Revised 08-03-2008
Skate Wheels
Skate wheels have several descriptors: Bearing size, Diameter, Durometer, and Rebound.
Bearing Size
Bearings are available in standard (referred to as "608") and micro (referred to as "688") sizes. The majority of recreational skates use standard bearings. Micro-bearings are physically smaller to help save weight. There are also different materials inside of ball bearings -- steel, ceramic, titanium -- that will also help to save weight and provide extra wear resistance.
Diameter
Diameter refers to the outside diameter of the wheel. Larger wheels roll faster and roll over debris easier. Smaller wheels have faster acceleration at the expense of top end speed.
Most recreational skates will only take up to 80mm wheels. Speed skate frames are available in 4-wheel and 5-wheel. The 5-wheel frames are now being made to hold as high as 84m wheels and the 4-wheel frames are being made to hold as high as 110mm wheels.
Aggressive skaters prefer lower diameters and relatively flat profiles for extra grip, while speed skaters prefer higher diameters with pointed profiles for less drag.
Durometer
Durometer refers to a wheel's hardness. Higher durometer wheels are harder, roll faster and last longer at the expense of a harsher ride. Lower durometers wheels are softer and help smooth out the roughness of the skating surface but wear out faster.
Aggressive skaters prefer lower durometers while speed skaters prefer higher durometers.
Rebound
Although seldom mentioned, rebound refers to the amount of energy returned by the wheel after energy is applied to it. It can be observed by how high a wheel bounces after being dropped on edge. Low rebound wheels hardly bounce at all and give a harsher ride, while high rebound wheels bounce well and dampen out imperfections in the surface.
Rotating Your Skate's Wheels
Why do we need to rotate our skate wheels anyway? Because we are always pushing outwards as we skate, causing the wheels to wear on the inside surfaces far more than the outside surfaces! To keep the centerline of the wheel centered, and to even out the wear patterns which maximize the wheel's useful life, we rotate the wheels periodically. A good wheel will resemble figure1. A worn wheel will resemble figures 2, 3 or 4. When enough wheel wear occurs, the wheels will become unstable in a glide, and you may notice your ankles turning inward with the wheels no longer perpendicular to the ground. Usually the front and rear wheels wear more than the two middle wheels, causing the wheels to 'rocker' a bit - i.e., they no longer all touch a flat surface at the same time - as in figure 5.
There are many wheel rotation schemes. The one I describe here will do just fine for most 4-wheel skates.
Mark or make note of the wheels as to their current location in three ways (I just write on the outside wheel faces with a fine-tip permanent marker):
- Left (L) or Right (R) skate
- Wheel position 1, 2, 3, and 4 from front to rear, and
- Inside face or outside face
Typically, the front wheel wears on a lopsided bevel (figure 2) and the rear wheel wears down flatter than the others (figure 3). We are going to use a 1Rto3L, 2Rto4L, 3Rto1L, 4Rto2L and likewise a 1Lto3R, 2Lto4R, 3Lto1R, 4Lto2R rotation scheme. What you need to do is to place the front wheel of the right skate into the 3rd position back on the left skate, and at the same time you flip the old inside surface towards the outside, etc. as listed above. In other words, you are going to put the old right skate wheels onto the left skate and vice versa while also flipping them over so that the old inside edge becomes the new outside edge, etc. Some people just rotate and flip the wheels 1to3, 2to4, 3to1, and 4to2 on the same skate instead of skate to skate (less wheels to have off the skates and keep track of at the same time). That method works OK too.
This evens out the wear on the wheels so that the stability of the skate and life of the wheels are maximized!
Cleaning Your Skate Bearings
If you notice that your skate bearings are making grinding noises, or if they have gotten wet, or they 'spin-down' way too quickly, you need to remove, clean and re-lubricate them. I suggest just buying a new set of bearings instead, but if you want to keep using the old bearings, you can try cleaning and re-lubricating them first.
The first thing you need to do is to remove the wheels from your skates. For this you will need one or two 7mm Allen Wrenches depending on the axel design of your skates. Carefully note the position of the 'frame spacers' if they exist on your skates (usually oval shaped nylon or metal pieces that the axle bolt goes through) so that when you reassemble them, they will be in the proper operating position and have the same horizontal and vertical alignment! Pay particular attention to the brake mount axel and spacers, the spacers and axel itself may be different that the others! Once you have the wheels off, you need to remove the bearings and spacers from the wheels. There are several tools made for this purpose. Ask your salesperson, or a skate group member, which one best suits your particular skates. Most bearings can be removed by using the tool to 'push' the bearing spacer and opposite bearing from the wheel, then push or pull the remaining bearing out.
