wheel reveiw/rating

[whizbang 0]

honestly one of the things i've always looked for was a wheel review, where several differnt types are discused and rated, by someone who has actually skated on them.

well here it is! maybe now guys on the fence will have some insight on what to buy, and we can all stop wasting money.

here's a little backround. im about 160lbs, and im 5'10. im a decient skater, NOT fast, and i like to work in the corners. i play d and i play offense. as for my skill level i played in the aihl on a minor pro team. (what that means exactly i dont know....)

i skate every weekend. at least 6-8 hours a weekend.

1a.THE HOLY GRAIL OF WHEELS: labeda addiction (red), WOW! dude, the super most dope, fly, amazing wheel on the market. i am crazy glued to the floor pulling zeroG turns. hauling ass out of the corners. something this good is usually illegal. dont ask questions. just shut your mouth and buy them! update! it is now the end of july and my wheels have just started to split and ive noticed a little loss in grip. its time to relace them 4 months later.

1b. rinkrat hornets xxx. this is a real good wheel, with what i feel is a little more grip then the revisions. the differnce is the wear. these fall apart then just loose grip. i kind of like that in the sense that i can look at the wheel and say "hey i need new ones" than go out there during a game and not do the things i want to because i need new wheels. with these wheels you feel glued to the floor. to me it makes it a little harder to break the wheel in. i feel confident turning, and comfortable on all of my edges. -the one thing other than them falling apart after a month, is that in the summer they get softer, and grippier, which means that the wear faster and take twice as long to get used to.

i am verry happy. whats nice about the rink rats tho is that i dont have to mix and match wheel hardness.

2a. revision variants. platnium/gold set up.

great grip. great wear. platnuim wheels go in about 2 weeks for me, golds usually last about a month. you can skate low and hard. catch all of your edges. you stop well, can turn tight. the wheel itself gives you confidence in your skating at ALL angles. im not scared to go into corners and rag the puck. im not scared to try and pull an almost ice hockey type turn to loose a guy. speed is good, although im not that fast. -the one thing that i noticed is that revisions do not split, chunk, crack, or fall apart. they just loose their grip and you slide all over the place when they reach a point.

2. rinkrat hotshots xxx. good wheel. (see the hornet review) honestly this is a really solid wheel. i just got them so im not too sure on the wear.

3.labeda dynasty 2 x-soft. its an ok wheel. no where in the ball park of grip, however the durabilty is pretty good. these wheels i dont really trust my edges. ive slid out a lot trying to loose guys or go hard into the boards. update! the new dynaties were boasting the same urathane compound as the addiction wheels just softer for more grip. as the grip IS EXTREAMLY GRIPPY.... after skating one game and refing 3 all in the same day of purchase) i seemed to have split 3 wheels. that makes these CRAP!

4. Labeda Gripper Millennium x-soft. my desperation wheel. i'll skate on them if i have to, but dont particularly like them. i find heavier guys like them. the grip is ok in the begining. but i dont feel stable on all my edges and to me it seems that my posture compensates and i skate ridged and make wider turns because id dont want to slide out. if your learing how to stop this is the wheel for you.

5. labeda gripper x-soft. all i'll say is that if you want a disposable wheel this is it. not a horrible wheel, but not a great one either. if i get them brand new on sat, sunday they're getting replaced. and being used outdoors on mon.

wheels i hate. labeda fuzions. just a weird feeling wheel. i reeally dislike them. the grip isnt good. and that hard disk is strange.

wheels i want to try? kryptonics, wicked sticky and mr. sticky. and hyper saturns.

hopefully this helps

[jpeaslee 30]

Nice review/side by side comparison. Especially between the RR and Revisions.

[dreww 0]

Just picked up Mister Sticky 74a's to hold me over until the new Revisions drop next month. They feel like soft cheap plastic kids wheels. I got them because my hornets that came with my skate were a little too hard for me but I'm honestly considering throwing the hornets back on for the time being.

I was hoping at $25 a pack the mister sticky's would be a little better. I guess I got what I paid for.

[diablo42 0]

Great review. What kind of surfaces are you playing on....?

[whizbang 0]

i play on sport court now. in a lot of places its differnt. the floor at wallington where the grizzlies play feels soft compared to the floor at rahway, where it feels hard as hell. the cyclones have a nice floor, even though its a weird shade of green.

iv'e also skated on ice court. which wears your wheels differntly, and is a slicker surface. ive skated on coated cement and asphalt..... but past tense. the review doesnt apply to any other surface.

if you are skating on coated cement i will tell you that you want a single pour wheel. like the original labeda grippers. the wheels with the flex tech split and fall apart as soon as they wear a little bit. and wheels that are dual pour, once you wear through the grippy outer pour, you slip and slide when you get to the rebound pour....

[wetwilly17 6]

i play on sport court now. in a lot of places its differnt. the floor at wallington where the grizzlies play feels soft compared to the floor at rahway, where it feels hard as hell. the cyclones have a nice floor, even though its a weird shade of green.

iv'e also skated on ice court. which wears your wheels differntly, and is a slicker surface. ive skated on coated cement and asphalt..... but past tense. the review doesnt apply to any other surface.

if you are skating on coated cement i will tell you that you want a single pour wheel. like the original labeda grippers. the wheels with the flex tech split and fall apart as soon as they wear a little bit. and wheels that are dual pour, once you wear through the grippy outer pour, you slip and slide when you get to the rebound pour....

whizbang, what's your advice for wood tiling (basketball surface)?

[whizbang 0]

honestly the only wheel i have used on wood were the lebeda millenuim grippers. x-soft. not a bad choice for the surface. i would use anything lebeda. not rink rat, nor revision.

i think since a harder wheel you'll get a nice rebound with the softer wood.

