How to Choose the Right Inline Skates Wheel hardness

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Here is the full explanation regarding the wheel hardness of inline skates.
Check the article on our website "Wheel terms explained" to learn more about skates wheels: https://www.inmoveskates.com/learning-center/about-wheels/wheel-terms-explained

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Main character: Roman Kharitonov
Edit/filmed: Daniil Postoyalkin, Alex Shulgan

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What do we know about the wheels we skate on every day? They’re round (in most cases), they come in all the different colors, there are harder and softer wheels, and the hardness index is as useless as a cone of ice cream in Arctica
So what’s wrong with it?
We always end to oversimplify the comparison between A and B by relying on some magic number that encompasses all the measurements. That’s our nature to seek an easy answer rather than diving deep into the details
Instead, let’s start all over and list what we care about in wheels
• They should be round, otherwise the ride would be less pleasant than accidentally pouring hot tea on your pants
• They should last long
• They should be grippy. Or not? Maybe we’re into slides
• They should roll fast

See? We never said about wanting wheels to be soft or hard, so how come the only difference the wheels are described as hardness index?
What is the hardness index? Was it that hard to come up with something else?
As the name implies, the hardness index is just that – an industrial measure to describe the resistance of the material to deformation forces. You take the wheel, put it in a durometer, squeeze it hard and get the magic number.
The problem is the way it’s measured does not match the way it is used. You see, the wheel rolling perpendicular to the ground is only one of many positions it rolls during the normal push. While rolling through push cycles, the forces exhibited are acting on the wheel in various directions
The standard wheel consists of a rigid plastic core that keeps the bearings and the urethane part that does the roll. Core and urethane are bound by a rib to keep them together better.
In the vertical position, the core provides additional rigidity, but as the wheel leans more it’s the urethane that takes the load.
The core itself could be bigger or smaller, with bigger rib (to scam you into buying new wheels faster) or really small - that would last for a long, but might detach while riding at high speeds (like downhill)
As the wheel leans more, the contact patch increases with the change in the wheel’s profile, which in turn provides additional grip. Take the same urethane formula, and the same core, but change the profile and you’ll get a completely different performance.

By this point, you should understand that these three parameters – the urethane formula, core construction, and wheel profile (at least in the first few days) are more important than just some number
Yet, the majority of manufacturers give you only that, and dishonest online sellers would boast about this number exponentially to its value, which is an utter bull cap.

Alright, so what should we do? How to choose the next set of wheels? It’s simple, really – ask real skaters for an opinion. Nothing else would come even close.

Speaking of which, different wheels are made for different purposes. Roughly I’d break them onto these groups:
Universal skating, with a good amount of freestyle – such wheels are known to last long and give you pleasant and comfortable rides in most conditions. They provide a solid amount of grip and also are good for occasionally trying yourself in all types of skating
Wheels for slide – the ones that don’t last long and probably would become squared because of your poor skills long before got shredded to the core. These wheels provide an excellent and consistent amount of low grip. Because that’s what you want – long beautiful slides to a full stop instead of flipping over when suddenly at low speeds the wheel becomes too grippy or at high speeds wobbling too much
Slalom wheels – that might deserve an episode on its own. Basically, these wheels are designed to withstand extreme loads at very low angles when the single wheel is loaded with all the skater’s weight, and that bustard attempts to jump or spin on the poor thing. They might not last long as universal wheels and are definitely grippier than slide wheels, but they may have some other special properties that are needed for slalom at the top level.
Instagram wheels – don’t last very long, don’t like slides, definitely do not like wheelies, but who cares! They sparkle! And sparkles equal likes! No skill pure thrill

Видео How to Choose the Right Inline Skates Wheel hardness канала InMoveSkates