Recently I purchased a new pair of blades and have probably put on about 35-45 miles in the last month and a half or so. Well, the wheels that came with them were 76mm 78a. Doing a lot of rollerblading on smooth/rough paved surfaces hasn’t been very nice on them. So, I need to get some new ones. The last pair of blades I purchased I had for 4 years and never had to change the wheels. They are so old, however, that I cannot read the rating on the side and really need to know which rating I should look for when purchasing new ones. As I said, I do a lot of blading on streets, sidewalks, and paved trails. Any recommendations? I’m thinking about getting 82a’s but I’m really not sure what the best choice would be. Thanks in advance for any info!
I’ve been going with the biggest wheels that will fit my frames (80mm I think, but haven’t looked for a while)
As far as hardness goes, generally the softer the surface you’re skating on the harder the wheels should be. I think I’ve got 82a’s right now (again, without my skates in front of me I don’t remember).
Some members of my skate club say they can tell the difference in the harder wheels, cuz they’re harder on their legs–they can tell the difference in muscle fatigue.
I have two sets of wheels and bearings setup for my skates. One set will be for competitions this year, the other set for training. My competition set this year will become my training set next year.