Why are my wheels not spinning like they should/ have been?

[Cosmic 178]

My skates are the Axiom Revolt T10s. They came with Rink Rat Hornet Splits, but they were too soft. So, I went with Rink Rat 84A, but they were not grippy enough. I think I have the perfect balance with these Labeda Gripper Yellows, except they are not spinning as my old wheels (both sets of Rink Rats) used to. I think the Grippers are fatter than other wheels, maybe they are not a good match with my frame? (The Inhalers are a friend's skates, I just used them for demo of how I think wheels ought to spin.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-FFaLkHFgo&feature=youtu.be

[SjMrKoi 0]

I bought the same set for my vapors and I had the same problem. You might be right that the wheels might be a little wider. I had two pick up sessions on it and it spun with no problem. I'll upload a video for you when I have a chance.

[Cosmic 178]

I bought the same set for my vapors and I had the same problem. You might be right that the wheels might be a little wider. I had two pick up sessions on it and it spun with no problem. I'll upload a video for you when I have a chance.

That's what I am hoping will happen- that the wheels need to be "broken in," so to speak. I skated around in my very small apartment with ceramic floors and was able to glide no problem, FWIW lol. We will see how this translates to sport court in scorching heat.

[default user 3]

How tight do you have the axles tightened? I use grippers on my Boss SE's and never had that problem. If you tighten the axles to much you can pinch the bearings and they wouldn't be free enough to spin, and it will look just like what yours are doing. Also how old are the bearing? Are they dirty or starting to seize up at all?

Try loosening you axles at turn or two and see if that helps. If the wheels are to wide you should be able to see them rubbing on the chassis if you look straight down on the wheels.

[voxyledbetter 9]

Check how the bearings are seated too, if they aren't completely seated in the wheel they might be rubbing.

[Cosmic 178]

Bearings are clean. I really press the bearings hard into the wheel, to ensure that they are not hanging out and creating drag on the chassis. I will try loosening them up a bit, maybe that might help.

[sarasch 1]

Did you already skate with them? I found that sometimes you need to skate an hour or so to get the beering really pressed in the right position inside of the wheels.

[Souldriver 64]

Check how tight you made the axles.

Check to see if the bearing are seated all the way in . I usually push them down on a piece of scrap wood putting a bit of weight on it.

Check to see if the holes for the axles in the frame itself hasn't gotten a burr to it. Hasn't happened with my missions but my reeboks had this problem often.

Are the bearings clean? Do they make any noise or not run smooth?

Remember spin time with them up.in the air doesn't translate to spin while you're skating on them.

I don't think it's the wheels as they all have certain specs they stay inside by there could be a qa issue. You would also see wear on the wheels or be able to see them touching. It could be that's how they've spun and now with a wheel change you're seeing it.

[Cosmic 178]

Did you already skate with them? I found that sometimes you need to skate an hour or so to get the beering really pressed in the right position inside of the wheels.

Not yet- next time I play inline will be Saturday night.

Check how tight you made the axles.

Check to see if the bearing are seated all the way in . I usually push them down on a piece of scrap wood putting a bit of weight on it.

Check to see if the holes for the axles in the frame itself hasn't gotten a burr to it. Hasn't happened with my missions but my reeboks had this problem often.

Are the bearings clean? Do they make any noise or not run smooth?

Remember spin time with them up.in the air doesn't translate to spin while you're skating on them.

I don't think it's the wheels as they all have certain specs they stay inside by there could be a qa issue. You would also see wear on the wheels or be able to see them touching. It could be that's how they've spun and now with a wheel change you're seeing it.

Bearings are in there good. I use a weight belt, wrap it on both sides, and press with both my hands at same time. Bearings are clean. It is completely soundless when I spin the wheels on my floor. I know for sure my last wheels spun like the Inhaler wheels, because I tested them the same when I swapped out the wheels, and even with the stock wheels, they just looked so cool that I liked spinning them (but they played like garbage because I am too heavy for them).

[Souldriver 64]

Some bearings and wheels have real snug tolerances.I push them in by hand (or with a tool depending on the bushing type) then put them on the wood block and lean on it with my weight pushing down. Flip it over twice and repeats on each side. Most times you can hear an audible pop of it really getting in there. I also use my granite counter top anything hard and flat.

I put in one bearing press so there isn't pressure or it isn't pushing on the other bearing. Then flip and put the bushing and other bearing in then push that it, then a quick check of both sides and I've been set.

Sometimes you can just pop the wheel off, push it in ans re up the wheel. Other times I had to pop the wheel out and take out the bearings and reup it all. Only tightening the axles so they're tight enough.

