There are plenty of people who enjoy souping up their cars with aftermarket parts to bolster performance. But have you ever thought about doing the same thing with your inline skates? Did you even know it was possible to do that? For those of you who didn’t know it was possible, we’re talking about upgrading your skate frames, wheels, and bearings.
The aftermarket for inline skate parts consists mainly of wheels and bearing sets. You can choose to replace bigger components, such as adding a lighter frame or a frame made from a different material, but with proper maintenance, wheels and bearings are the only parts of your skates that will have a direct correlation to increased speed and skating efficiency when replaced.
As we’ve discussed in other blogs, different bearing assemblies vary based on the levels of polishing and tolerances inside the bearing. If your skates originally came with a lower quality. loose bearing, it would make sense for you to upgrade to a higher quality bearing with lower tolerances. Upgrading to a better quality bearing will be tighter initially and take some time to loosen up, but if it is properly maintained it will perform at a greater efficiency and speed for a longer period of time. Your skates will glide smoother, roll longer, and it will also reduce fatigue. If you’ve had the choice of upgrading your skates from a Ford Fiesta to a Ford Mustang, wouldn’t you want to?
When you buy new skates, the wheels that come included may be right at the time, but the type of skating you plan on doing may change, and your wheels will need to change as well. Wheels come in all different shapes, sizes, and durometers (hardness). If you notice that you wear down your wheels very quickly, it’s probably a wise idea to look into buying a new set of wheels that have a higher durometer (harder material). This will allow them to last longer and also increase your skating speed and efficiency. If your skate frame allows, you can also look into getting a larger or lighter wheel. A wheel that is a few millimeters larger can make a huge difference in your accelleration and speed during longer skating ventures.
Aside from wheels and bearings you can also look into buying replacement boot liners, new laces, and even lubricants for your bearings. Boot liners have a tendency to wear down over time, so if you can replace them, it will improve the comfort level inside the boot. Often times you can order new boot liners to replace your old ones, which is cheaper than getting a whole new skate setup. Check with the manufacturer of your skates to see if this is a viable option for you. Laces can also be replaced and they are the cheapest component you can replace. They may not have as much of an effect on the performance of your skates as bearings or wheels, but having your foot firmly secured in the boot will help you with your skating stride.
There are hundreds of different aftermarket parts you can buy to make your skates faster. One of the nice things about inline skating is that regardless of your ability level, better equipment will almost always improve your skating experience by making your ride smoother, faster, and more efficient.
Video Tutorial: How to Upgrade Your Inline Skates
Personally I prefer BSB Swiss speed bearings with a slightly smaller (82-84MM) soft (78-80a) wheel on a high-performance frame.
I skate long distances at full cardio pace in a mix of very lousy sidewalk, ratty asphalt park paths, and the rare very smooth asphalt segment. Since larger wheels only come in harder duromaters they don’t perform well in this mix. Yes, soft wheels means more wheels per season but they really are more springy, grippy, and responsive for immediate manuvering. I’d compare large wheels to very long skis – fast, but takes more effort to corner them. Also, the large hard wheels loose traction severely in “the marbles” and jagged areas and they are useless if you are 10 miles out and it starts raining. That’s called slip n slide so you better be carrying bus tickets and shoes with you!
Swiss bearings are a huge upgrade in performance from both ABEC and ILQ9′s. I have a pair of 20 yr old Roces skates with Swiss bearings and tiny 76MM 78a wheels that roll more freely than a brand new pair of skates with 90MM wheels and ILQ9 bearings. My opinion is that big wheels are GREAT if you are skating solely on baby bottom smooth surfaces with moderately hilly terrain. In those instances you can go go go forever with little effort. But big hard wheels are horrible on rough surfaces and they make it difficult to scramble up steep inclines.
I find now I always buy my skates for the boot comfort and venitlation, frame, and ratchet system and wind up completely customizing the stock wheels and bearings. I strongly recommend skaters experiment with wheel and bearing set ups to customize their skates for their style and where they skate.