Many roller skaters have often found one reason to the other to throw away their roller skates if they don’t fit in anymore. Recently, a roller skater asked if skateboard wheels would work on roller skates and vice versa. If you are among those who have tried asking this question, then you are welcome to reading this article.
Will skateboard wheels work on roller skates? This is what we shall be answering this article. Plus, we shall talk about how to put rollerblade wheels on your skateboard and so much more.
Will Skateboard Wheels Work on Roller Skates?
Little do many roller skaters know that skateboard wheels would actually work on roller skates, just like the roller skate wheels. Why is this possible?
Theoretically, roller skates share similar hardware and configuration as skateboards. In terms of diameter axles, both roller skates and skateboards use the same 8mm axle. They both have similar core spacing as well, and that’s the obvious reason why skateboard wheels work perfectly on roller skates. Both skateboard wheels and roller skate wheels are interchangeable and most times, all you need to do to have them fit in perfectly is to adjust the size and position of the bearings.
The only issue about using skateboard wheels on roller skates is that you get to lose certain flexibility, something that roller skate wheels are not lacking. This means that pushing it will feel a bit more stressful.
Because of the similarity in diameter, shape, core spacing, skateboard wheels would work pretty well on roller skates. However, it might be difficult fitting in larger or bigger skateboard wheels on roller skates and even if they fit it, they would feel too heavy and might hamper your skating performance.
Differences Between Skateboard Wheels and RollerBlade Wheels
The major difference between a skateboard wheel and a rollerblade wheel lie in the size. Skateboard wheels are a little larger in size compared to rollerblade wheels that are thin, hence, the reason why they are called roller blades. You can find skateboard wheels with diameters between 80mm and 110m. This allows for greater variation than rollerblade or inline skate wheels. Skateboards with 110mm in diameter are considered racing wheels.
Due to their large sizes, skateboards tend to make the skater go faster, glide longer in between pushes, and ride with more efficiency. This is very beneficial if you are skating for a very long distance because you will conserve more energy.
Rollerblade wheels ranges between 72mm and 80mm in diameter. They will go slower, but it’s lighter, offers more agility, easy to maneuver, and has better control in terms of stopping it. All these are what you won’t get with skateboards. Making fast turns and stopping it takes more time than usual if you are using skateboards.
Another major difference lie in the way their wheels are set up. Skateboard wheels are projected with an axle linking two wheels from one side. The axle link two wheels at the front and at the back, but with rollerblades, their wheels are supported with a single wheel per axle, all lining up in a straight line. While skateboard wheels are supported by a truck to keep the wheels flat on the ground, rollerblade wheels are at an angle to the ground.
Due to the structure and arrangement of the wheels, rollerblade or inline skates are difficult to master in a short time. It will take perseverance and determination on the part of the skater to develop some level of expertise after falling off a few times. With skateboards, you may or may not have any troubles leaping off them. This is because they are more stable, easy to learn, and glide faster.
One disadvantage of skateboarding though is it has lower body benefits compared to inline skates. In skateboarding, propulsion is made by only the leg that pushes it, which means that it’s only the leg that get to enjoy the awesome benefits of skating. The other leg will enjoy lesser benefits of skating. Meanwhile, you get to enjoy the full benefits of inline skates or rollerblading because both legs are used in propulsion.
Your choice of skate wheels will greatly depend on your skating ability. Most skaters who desires speed would opt for larger wheels, that is wheels in the range of 80mm – 110mm in diameter. Skaters who prefer lightweight capability, easy maneuverability, agility, and every other thing to speed will definitely go for smaller wheels. So whether you want to rollerblade or skate using a skating board, take note of the wheels. They play a great role in skating.
Differences Between Skateboard Wheels and Roller Skate Wheels
There is no major difference between these two, other than the axle on skateboards are longer than that of roller skates. Also, roller skates have better control because they usually have a brake or stop at the toe area. Skateboards don’t have a toe brake and that’s why it’s difficult for a skater to stop it, unless such skater has developed some level of expertise.
How to Put Rollerblade/ Roller Skate Wheels on a Skateboard
If your rollerblades don’t fit anymore, don’t panic. You can use roller skate wheels and bearings on your skateboard. We have established the fact that skateboard wheels and rollerblade/ roller skate wheels share similar configuration and hardware. They share similar 8mm bearings and since rollerblades have wheels with diameters between 65mm to 120mm, putting them on a skateboard this will give a smoother ride.
What You Need
The only tool that you need for this process is a set of allen keys. The reason why you need this is because some rollerblades do not use the same type of allen key to get the wheels off. Yours may be different and that’s why you may need to try out several ones to know which one will fit the pin and remove the wheel. Pins hold the wheels in place.
Steps
- Get an allen key. If you don’t have one, you should probably buy. It costs less than two dollars.
- The next step is to get the wheel off. Use the appropriate allen key and twist out the pin on each wheel. As you know, there are between two to four wheels on each rollerblade that are secured front and back with a pin. So you should keep that in mind when removing the pins.
- Once the pin on each of the four wheels is taken out, the wheel will slide out freely and fall out of its position.
- Remove the plastic bearing spacer inside the wheel bearing. Without doing this, your new rollerblade wheels won’t fit in your skateboard because the bearing spacer makes the inner diameter of the bearing somewhat tight. If it’s too tight, it will be small to fit on your skateboard. They were designed to fit into the rollerblade pin and not skateboards. This is why you need to remove it.
- To remove it, you will still be needing your allen key. Position the allen key inside the spacer and try to force it open out of its socket. You shouldn’t worry about damaging it because at the end, you still might. It takes a lot of force to pry the bearing out of its socket.
- Both the bearing and the spacer should have come out by now. What you should do now is to detach the spacer from the bearing and fix the bearing back into the wheel. The bearing should fit on the axle on your skateboard. Add the rollerblade wheels onto the skateboard and you can begin skating.
What Type of Wheels Are Best for Roller Skating?
When it comes to choosing the best wheels for roller skating, skaters usually come up with different types, claiming that they are the best. The fact is at the end of the day, individual preferences would prevail. What is best for one might turn out to be unsuitable for use to another. There are different factors that are used to determine the best type of wheels for roller skating. What are they?
Those factors include; size, durometer or level of hardness, shape, surface, and hub materials. Again, these factors are dependent on the skater. While some skaters may prefer wheels with large diameters, others may prefer one with a smaller diameter. Likewise, some may prefer to skate with wheels with scale rating of 74A, while others may prefer 92A. Depending on your level of skating expertise, there are some wheels that you are better off than others. However, this is what we think about the best type of wheels for roller skating.
If you are a beginner, we recommend that you go for wheels with a scale rating of 97A for indoor skating and 85A for outdoor skating. In terms of diameter, 62mm for indoor skating and 70mm for outdoor skating is recommended. This allows for more stability when skating.
If you want to skate on slippery surfaces, wheels with 92A – 95A scale is best.
Conclusion
Skating is an exciting activity to do, but not without its complexities. Until now, many skaters are unaware of the fact that skateboard wheels would work on roller skates. Thanks to this article, I’m pretty sure that your question, ‘will skateboard wheels work on roller skates?’ has been answered. So don’t throw your skateboard if you feel it’s old. The wheels might just be your lifesaver.
