I Tested A Variety Of Roller Skate Wheels Indoors And Outdoors So That You Don't Have To!

What wheels do you need? Indoors? Outdoors? Big? Small? Hard? Soft? I'm going to try and answer all these questions for you. Let's start with the very softest wheel. So these are a 78A 60 millimeter. So as a fair test for each wheel, I'm going to be doing an edge, a three turn, a two foot spin, and a one foot spin. However, wearing the 78As inside, I can feel that a one foot spin is going to be quite tricky. So I'm not going to try it because I don't want to twist my knee and hurt myself. So straight away, this is like skating through syrup. There's no forward momentum. It's all push. So it rolls, but it feels like it stops really quickly. So let's try and do some edges. Oh yeah, I can get a nice edge. Let's try a three turn. I'm glad I've got my helmet on. Okay, they're really catchy. Should we try a spin? So my left foot is really dragging. Let me try and go up higher onto the heel. Okay, so you have to really get those front wheels up out of the way to be able to spin. So indoors, these wheels didn't do very well, but this is where they should be outside. So all the little bumps and stones, they're just taking it and absorbing all the impact. So my feet aren't vibrating that much and they're nice and smooth. These wheels bashes those stones aside, but they're only a 60 mil wheel. Now I do recommend a larger wheel outside because some of the obstacles you'll encounter outside can pose a problem. So as the same as it was indoors, you don't get a lot of roll with these wheels because the softness takes up the vibration and you lose speed. So there's always a bit of a trade-off between speed and ride comfort, but I would recommend as a beginner, it's actually quite nice to not go too fast outside, but I would recommend to get bigger than this. Look to the 63 mil or the 65 mil because you will get a better ground clearance. So one thing you need to be careful of if you go for the biggest wheels, the 65 mil, is that the wheel can start to touch on these little nuts here. And don't forget, you're going to get even closer when you start leaning on your skate. So before you start skating, make sure they're safe. So let's change to the next set. What I'm wearing is my Roll Line Heliums 83A 65 mil wheels. They are my most absolute favorite outdoor wheels, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to hate them indoors. Let's see. Straight away, I prefer a slippier wheel, but they are really nice to get a deep edge because they don't slip. So that's good. Let's see if I can spin. Okay, they are slipping, but I'm having to lift my feet a lot more. So it's possible. Let's try a free turn because normally I would slip this. Oh, that really caught. So actually, they're not that horrible. If I was just rolling around the rink, they're actually not that bad, but they're not my preferred wheel indoors. What I will say about these is they're 65 mil, and I tend to skate on a 57 mil. That's my safe place. And when I put these on, I felt about 10 foot tall. So that's something to just think about when you go to a wheel. And also it means your toe stop's higher from the ground. And that really caught me out as well. So let's try a one foot spin in these. Whoa. Okay, that's actually quite tricky because my wheel isn't slipping. It's sticking to the ground. So it's really tricky to get into that spin. 83A 65 millimeter indoors was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be. If you're wearing these outdoors and you want to go to the rink for a skate, absolutely, they'll be fine. And you know what? I also think for a beginner, it's quite nice that they're a little bit sticky because it means you won't go quite as fast. I've got a big silly grin on my face now because these are my favorite outdoor wheels because they don't require me to put in very much effort at all. I can do a couple of pushes. And like the 78As, they roll over the top of the surface and absorb the bumps. But because they're a little bit harder, they just keep rolling. But I haven't got to do too much pushing. And because they're bigger, I've got a better ground clearance. So with the last wheel, I did a couple of pushes and I didn't really get very far. But with this one, I just keep rolling. However, not everyone wants more speed outside. The more speed outside helps when you're dealing with obstacles. So if you hit a stick or something like that, you're just going to obliterate the stick. But you've got to be ready for that extra speed outside. So don't go to a harder wheel outside until you're really ready. I'm now in a 90A 60 millimeter wheel. Now, I think these are a really good middle ground for indoors. They're not too slippy. They're not too small. They're pretty perfect. I skated dances in these when I was a competitive figure skater. So they were big. So they roll for days. So one push and you can hold your edge. I know these are really nice for edges because that's what I used to do in all the dances. Let's try a three turn. Again, really nice for three turns. Now, they should still be pretty good for spins too. It's a fair spin. I can feel my left foot grabbing slightly, but it's still great. Let's try the one foot. So it won't be too slippy stepping into it because it's a nice edge, but it is going to be probably slightly grabby. Yeah, just a little bit. A little bit grabby as I'm trying to rotate. So I think around an 85A is the top that I'd wear outside. But let's try the 90 and see how we get on. Okay, it's not too bad. It's a bit rattly. I'd say that if your skates come stock with a 90, you can always give them a go outside, but do bear in mind that you're going to be much more comfortable on something a bit softer. These wheels are a 101A and a 57 mil. So they're the top end of the A hardness scale. So technically 101 isn't a thing. So you know when you say, oh, they did really well, they gave 110%. You can't give 110%. So I kind of see the 101 as a bit of a marketing thing, but they are very slippy. And if you're not used to super slippy wheels, you're going to be like Bambi on ice in these. As you go up the hardness scale, it gets harder to hold the edge without a really, really bent knee because the wheel wants to slip out from underneath you. So you have to really get your balance. Otherwise it's going to slip. But this is where the hard wheel comes into its own. The spins so much easier and the turns are going to be much easier as well because my wheel's going to slip. So I've got to be careful as I step in on this forward outside that my wheels don't slip out. But once I get to the spin, it's a lot easier to spin. So let's give these ones a go outside. No. So how come I've got a fifth set of wheels to show you despite the last pair being the top of the A scale at 101 or 100? I'm now wearing D scale wheels. Now these are like skating in granite, but these are actually my preferred wheel because they are super, super hard and really slippy. So these are an 80D 57 millimeter wheel. So because these wheels are super duper hard, it's hard to do a T push in them because what they want to do is slip. So let me show you. So it's hard. So it's the sort of thing that you have to over time adapt your technique because you can push away in them. But it's just using your weight and your edges correctly. So once you've managed to push away, you can do edges on these. But again, you've got to be very, very centered. Otherwise the wheels will very, very easily slip away from you. But it does make a three turn super easy because it just slips around. And likewise, a spin is going to be super easy too. So the one foot spin is going to be easy, but getting into it isn't going to be easy because this edge is going to want to slip. But once I'm in it, it wants to spin. But you might find if you're doing rhythm moves inside that you like a slightly slippier wheel because you haven't got to lift your feet. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, but I thought I'd give them a go outside. Come with me. Lovely. Okay. So there are times when you want to wear a hard wheel outside. Bear with me. A lot of park skaters like a harder wheel. If you're in a concrete bowl, then you would want a hard wheel for speed and for slip. So when you're carving and turning, it works really well. But when you're outside and you're cruising and trail skating, definitely want something a bit softer for comfort. So when it comes to wheels, always try what you've already got because investing in wheels can get expensive. And if you're going to a new rink and you're not sure what wheels you need, you can always ask the regulars. So you may have noticed during this video that I haven't mentioned a lot of brands. That's because a lot of my wheels are so old you can't buy them anymore. So what I will do is put in some links to wheels that are available that work in each scenario that we've spoken about. I'm Katie, you've been watching Skatey, and I'm going to attempt to skate off in these really hard wheels without anything bad happening. See you next time.