Check how clean the wheel is in the middle, you can always wipe it down with a dry paper towel to be sure. Check for excessive metal flakes on the bearings wheel bushings and axle. No need to really over wipe the bushings and axle bc it has a tiny amount of dryish lubricant on them usually.

If the bearings are new they may need to be broken in. If they are old see to make sure the shields arnt pushed in causing friction on the bearings themselves or bent in any way.

Try the same bearings in the same wheel spot on the same chassis tightened up the same but with a different wheel and see if it happens then. If you can use a different bearing on the same wheel try to eliminate options etc.

[sss1987 55]

Bearings shouldnt need to be "broken-in". They should work out of the box. If you have no issues with them while you are skating..i wouldn't worry. It may just mean the wheel has a slightly tighter bore for the bearing then the rest, which is "squeezing" the bearing a bit tighter, stopping it from spinning as freely with no load on them.

[Souldriver 64]

Bearings shouldnt need to be "broken-in". They should work out of the box. If you have no issues with them while you are skating..i wouldn't worry. It may just mean the wheel has a slightly tighter bore for the bearing then the rest, which is "squeezing" the bearing a bit tighter, stopping it from spinning as freely with no load on them.

yes they work out of the box but some spin better once the bearing wears in a tiny bit and the lubricant inside gets used and broken in.

also a tighter bore would have a hard time squeezing a bearings outer rim unless you mean its squeezing elsewhere.

[sss1987 55]

The wheel bore would squeeze the outer race.

[Derek123 0]

I'm having this same problem. I replaced my indoor wheels with outdoor just yesterday, and the bearings were not easy to get into the outdoor wheels. Once I had them in there, they weren't spinning as well as the indoor wheels. Putting the bearings in the indoor wheels is very easy, just by hand, but with the outdoor wheels, I have to tap on them with a rubber mallet to get them in place. Also, for some reason the back two outdoor wheels (80mm, they're hi-lo) are VERY close to each other, where as the back two indoor wheels look normally spaced. So, I have no idea why this would happen other than maybe a bent chassie or something, but the skates are brand new (Vapor x60r). Should I just skate on the outdoor wheels as they are? Or get new wheels with slightly larger bores so that they don't put pressure on the bearings?

[Souldriver 64]

Well think about it. Those indoor wheels already had bearings out in them and taken out so they will be a little looser and some wheel manufacturers just are tighter there as well. Make sure theyre all the way in and nothing is rubbing. One thing I noticed on my skates is that when I put them in and they don't spin like they should I sometimes push the wheel straight to one side while it's tightened in the chassis sometimes I hear a pop and spins freely, not sure what that is but I can't pop or push it back after.

For the wheels if they're not touching no need to worry.

[Derek123 0]

Thanks, I'll tinker with it and see what happens.

[Vet88 673]

As long as they aren't touching, just go and skate in them. They will free up and spin better after a skate. I've had this issue many times when putting new wheels on, some brands are better than others in getting the tolerances right.

After hammering them in, getting the bearings out often requires a tool that will fit inside the internal sleeve and only rest on the top edge of it. I found a concrete dyno bolt at the local hardware shop was just the perfect fit.

[Derek123 0]

Yeah they're definitely hard to get out with the pusher after tapping them in. Thanks for the advice, I think I will go skate on them and see if they loosen up.

[KILLERWHALE 6]

When I got the APXRs the wheels barely spun (15-30 secs)

After a skate they would spin for 2 mins

Next skate same thing, so skating will most def make em spin better (factoring in bearings are not damaged)

[Derek123 0]

Wow, 15-30 seconds? Mine are spinning 2-3 seconds, hah. Still haven't tried them out yet, but hopefully skating on them will help.

[KILLERWHALE 6]

Well you can always go for Bones Super Reds/Swiss. I spent a whole summer spinning wheels. Mesmerizing to watch them spin and break records 2-3 mins. We hockey people have serious problems. I'm worse with goalie stuff. Wearing pads when watching TV since age 7.

When it don;t work keep tinkering!

[Souldriver 64]

When I got the APXRs the wheels barely spun (15-30 secs)

After a skate they would spin for 2 mins

Next skate same thing, so skating will most def make em spin better (factoring in bearings are not damaged)

Well you can always go for Bones Super Reds/Swiss. I spent a whole summer spinning wheels. Mesmerizing to watch them spin and break records 2-3 mins. We hockey people have serious problems. I'm worse with goalie stuff. Wearing pads when watching TV since age 7.

When it don;t work keep tinkering!

Bones swiss are your best bet, if you're money strapped get the regular reds and skip the super reds but imho the regular swiss are worth the couple bucks more.

Wheels spinning better after use is less the bearing getting broken in and more of the lubricant getting settled in and spread all over instead of just where they drop it in.