Once the bearings are out of the wheels, they need to have the shields removed in order to access the inside of the bearings for cleaning. Most shielded bearings have a very thin 'C' clip holding the shield in place. These are special thin 'C' clips that have angled open ends. One angle is 'wrong' for gripping it to remove the clip, but the other angle is 'right' for gripping and prying them out. The proper angle looks 'undercut' (Figure 6), and a small sharp object such as a sewing needle or stick pin can grab it and flick the clip out of its retaining grove. Watch carefully as you remove them, as they tend to 'fly off' easily! Do not loose them! You will need to reinstall them after cleaning. However, some bearings do not even come with the inner shield or clip, which certainly makes it easier & less time consuming to maintain your bearings. I prefer to remove both shields for easier and more complete flushing/cleaning, and to reinstall both shields for extra protection against the elements.
The choice of cleaning 'solvent' is hotly debated, but I am going to recommend using mineral spirits (not gasoline - which can explode and burn you badly). I recommend using 2 containers - the first one will get the dirty parts, and will itself become very dirty and contaminated with grit as you thoroughly brush/clean the bearing components. Next the 'almost grit free bearings' are put into the second solution which will finish the cleaning process and not allow a lot of grit back into the bearings as you swish them around in it. You can either put the bearings into a soft plastic container with a tight top on it and shake well till clean, or use a wide mouth container and a brush to clean out the bearings. Clean and spin the bearings until they spin so freely that you don't hear any glitches or roughness from them. They should almost sing or 'zing'. Spin them some more while blowing warm air from a hair dryer through them to gently 'air-flush' all remaining fine grit particles from the bearings. Let the bearings dry (or put them in a 'barely warm' oven till dry). The bearings should now spin totally freely without any graunchy noises. Consider discarding any which are still graunchy (their actual bearing surfaces are probably badly pitted or worn).
Once they are clean and free spinning, you need to re-lubricate the bearings and seal them back up. Use only enough lubricant to lightly coat all of the inner bearing surfaces, or else the excess lubricant will work its way out of the bearing and cause the outside surface to get sticky and attract even more dust and dirt. For lubricant, you can use a thin grease made especially for skate bearings, or a 'speed gel' made specially for skate bearings, or a light 'speed oil'. Oil will not last as nearly as long as grease, but oil lets the bearings spin most freely as in racing skates. Grease lasts the longest, but is thickest and noticeably more sluggish in actual first use until most of it gets pushed aside during continued use. Gel falls in between the other two in useful life. It's your choice as to which to use. I prefer a 'gel' lube. Just keep in mind that the thickness of the lubricant will make little practical difference under the full load of your weight and the momentum of your body when actually skating, especially after a brief warm-up period.
When your bearings are clean and re-lubricated, you can reassemble them and reinstall them (along with the bearing spacers between them) into your wheels, and put your wheels back on your skates. Properly seating the bearings and spacers into the wheels is important! You may want to push the sides of the wheels/bearings against a flat hard surface till the bearings 'click' firmly into place against the bearing spacers. If they are not seated properly they can rub on the frame spacers, slowing you down, and wearing them out faster.
If you have done well, you should notice your bearings are quieter and roll smoother and faster than before - although it may take greased bearings a session or two to get back up to speed as the excess grease gets pushed away from the spinning balls in the bearings.
Keeping your frames and axles in shape
It is very important to keep your wheel/bearing axles properly tight without them being so tight that they bind your bearings, or being so loose that you risk their loosening and falling off. I choose to use 'blue' Locktight (definitely not the more common 'red' Locktight - which is meant to be permanent and non-removable) on the slightly soiled threads of the axle bolts. This way the bolts hold tight, but are assured of being removable without stripping either the threads or the allen wrench slots. With the more common nylon/plastic frame spacers you should tighten the axle bolts just enough to minimize 'side play' of the wheel/bearings on the axle, but not so tight as to bind the bearings freedom of spinning. With 'metal' frame spacers you can tighten the axels down more without binding the bearings. It is wise practice to check your skates axels and frame mounting bolts before every skate to minimize the possibility of equipment failure and the consequent possible injury while skating! Skate Safe & Enjoy!
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