Wheels make the rolling world go round!
Wheels – You make the rolling world go round.
Way way way back in 2010 I joined a roller derby league. I used the loaner skates for months before I bought my first pair of Hockey skates (still have them) nearly all the team had Reno boots with roll line plates and grease greens wheels. I knew nothing about roller skates or maintenance and I’ll be honest I had no passion to learn. This might surprise you because I’m such a gear nerd now! But at the time I was learning to roller skate and learning to play roller derby. I could not do all the things. I guess my point is here that it’s ok to not know this stuff when you start rolling. I feel like it’s an extension of the whole roller skating world. You can build up your knowledge in your own time.
I started park skating and that was when I got interested in skate maintenance and products. I wanted to know how my skates worked, how to build trainer skates and how each product would effect a ride on different surfaces.
I have had the pleasure of skating all the CIB wheels. Park, Ramp, Street and Vertex. Here is a little run down on how to get the best out of each wheel and find the one for you, depending on what you skate and your style of skating. I have added the specifications of each wheel including hardness (durometer), and size (circumference, width). I also like to take into account the running surface which is the part of the wheel that connects to the transition when rolling. This plays as much a part of the ride as the circumference of the wheel. Less or more running surface will give you less or more contact and so less or more friction.
The last thing you might notice about the CIB Wheels is the curved face of the wheels. This shape helps ensure skaters don't hang up when rolling into grinds and slides. Without any further delay, I bring you, the CIB wheels! Let's get rolling.
Ramp Wheels [discontinued but still available at many skate shops]
Durometer: 101a
Circumference: 58mm
Width: 32mm
Running Surface: 22mm
These were the first ramp specific wheel I tried. They are great for maintaining the speed, slick on wood and great on concrete. Really nice for riding bowls. Because of the hardness of the wheel, when you can get slides on the coping, they are slick enough to go with the lateral motion even if you make contact with the deck.
Park Wheels
Durometer: 98a
Circumference: 58mm
Width: 32mm
Running Surface: 22mm
I don’t think I should have a favorite. But I do and it’s this wheel! The park wheel is competent on any surface. It maintains speed so well and it’s not too slick. You will gain traction when you need it and it’s not so hard a wheel that it feels slippy. Pumping feels good on this wheel up to about 6 foot (1.8meter)…anything over and you will feel the thigh burn. At Rollercon lots of people asked me “which is the best wheel to start park skating”? This one. It’s this wheel that will get you confident in the park.
Street Wheels
Durometer: 98a
Circumference: 55mm
Width: 34mm
Running Surface: 24mm
Perfect for quick bursts of speed! This wheel is designed for jumping onto ledges, leaping over stair sets and chucking yourself off of whatever you can find basically! The street wheel is great for slides on rails and ledges because of its smaller circumference you get your slide blocks closer to the curb/ledge so you pivot more on the blocks than risk catching any wheels.
Vertex Wheels
Durometer: 103a
Circumference: 61mm
Width: 34mm
Running Surface: 24mm
You will love these wheels! The name says it all, they were made for vert or anything over 5 foot (1.5m). I have skated smaller ramps with these and they still perform well. You get more pop per push and you really feel that on bigger ramps. I like to think of these wheels as energy savers. You can pump a bowl or leap out of a ramp with less effort making your session last longer and giving you the power to do your lip tricks and airs! I took these to lots of different surfaces and although they are 103 hardness they don’t feel slippy. These monster wheels look beautiful and skate effortlessly.
I hope this helped you on your journey to find your dream wheels! Tell us what you're rolling on in the comments and feel free to add any further questions!
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Sam flame (flammers x)