New Wheels

[Eazy_b97 1]

After my dynasty disaster, which I realize is mostly my fault for even attempting, I am in the market for new wheels. I know a little, but not too much about wheels so I turn to you guys. I play house and rep. About 5% of my games are on sport court so I don't mind not a perfect sport court/ spider court wheel in order to have a durable grippy wheel on the rink I play on. I play on ice hockey rink which has obviously had the ice taken out. Mainly I'm looking at Rink Rat Hotshots in the 76A (or78A if offered) duramater or maybe some Factory wheels. I would like a fairly top end model which can provide good grip and still maintain my speed, but need them to hold up well. I'm about 5'11, 190 lbs and skate pretty hard, I play forward in house and defense on rep. I'd like some insight into the duramater of the wheel I should be looking at and possibly wheel types. I was already referred to the Red Star Rebels and I will look into those so any more suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[jay 1]

I honestly can't think of a single wheel that I've used that doesn't wear down or entirely self destruct within a few weeks on that kind of floor so I just buy whatever I can get really really cheaply and deal. A few I have seemed to have better luck with are Red Star Stilettos 74a, Labeda Gripper Lights in 76a (they wear pretty quick but don't crack or chip), and the 77a and 78a wheel offerings from Prime (but they are apparantly no longer selling online if at all).

[dgaronzik 1]

Red Star Snipers. When I played on concrete they held up pretty well. Also try Unities.

[MDE3 0]

Try the old Labeda Gripper Snappers..white...we used them on painted concrete for years..either soft or extra soft. That was the wheel of choice back when the USARS tournaments were played in the facilities in Iowa, which were on latex painted concrete, with sand mixed into the paint...no fun to fall on that stuff. But the wheels held up ok..actually the soft worked better than the extra soft as I recall on the sand painted floor. The extra soft worked better on the smooth latex over concrete. If there is sand showing through, then the mediums which were 78 durometer, may even be the best for you. I think the x-softs were 74A, the softs, 76A and the mediums 78A

Also the old Hyper Formula G's..76 durometer also worked well.

When we used the Rink Rat Hornets on the smooth painted concrete they did not have the same kind of grip we are used to from them on Sport Court..which is abolutely the best we have ever seen of any wheel bar none. This was partially due to the dust on that particular floor...which does not allow much to grip anyway.

[sniper_23 0]

I've been using the Micro Bearing Unities on a smooth concrete surface and they seem to hold up pretty good. The grips decent and the wheel is fairly cheap...

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

I play on painted concrete also, and have found the Snipers hold up the best of the wheels I've tried. I need a soft wheel in front to get grip in acceleration, and I weigh around 190, so I don't except too much out of a 74a wheel, but the Snipers have definitely lasted the best. Unities chunked out on both skates after a game and a practice, and the stock Dualities that came with my skate were too hard (76a). The other wheel I've tried (and am currently using) is the Red Star C6 Carbon, which don't last as well as the Snipers, but are a better performing wheel. I put them on straight after using the Unities, and they are FAR nicer to skate on, so I put up with the shorter life than the Snipers.

[monoclub 5]

Hands down the best wheels for concrete surfaces are Rink Rats new wheel, "World Cup" 84A on the outside 62A on the inside. I play about 6hrs a week on concrete, usually ride on Labeda Milleniums, Gripper Lites or Gripper Extreme's all of which usually last about a month. I am on my second set of World Cups - the first set lasted for 3 months - and offered superior grip.....

[cgin6 0]

i also play on the smooth painted concrete underneath the ice (indoor arena). i am a bit disappointed in my hot shots so far, they dont seem to be holding up very well after about 7 uses now. they developed cracks and shedded urethane from the inner edge after the 2nd use (might have been 1st but i didnt check) and although i dont think theyve gotten any worse since then, they are scary. i dont think its because the surface is too rough or anything. its smooth afterall. my old milleniums lasted much longer. if its any consolation, they feel great skating on them. i just hope they dont blow and send me onto my face.

[monoclub 5]

Rink Rats - WORLD CUP is the ONLY wheel they have designed for concrete or ashphalt. All others are for sport court I believe...

[Eazy_b97 1]

I was thinking about looking into these "outdoor" wheels, but am concerned about the grip they would provide on painted concrete. I wish there was a few more reviews on them.

