*Urgent* Wheels for sealed cement

[andrej 1]

Hi, ive always played on sport court in my past leagues, im currently using RR hornet XXX 76A wheels. However having moved, the league i play in now plays on a smooth concrete surface and im basically sliding all over the place. Accelerating or even making sharp turns cause me to just slip, forget about stopping lol. What wheels would you suggest for maximum grip on this kind of surface?

From what i read online i see that the labeda grippers 80A (yellow) are good.
Some good reviews on the RR world cup 82A and revision steel 78A.

Any reccomendations/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[jsp047 27]

I've made the same sport court to smooth concrete transition, you'll obviously never be able to find the same level of performance you're used to on sport court (which can be pretty frustrating) but the 80a Grippers have been the best I've been able to find.

I've tried:

Rink Rat Envy

Revision Axis Outdoor

Revision Axis Multi Surface

Labeda Shooter

Out of that group the yellow Grippers were by far the best, but I haven't tried the RR world cup or revision steel.

[andrej 1]

I ordered RR world cups, hoping to see a difference, if not ill try the yellow grippers. I play D, and basically have no confidence currently, feel like if i try to stop, change direction quickly will just wipe out. Ill let you know how the RR world cup is. Unless someone has someone has tried them both and says that one is better than the other. I have till monday before they ship, so i can call and switch before then.

[Wicked3Aussie 68]

I believe the world cups will serve you well.

Even though theyre multi purpose now they should still give you the stable edges and grip you're looking for to be confident in D.

[Sprungdownunder 18]

I am surprised the 76a is not giving you the grip you need, anyway I have had success with 78a grippers and currently use 82a world cups in the middle and 78 a splits at the ends, awesome grip both on smooth painted concrete and sports court.i am 175plb and use sprungs.

When I use to use straight frames I could only use 76a 's on smooth concrete anything else would not grip enough.

[ob2rescue 1]

Im 200lbs. I use Rink Rat Envy's 78A with decent results on smooth concrete. Been thinking of trying 80A's. I want to get maximum grip, im not as worried about speed. Would 80's be ok with my weight?

[andrej 1]

im approx 200lbs as well, and i have no idea why i was lacking grip with 76A wheels. originally i had thought a softer wheel would provide me more grip, but the league coordinator at my old place suggest the RR world cups

[Sprungdownunder 18]

I have heard good reviews for revision steels for players of that weight , I am also so far very impressed with the world cups , hope that helps.

[Dorsey24 6]

I would suggest the Revision Steels, at 220 lbs myself they have held up great. They give me a good about of speed and grip

[andrej 1]

The wheels already shipped out today, so ill give the RR world cups a go!

[QuanSuDude 1]

Hey man, let us know how it goes.

Myself I'm a small guy at 130lbs and I'm using Labeda Gripper white.

[andrej 1]

Alright so i got the wheels yesterday and have still to try them out. My last game was also on smooth concrete but was at a different arena, the grip was alot better even with my hornets 76A. I could change my direction/make sharp turns without my wheels slipping out. Todays game is on sport court, so i wont change my wheels for the game, but next time i play in that arena ill swap em out and let you guys know how it goes.

hey QuanSuDude, a guy on my team has the gripper whites, and he said he was slipping alot too, how are they for you? Im not sure about his weight, id guess hes not much heavier than you.

[FactionSports 10]

Todays game is on sport court, so i wont change my wheels for the game, but next time i play in that arena ill swap em out and let you guys know how it goes.

We did a lot of testing with the WC's on Sport Court and IceCourt and all our R&D players 200 lbs and up really loved them on the tiled surfaces. Even though its 82a, the high end urethane reacts well on tile for the bigger guys. I'd be interested to see if you think the same. But I wouldn't suggest using the same wheels for both smooth concrete and sport court though.

[andrej 1]

We did a lot of testing with the WC's on Sport Court and IceCourt and all our R&D players 200 lbs and up really loved them on the tiled surfaces. Even though its 82a, the high end urethane reacts well on tile for the bigger guys. I'd be interested to see if you think the same. But I wouldn't suggest using the same wheels for both smooth concrete and sport court though.

Hmm, i was going to continue to use my RR Hornets 76A on the sport court as they work well for me there. I was going to use the RR WC's on the smooth concrete, according to inline warehouse "Ideal Playing Surface: Sport Court, Wood, Smooth Concrete, Roll-on"

i also have a set of RR Splits 76A but i know those perform on a tiled surface.

[Sprungdownunder 18]

think the same. But I wouldn't suggest using the same wheels for both smooth concrete and sport court though.

I am having great results both on sports court and smooth painted concrete with 2 splits at the ends 78a & 2 WC 82a in the middle at 175 plb, on the sprung frames though.Very happy with RR.

Would love to try WCups all round but at my weight I think I would be pushing it a bit, might give a go though one day.

[andrej 1]

i might swap out my hornets for spilts for the court

[jmiro 55]

been a long time since I played smooth concrete, but when I did it was grippers

[QuanSuDude 1]

hey QuanSuDude, a guy on my team has the gripper whites, and he said he was slipping alot too, how are they for you? Im not sure about his weight, id guess hes not much heavier than you.

Oh the Gripper whites grip very well for me on smooth concrete. At first, almost too well. But if he's my size and they aren't gripping for him, I wonder what could be causing that?

[wehojp84 5]

I've found that on smooth concrete the white Labeda grippers (76a) and Labeda shooters (78a) have worked best for me. I'm 185 lbs. The setup I use is to have all 4 wheels the same durometer, but every now and then I'll mix it up and put the 76a wheels on the ends with 78a wheels in the middle.

I'd be curious to see how the RR envy's and RR splits compare to the Labeda's though.

[andrej 1]

I dont think the splits are designed for smooth concrete, i believe the envy's are. The splits do well on sport court!

[Wicked3Aussie 68]

I had a similar situation last night on smooth concrete. lol

In my state of Queensland all rinks are concrete apart from one wood(the best!).

Smooth concrete is slow, covers your wheels in crap and slippery in general but in most cases for me my normal set ups for wood work perfectly fine with maybe one or 2 rotations.

Last night went to a rink in South Brisbane where the floor was just woeful, my near new wheels just couldn't grip.

Fine line between leaning in on cross overs and going to far and sliding right out.

Moral to this is its so easy to blame the wheels but sometimes the floors are simply rubbish and there's not a lot you can do.

You can always go softer at the detriment of speed but I like to have my cake and eat it too.

In the end all I could do was experiment with my technique to adapt to it.

Otherwise there's always those grip sprays whether or not they work. lol

[BucksAway 16]

Wicked3Aussie - Do you play nationals by any chance?

If so how do you find the surface on the rink? I couldn't get a grip last year using Addictions or Hornet Splits!! Not sure if it was because of all the dust but it was shocking :|

I use The Hornet Split's 76A on Smooth Painted Concrete and get pretty good grip / mobility out of them at about 185lbs / 85KG. My addictions on another pair of skates also grip really well but i rip shreds through them wheels!

[ob2rescue 1]

My RR Envy's 78A's are really slipping on me now. I play on smooth painted concrete and the wheels have been used for 25-30 games. Im really looking for maximum grip out of new wheels I buy. I tried all 74A envys and was slipping all over the place. Any suggestions would help guys.

[andrej 1]

To be honest, i think its like wicked3aussie said. I've only had real problems with my RR Hornets 76A wheels at one arena that smooth concrete, so i think its safe to say that the surface there is just covered in dust! It wasnt the wheels as much as the surface affecting my grip.