When it comes to wheels, there is a wild world of choices out there. A large portion of the questions we get asked regarding skate upgrades are about wheels, and which are best for each style of skating.
Unfortunately, there's no straight up easy answer, and often, trying a few options and finding what feels best to you is the way to go.
However, there are a few hard and fast rules that can help you out, especially if you don't want to have a tonne of wheels in your skate kit.
.
Firstly, when you are learning (or if you really aren't into changing your wheels), a hybrid wheel is a good option. This is like what comes standard on our skates. Something around an 80a-85a will be soft enough to absorb bumps, but firm enough to not be too sticky on smooth surfaces.
If you feel like you want to get a bit more specialised with your wheels, you can try and memorise this fun little anagram to make stressing about your wheels H-I-S-S-T-O-R-Y...
Yes, we know there's two s's in there. We promised we would help with wheels, not spelling...
H - Hardies
I - Indoors
S - Smooth surfaces/skateparks
S - Softies
T - Trails/Footpaths
O - Outdoors
R - Rough surfaces/skateparks
Y - You got it? Let's roll!
If you know this basic information – soft wheels for rough outdoors, and hard wheels for indoors and smooth outdoors – things like the height, width and shape will be less daunting.
Generally, softer wheels are larger to absorb more bumps and help you to roll smoothly on rough surfaces. Harder wheels tend to be smaller, and more specialised in shape. That being said, bigger hard wheels are sometimes used in large bowls to gain speed and provide stability.
If you are starting out, we recommend not stressing about your wheels too much. You can always ask seasoned skaters for a little advice about what they like, and try a few sets to see what works.
If you are looking to upgrade the wheels on your skates check out our mates at RollerFit to see what's available. Radar Energy wheels are some of our fave softies, and RollerBones Bowl Bombers and Elite Wheels are some of our fave hardies.
If you are looking for a middle ground, or you hate changing wheels as much as we do....we have you covered! Check out our Chuffed Chiller Wheels: these hybrids are specially formulated to transition from the street to the park to the dance pad with ease.
If you have any more questions about wheels, hit us up on Instagram!