Wheels is a very daunting subject for the beginner player, there are so many of them, there are all kinds of wheels, all types of colors and which is the best wheel for you?
You will notice that every wheel has 2 sets of numbers:
1) The first set will end in MM – which stands for Milimeter, and it will talk about the diameter or the size of the wheel.
The sizes of a wheel range anywehere from 47 mm all the way up to 80 mm for inline hockey skates. 47 mm will often times be used for children or smaller sized adults , and then 80 mm is the regular size for adult skaters.
Most moderen inline hockey skates have wheels that have the same size, that being said, there are plenty of exception, such as the High-Lo set-up that is often used by Bauer – this means that the front 2 wheels will be smaller than the back 2; so for example an adult skate will have 2 x 76mm wheels in the front and 2 x 80 mm wheels in the back.
So it really depends on what wheel size your inline skate chassis, or the booklet recommend you use.
This concludes the first set of numbers.
2) The second set of numbers ends in A – which stands for the hardness on the scale of durometer.
This ranges anywhere from 72 A all the way up to 84 A.
It really depends on what kind of surface you are going to be playing on, for example a 72 A wheel is considered an extra extra soft wheel and should only be used indoors and mainly by children because it is so soft. Adults will typically use 74 A all the way up to 78 A if it is for indoor use. The best hardness of wheels for playing on a wood surface are 78 A all the way up to 80 A.
If you are playing on a different indoor surface, go anywhere from 74A to 78A.
82 A all the way up to 84A is only for outdoor use.
If you were to use a soft wheels to play outdoors you will have so much grip, however the wheel will be so soft that the chunks of wheels might actually be flying off after a little while. So you really want to consider what type of wheel you want to use depending what type of surface that you will be playing on.
There are 3 factors to take into account when buying wheels:
1) What wheel size does the manufacturer of your skate recommend – see booklet or chassis
2) What surface are you going to be playing in, indoor or outdoor (thus the hardness A)
3) Weight and size of the player – the heavier the player the higher you go up in A scale.
This should help you out with the purchase of your next set of inline hockey wheels.
