to look for? In any given range, there are many brands and models, not even counting wheels that are out of production. I just want to be able to narrow the focus as much as possible.
I would like to do this without mentioning specific brands or models, if that is possible. I think that would help eliminate personal preference that could cloud the facts. (If there are any hard facts about wheel requirements.)
If there are distinct differences in urethane compostion and/or processes, brands MAY need to be factored in.
when it comes to wheels its not easy... i have some wheels that have been awesome for the past 3 months.... temps have changed outside and now they are very slick... im not biased towards any company and have skated many wheels all have diffrent features... throw out some info and ill try and give you a idea... what wheels have you used?
I'm actually hoping to come up with a guideline that might help a lot of people, not just me.
For instance, there are categories such as:
Artistic
Session skater
Jam skater
Shuffle/JB (aggressive session)
Derby
Speed
There are different surfaces:
wood
coated wood
polished concrete
coated concrete
outdoor (weathered asphalt/concrete)
Sport Court
There are different types of construction:
Hubless
plastic hub
alloy hub
fiber hub
removable hub
There are different durometers, but this detail only seems to factor in after the other elements are considered.
One thing I am unclear on is composition, or manufacturing processes that can make a difference in performance.
I imagine that we could gather enough information to create a chart of sorts that would help a skater home in on a range of wheels to choose from. For instace, a derby skater may be advised to look for a wheel 62mm or smaller while an outdoor skater may be advised to look for a wheel 62mm or larger. So on and so on through all the variables. Or does that seem unreasonable?
ive considered it because this is the one question that is asked over and over... yet you kind of have to go scenario to scenario... every floor is diffrent and everyone starts with a diffrent beginner wheel... you start skating on a radar flat out on a wood floor your going to say your rink is sticky.. compared to starting on a carrera wheel and that same rink is slick... some people like more slide and some like more stick... one week your rink could be slick when its cold out and then the hummidity goes up on a diffrent week and its sticky... ive heard awesome things about a certain wheel in florida yet up in the northern states everyone hates that same exact wheel... ive heard many say the cannibal is an amazing wheel and they are usually heavryer then me because i only weigh 125 pounds... yet for me cannibals just feel soft and bogg me down... i skate many rinks and im one of the few that can hold down a wheel that everyone in my weight and many above my weight think is just way too slick... and im not just some skater that coasts... im a hardcore speed skater
You make some good points. I wonder if it would be reasonable to narrow it down to "generally preferred characteristics", then add some factors such as the effect of temperature and humidity.
It seems that on humid days (most days around here) our wheels get dirty quickly, but on dryer days, they stay clean. Once they get a film of floor candy on them they become unpredictable and slick.
I never thought about someone rating a rink floor based on their personal traction, but it makes perfect sense. Everyone has their own perspective, which makes it hard, if not impossible, to weed through the recommendations.
wheels are normally trial and error... you want grip go with a softer wheel you want more speed go with a harder wheel... when it comes to comparing hardness's against a cheaper wheel it usually gets a little tricky... cheaper wheels are normally rated at like 96A... yet i would rate them at like 99A for grip and a 93A for roll... the ones you need to watch for though are normally the atom wheels when looking at the A rating... the usually stick like they are 5 points lower and roll 2 or so points lower then stated... im not a fan of the newer wheels and skate only fanjets... i skated the new craig tires for a while but have went back to my old tires... newer wheels are just softer and have less roll then anything older... yet i still give advice for new wheels... ive skated many of them and yet they dont work for me they work very well for many others...
another good tip is once you get above 120 or so pounds in weight the best thing is to move up to a aluminum hub... you will notice a increase in roll because the hub isnt flexing
With enough information like that, I could do what I am talking about. Maybe some up with a formula to help narrow the search.
well every person is going to review a wheel diffrent... now yes i have skated many wheels but not all of them... talk nathan into sending me a set of every wheel and we can get a real nice chart to go on his website
I have known people to have several sets of wheels because they can't decide which of them they like best, even after they have skated them all.
Do you suppose hype is a selling point? The names? The colors? The influential people who use or endorse them?
That sort of thing can play into a decision, too.
I and most others I know buy based on what they see and read, but more so on recomendation by someone they trust.
i have many wheels 15+ sets.. none of which were bought for any cosmetic reason or any hype and ive never cared who skates what wheel... ive bought all my wheels based on what people told me before i spent endless hours researching and researching... you cant go by what the company says because most of that is just B.S... my wheels i skate often are a puke green old fanjets and its the best wheel i own it has the most roll with a perfect amount of grip... everythign i skate gets compared to this wheel... some people cant tell the diffrence between 2 diffrent wheels or even 2 diffrent bearings... i myself can tell what kind of bearing is better and what wheel gives me exactly what i want for w.e certain floor im on...
when it comes to hype and comes to endorsing things the big one is vanilla... im a diehard riedell fan and have been one before vanilla was even born... the reason they sold their boot so well was because of the hype and who skated it ...the original boots were inferior compared to riedell and you only saved a little money... my speach to people looking at them always was do you want to pay $200 for a boot to last 2 years or $300 for a boot to last 10+ years... usually it worked but sometimes it didnt and they learned the hard way... this is no stab at vanillas new products from what ive seen they are doing alot better and are making a decent product this year..
when it comes to kids hype and endorsments usually work and then when it comes to color that almost always works... i dont knwo how many people i told to buy a certain wheel in a certain color and they didnt listen and bought that wheel in a diffrent color and it was always a softer wheel... then i get told i picked the wrong wheels for them and they are slow wheels... then i explain the whole color think isnt just for looks and i get that dumb stare saying i didnt tell them that.... for some people color is more important then performance