[cgin6 0]

ppl typically use soft or x-soft wheels on the painted concrete surface that i roll on without problems with chunking. there is no grit in the paint nor is there any sorta little pits or imperfections that i imagine you might see on ashphalt. its not the surface people use outdoor wheels on because it is too slick for a hard durometer wheel. so if chunking is caused by a rough surface this is not what is going on with my wheels. i can still see the middle seams on the wheels despite urethane shedding off the inside edge. the other possible reasons i can think of why the surface can be wrecking my wheels is if it is too grippy, which i think is what happens with wood surfaces (although i don't have personal experience playing on wood) or if the surface is too hard and the wheels can't handle the pounding. the other possibility is that i got a set of blems. I noticed there were some fairly large bubbles at the interface of the two urethanes in every wheel but i was assured by Frank that they were normal but I have no way of confirming that. Im still waiting for a reply to a PM i sent Mike but I think i will have to email at his mearthane addy.

[Guest LEAFS12]

Red Star Rebels are alright for indoor but for street hockey, they wear in a few weeks.

[Thockey17 1]

I was thinking about looking into these "outdoor" wheels, but am concerned about the grip they would provide on painted concrete. I wish there was a few more reviews on them.

Im currently using Hyper Pro 250, they roll like friggin tanks :( . The grip is alright, and they last a hell of a long time. Im looking into wheels with 76-80 durometer. Im probably going to get another pair of factory's, but this time ill go with the halo reds(76a).

[Guest LEAFS12]

My friends Red Star Rebels are worn right down to the core after 2 weeks....but that is street hockey

[tume 0]

I have basically same concerns as Eazy_b97 has. I'm a roller newbie (6'2 190lbs), and floor is going to be painted concrete (smooth and slick). I was looking for Rink Rat Hot Shot's in 78A but would Rink Rat World Cup's in 84A work better than Hot Shots, or is 84A too hard? I would like to have a good grip and durability as well.

[TBLfan 25]

in the for sale section I have some rink rat world cups that are brand new(shipped from epuck, still in box). BTW, The wheels i'm selling are 76mm (I only have 4)

The world cups would provide you sufficient grip on painted concrete, but that's just my opinion. I think they'd be ok on sportcourt but don't expect anything amazing.

*edit-because I'm an idiot that can't think and type at the same time. :(

[jay 1]

Props for using the search and not making a new post for this...

To answere your question I think 84a would probably be too hard if the surface is smooth/painted. Those wheels are most likely meant for asphalt or tennis court style surfaces. I'll stick to my original rec's... not much available that's gonna grip at all and last on this kind of surface. Best bet is to get something not too soft for as little as possible and just change wheels more often. Check the usual hockey e-tailers for sales.

[tume 0]

Visited my LHS today, they said they have been using 73-74A for painted concrete. I guess I will go with 76A Hot Shot's.

Now wheel sizes confuse me a little as I didn't find much info about them. Skates are size 10.5 (CCM) so I guess I would need 80mm's? Or, should I go with a mixed setup like 80&72mm? Do I need special chassis for that kind of a setup? Thanks for the tips.

[sdcopp 1]

Visited my LHS today, they said they have been using 73-74A for painted concrete. I guess I will go with 76A Hot Shot's.

Now wheel sizes confuse me a little as I didn't find much info about them. Skates are size 10.5 (CCM) so I guess I would need 80mm's? Or, should I go with a mixed setup like 80&72mm? Do I need special chassis for that kind of a setup? Thanks for the tips.

what are the exact model of skates, as different chassis vary in wheel sizes

[tume 0]

Well I'm not sure about the chassis yet, I guess I will buy a pair from my LHS. I planned to mount those to my CCM 652 Pro Tacks ice skates.

[saba 0]

I use rink rat world cups in the rear hotshots 80A in the front. The world cup has a changing durometer if you read their stuff. I get plenty of grip and good straight away speed with this setup on painted concrete

[RINK RAT 15 0]

Please note that the World Cup wheels are for outdoor use only, They are an 84 A durometer. There will be very little grip on sportcourt. The only indoor use these wheels should see is on a wood surface. Guys playing over seas are having great success with them on wood!

Just want you to have the right info guys!

Michael Hunt

Rink Rat

[TBLfan 25]

I don't have any problem using the world cups on painted concrete...

P.S. I accidentally typed sportcourt when I meant painted concrete. Sorry about that.