Types of Speed Skating Wheels

Are you going to buy a new set of wheels for your skates? Ever wondered which wheels your skates
need while skating indoor or outdoor!

There are different types of roller skating wheels available for you to choose but which one is the right
one is the question of concern. Because wheels are also the most important part of your skate without
which you cannot get better speed.

It sometimes becomes hard for parents to choose the right wheels due to lack of information or may be
because the skating products are not easily available at local store.

Today we are going to share about types of wheels, their size and hardness and which wheel is the best
suitable for which track.

Wheel Hardness
Often people ignore the age of the skater while choosing skates and its wheels. Few wheels are
specifically designed for teen skaters who are above 14 years of age. It would be better to choose light
weight wheels like this (link) for kids who are just starting out.

Why does it matter like which hardness to choose? The answer to this question is that wheels hardness
decides the speed of your skate on indoor or outdoor tracks. A soft wheel with hardness from 78A to
85A like the picture in the left is perfect for outdoor asphalt, concrete or uncoated surface, than softer
wheels of 78A-85A hardness are a good selection, why?, because softer wheels will give your better
gripping and much softer ride on concrete surface. One can always start with a 78A or 80A hardness
wheels.

On the other hand, harder wheels are good for indoor tighter, smooth and coated surface like the one
we see at National level venue (Vishakhapatnam or Belgaum). Hard wheels will provide less grip and
more speed. The advanced skater will always choose hard wheels for smooth, coated surface as they
know they need better speed and lesser grip on that kind of tracks. It’s not that one cannot skate on
coated tracks with softer wheels but obviously it won’t give the results we look for and it is not a choice
of professional skaters out there.

Also the type of hardness is more in quad roller skate wheels instead of inline skate wheels. In inline
skating wheels, there is only 3 type of hardness.

1. Firm – 83A
2. X Firm – 85A
3. XX Firm – 87A

Firm and X Firm are considered to be the softer wheels while XX Firm is considered to be the hard
wheels.
So it is very clear from above clarification, that the wheels are selected based on the track we skate on
instead of price tag or brand.

Wheel Size
Ok, we already learned which wheel hardness to select from, now it’s time to discuss wheel size and
which wheels are best fit for your skates.

You must have noticed some numbers written on the wheels like 620,65, 66 etc along with 78A, 80A …
where 78A or 80A depicts the hardness of the wheels, 62, 65, 66 shows the height of the wheel. The
wheel is measured as

Height X Width

But only the height and hardness is shown on the wheels and not the width and same is the case with
inline wheels. The same is measured in mm... For example; 62mm, 66mm, 100mm, 110mm etc.

(Picture)

Logically, the smaller wheel will always allow for a faster acceleration while the larger wheels takes time
to accelerate but does it matter in quad roller skate wheels?

The answer according to me is NO; it doesn’t matter in accordance with quad wheels if you are wearing
a 62mm wheel size or 66mm … difference of 4mm will not be of much concern if you have a power in
your legs and has a good start in skating but it might matter for a fraction of seconds if you have a
competitor same as of your caliber and normally the wheels used are between 60mm-66mm in roller
speed skating, but YES; it can be a matter of concern if you are rolling on inline wheels because the
difference in diameter is more than a quad wheels.

In India, the size of the inline skate wheel is based on the age of the skater like for skaters aged under 14
years will wear 100mm wheels and all above will wear 110mm wheels and for marathon, the wheel size
is 125 whereas there is no criteria set for quad roller wheels.

In India, there is no option left to choose for wheel size (height) as the criteria of choosing wheels have
already been set by RSFI (Roller Skating Federation of India) and it is going to be mandatory from the
year 2020.

Young and new skaters should use the beginner’s skates to learn the skating before choosing the
100mm professional inline skates.
Wheel Hub
This is another factor to consider while buying a speed skating wheels. The hub put a great impact on
wheel’s speed. Hub is the one that hold the bearings and make skate roll. The 3 types are

1. Nylon Hub
2. Aluminum Hub
3. Hollow Core

Nylon hubs are less in weight and cheaper than other hubs. One can find these hubs in most of the
wheels. Even Atom Poison uses the nylon hub but still a very popular wheel in India. In most of the
softer wheels, nylon hub is found. The aluminum cores are quite strongest and most expensive of the
three core types.

There are number of different wheels available as per needs of the skaters and I hope that from the
above article, it would be easier for your to choose the right wheels for your kid or for yourself. Even if
you have some doubt, you can always ask us using the contact us form and will try to help you decide
the wheels to buy. But if you ask my recommendation, I have listed few wheels below in both category
(Quad and Inline).

Quad Roller Skating Wheels

1. Atom Poison(https://amzn.to/36Df51T): These are the most used wheels in India and treated as
the best wheels of all time. The hardness of the wheels is 78A which is softer and can be used
on uncoated, cemented track. But beware of the duplicates available in the market. So always
buy from a reputed person or website.
2. Slipway Dragon: Slowly but definitely spreading its wings into the Indian market. The hardness
of the wheel is 80A and the size is 66mm x 38mm. Again a softer wheel but good choice for
outdoor uncoated cemented tracks and for roads as well.
3. Slipway Black Eyes: Definitely a choice of professional skaters in hard wheels category. The
hardness of the wheel is 98A and the size is 62x44mm. The wheels are good for hard, tight, and
synthetic surface but not for roads.
4. Atom Lowboy:

Inline Speed Skate Wheels

1. BlackMagic https://amzn.to/2PVmbcf) It is the most trusted brand when it comes to inline

skating wheels. Not even in India but internationally, very recognized brand which most
professional skaters use. Comes in all variants like 90mm, 100mm, 110mm and 125mm with all
types of hardness Firm, XFirm and XXFirm.
2. G13: (https://amzn.to/34BsIwK) Another great wheel in the same category. The only thing you
need to decided is the size and the hardness of the wheel.
3. Simmons Rana Arma: (https://amzn.to/2rkKu9p)