[wetwilly17 6]

honestly the only wheel i have used on wood were the lebeda millenuim grippers. x-soft. not a bad choice for the surface. i would use anything lebeda. not rink rat, nor revision.

i think since a harder wheel you'll get a nice rebound with the softer wood.

lol damn thats what i already use, the labeda gripper millenium x-soft. i was hoping you had a new suggestion! haha anyways, i've played around with other wheels before and didn't like any of them as much but that was when i played sport court, wood and painted concrete. i'd wear new wheels on sport court, slightly worn wheels on the wood and worn wheels on the painted concrete. i liked the gripper milleniums the best. i'm not currently playing inline but i will probably sub some inline on my friends team soon, only playing on wood. i was hoping to find a better wheel. any others have suggestion for wood? the people i know use cheap wheels and i'm not sure how they can stand them.

[lotus 2]

Anyone have a cheap, outdoor recommendation?

$4 or $5 / wheel is my limit, ideally under $4. I don't play inline hockey enough to justify spending much.

It a smooth concrete surface that I'll be playing on a little soon for spring break and quite a bit in the summer. The rink gets pretty hot, so that combined with outdoor I'm going to assume I'll need something pretty hard, like above 80a.

[diablo42 0]

lol damn thats what i already use, the labeda gripper millenium x-soft. i was hoping you had a new suggestion! haha anyways, i've played around with other wheels before and didn't like any of them as much but that was when i played sport court, wood and painted concrete. i'd wear new wheels on sport court, slightly worn wheels on the wood and worn wheels on the painted concrete. i liked the gripper milleniums the best. i'm not currently playing inline but i will probably sub some inline on my friends team soon, only playing on wood. i was hoping to find a better wheel. any others have suggestion for wood? the people i know use cheap wheels and i'm not sure how they can stand them.

Labeda Grippers. I'm actually using them. Medium hardness in the back and soft in the front. I weigh 160 Lbs. I've been playing for over 4 years on wood, tried several wheels on this kind of surface like RR hotshot, Labeda gripper millenium, Revisions Bronze, labeda shooters, and I can tell you the classic grippers are by far the best wheel for wood floors.

[start_today 760]

I think for things like this, it would be helpful if people posted their reviews in the "Skates/Wheels Review" section. A lot of the info on there is embarassingly outdated.

I feel like the roller section continually answers the same questions over and over again, and it might help if the info were collected in one place, instead of distributed throughout a bunch of threads.

That being said, this is still good because it allows for a lot of questions and answers, so maybe this is a better idea. eh.

[whizbang 0]

UPDATED, addiction durability, new dynasty review.

[wetwilly17 6]

Whizbang, you used them for 4.5 months? How many times a week? I've been considering them since I have sprungs. Not sure how well they would work on a dirty barely waxed wood tile rink though.

[dreww 0]

So the new Dynasty 3's split on you in just one day? The lime green ones? I wanted to give those a shot.

[Darkbyte 0]

Love the review. Love the comparison between the grip.

Being 132lb, im skating platnium/gold revision variants. Its nice to know there are grippier wheels out there

[whizbang 0]

yes, i had bought the wheels sunday at 7:30pm, replaced my addictions, refed 2 games (minimal skating), played a game at 10, then refed the last game of the night (minmal skating)... so i would estimate i was in my skates for a total of 4 hours? and from that they split!

i usually skate about 3-4 times a week. maybe a total of 6 hours. (unless i have to ref) and the addictions lasted me that long

[pody37 3]

Anyone have a cheap, outdoor recommendation?

$4 or $5 / wheel is my limit, ideally under $4. I don't play inline hockey enough to justify spending much.

It a smooth concrete surface that I'll be playing on a little soon for spring break and quite a bit in the summer. The rink gets pretty hot, so that combined with outdoor I'm going to assume I'll need something pretty hard, like above 80a.

I am also interested in some outdoor wheel recommendations. I am going to be doing some coaching outdoors (mostly on playgrounds, so concrete surface) and don't really want to tear up my Varients.

Any help would be appreciated.

[whizbang 0]

it depends on your weight. and i havent played outside in like.... for-ev-er. heres what i can tell you. you want a single pour wheel. if you use something like a milenuim gripper. after you burn through the soft outer pour, youre going to slide around on the hard inner pour. also time of year. and location. all those outdoor wheels that boast 84a hardness are too hard for a light guy (160lbs.) like me. and during the winter in jersey when your wheel are around 30 degrees in january. the softer, the better. kryptonics mr. stickey, or lebeda grippers shpuld do the trick

[pody37 3]

Thanks for your replies so far Whizbang.

I'm around 160lbs as well, so would you suggest a 74a hardness would be suitable? Or would I be better looking for something a little harder?

[whizbang 0]

honestly it depends on what you want to do, and how long you want them to last. 80-95 degrees, id use a 78a wheel. anything colder then 75 degrees i would use maybe a 74-76a. (on coated cement)

[whizbang 0]

ive been broke now for a looooooooong time. like BROKE! so ive been skating on a lot of differnt wheels. mostly cheaper wheels. but some high end wheels i can get discounted. yesterday i went back to addictions. and after going from one to another. they are hands down "wheel of the year"

folks if you want "pro"formance, this is the wheel for you!

(i had to add the "" before people think im an idiot. its a play on words.... kind of, get it?)

[5HoleMadman 6]

I just wanted to give a quick thanks to whiz. I've been out of the game for a couple of years, I could have sworn it wasn't that long, and I was a little lost with all the options. At least now I have a really good idea of what I want and what will work for me. Thanks again whiz.