Wheels for outdoor use

[tamtamg 12]

I've always been an ice hockey player, but have recently been asked to join a weekly out door hockey game. I bought a pair of 7k roller skates and holy crap there's a tonne of grip. I feel like I'm going to break my ankles trying to stop/turn. Any recommendations on a good outdoor wheel that doesn't have a lot of grip?

[Hoffer 0]

I have found the Rink Rat World Cup outdoor wheel to be the best wheel for playing outdoors.

[littlehockeymatt 0]

labeda asphalts should be good, same for any cheap mission wheel usually its hard

[CAmmon 2]

Youre probably looking for at least an 80a hardness. You could go up to 84a depending on the surface. If its painted, you might want to stay on the low end. I had 84a on a painted rink and constantly had my wheels slide out from under me.

[start_today 769]

Don't use those wheels anymore outside. stop. If you can't get anything else, try to borrow wheels for a week. People who play outdoors a lot usually keep a decent stock of spare junk wheels around, because you run through them way quicker.

You have some pretty good indoor wheels, so don't waste them outside. Depending on how much wear these have, you can probably sell them for more than it will cost you to buy a set of outdoor wheels. Or you can keep them in case you need indoor wheels (you're already suckered into an asphalt game, it's only a matter of time!!)

[tamtamg 12]

thanks for the info guys. I'm a complete noob when it comes to roller skates. I guess i should be looking for any wheel in 80a hardness. Just a couple of more questions. Is it the higher the rating the better it is for asphalt? Also will I still get the smooth ride feel i get with the soft wheels I'm using now? Finally, how the heck do you do a hockey stop on rollers? I've been told just do a tight turn, but it's not really working for me. My wheels aren't sliding like a blade would slide across the ice. Should i be doing something different or will changing to harder wheels fix this?

[thugnation00 0]

The biggest thing I've noticed with stopping is on ice you have your weight more up near you toes and in roller your weight is more back on your heels.

[CAmmon 2]

As far as the hardness goes, again its all weight and feel. 80a would be more grippy and 84 would be more for speed. You just need to find what you like. Now I dont really play ice so I cant compare, but you need to get a pretty hard lean on and use your heels to stop.

[Patrick67 1]

Those indoor wheels that came stock on the 7k's are already useless, if your playing on asphalt and not a smooth outdoor cement or sportscourt rink?

It takes absolutely no time to destroy the outer surface on a indoor wheel playing on asphalt, so you might as well keep using them if that's the case.

For good outdoor wheels that last, get the Revision Ghost Outdoor (84a) wheels.

[f2racer 0]

A lower hardness rating doesn't always equate to a smoother ride and more grip. Case in point, I have a pair of Mission BSX skates. They came with 83A outdoor wheels. These wheels had an extremely harsh ride (felt like I was skating on marbles, you could feel every bump on the road). I replaced them with a set of Red Star Rocket wheels (84A) that transformed the skates. They now feel nearly as smooth as a pair of old Bauer H3's that I put new 80A wheels on. I believe the only reason they're not as smooth is due to the rigid (aluminum) chassis on the Mission skates vs the flexible (plastic?) on the Bauers. And the 83A wheels are every bit as grippy as the 80A wheels (definitely more grip than the stock 83A wheels). BTW, I'm also figuring out hockey stops with inline skates and I'm able to slide the Bauers with 80A wheels the best. The way I practice is to start parallel turning (like skiing) applying more and more pressure on the turns until the skates start to slide. And as thugnation00 and CAmmon has already noted, like on skis (at least when you stop) on inline skates you'll need to apply that pressure more on your heels.

[Flyerguy91 0]

I've used Hyper Pro 150's to great success on a rough outdoor surface.

[tamtamg 12]

ahh, I got it now. Again thanks for the info. The next time I'm at a PIAS i'll get some 84a wheels.

[nyrmetros 0]

Use Labedda asphault wheels on the front and back and then put Labedda gripper wheels in the 2 middle slots.

[tamtamg 12]

Use Labedda asphault wheels on the front and back and then put Labedda gripper wheels in the 2 middle slots.

Interesting, I never thought of putting different hardness wheels at different position. What's the advantages/disadvantages of doing this?

[CAmmon 2]

The softer wheels will give you more grip while harder ones are for more speed. Doing it like this will give you a bit more grip without tearing up all the wheels. The problem with the tri-di chassis, the way the wheels are set up, the front and the back wheels aren't on the ground at the same time. So this wont work as much as on a mission vanguard chassis.

[nyrmetros 0]

The softer wheels will give you more grip while harder ones are for more speed. Doing it like this will give you a bit more grip without tearing up all the wheels. The problem with the tri-di chassis, the way the wheels are set up, the front and the back wheels aren't on the ground at the same time. So this wont work as much as on a mission vanguard chassis.

Yea the tri-di chasis is annoying because the front wheel is a 72 and it wears the quickest anyway Most of my abuse is the front and back wheel thus I use the labedda asphault on those and the turning and stopping from the middle I used the labedda grippers white version.

My last wheel cycle I used all Labeda Gripper yellow wheels but after 3 weeks my wheels were done.

[nyrmetros 0]

I see Labedda added 2 new wheels to the Gripper family??

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Labeda_Grip...page-LGCSW.html

[TopshelfDing 0]

I'm 6'1 and weigh 200 pounds, been using the Labeda Grippers in soft (all white wheel) for outdoor pickup games on a painted concrete rink for many years. I would say the feel of the grip is perfect for my skating style... not too much, not too little... just right. I have yet to find an indoor wheel to replicate that feel on a sportcourt tiles and have nothing but good things to say about the durability of these wheels.

[nyrmetros 0]

I see Labedda added 2 new wheels to the Gripper family??

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Labeda_Grip...page-LGCSW.html

Has anyone tried them yet?

[sdcopp 1]

same old gripper wheel that's been around for 10+ yrs, just new colors. If it ain't broke....they're solid wheels, single poured so they're economical. Used to be the only good choices were Formula Gs, Grippers or Mr Stickys

[Mike92 0]

Anyone got some suggestions for a cheap outdoor wheel for someone learning to skate? Mostly concrete and tennis court. Don't need anything too good, just enough to learn some basics on.

And stopping on ice is very different, the times I've been on ice I couldn't stop for crap, but as far as roller the best way I can explain it is like a quick 90 degree pivot on your toes, then a hard kick into the direction you're going with more of your weight towards the heel. Kind of like doing a halfway front to back transition. You really just have to do it at slower speed till you get a feel for it.

[f2racer 0]

I found these guys on eBay. Shipping is expensive, but the wheels are cheap.

[nyrmetros 0]

same old gripper wheel that's been around for 10+ yrs, just new colors. If it ain't broke....they're solid wheels, single poured so they're economical. Used to be the only good choices were Formula Gs, Grippers or Mr Stickys

ah thanx. wasn't sure if it was a new wheel or just new paint.