I used to rollerblade everyday when I was a kid, and I decided to pick it up again as a fun way to get cardio. I've just been looking around ebay, and I really don't want to choose a pair until I get all the stats and specifics right.

I know there's either aggressive, recreational, and race.. And I somewhat know about the wheel diameters and hardness. Any help on helping me pick exact numbers for my needs would be great.

Basically all I want to do is rollerblade the bike paths around my city and go fairly fast. My last pair of 'blades were huge and entirely plastic, and the wheels were so hard that they made annoying sounds whenever they hit the pavement. Now I want the opposite! What hardness/softness should I get so they are very quiet with a soft ride? I see that 74A is soft and 100A is hard. Can anybody help me out with the number? I'd really hate to get a pair and have them pounding the pavement louder than my ipod Also wheel diameter. 76mm seems to be average. It's not like I want the speed to be EASY, but I want to be able to glide pretty good. Also if anybody has any tips for good/bad brands, that would be great!

Thanks

Sorry folks...I just noticed how old this thread was! heh



I have recently bought rollerblades too, but they are aggressive skates. I will see if I can help some...

Lower numbers are soft, and higher numbers are harder wheels.

Basiclly, the softer the wheel, the more grip you will have while skating. So you may not maintain the speed as well as you might with a harder wheel. They will also wear down a lot faster then harder wheels, which would be a concern skating on some bike trails.

With harder wheels, you will be able to skate and glide a little faster and the wheels will not wear down nearly as fast as the soft wheels will.

With the Diameter, the larger the wheel, the longer and the more speed they will be able to carry.

Also, bearings play an important part in this. And also clean your bearings every once in a while to keep them spinning fast and freely, perhaps get some speed lube.

As far as brands go, both Fila and K2 make very very good skates. My girlfriend has a pair of Fila skates and she says they're the most comfy skates shes had, plus they haul ass. haha. It's hard for me to keep up with her.

I hope this has helped out some! Sorry I can't share more info being I have a pair of Razors aggressive skates with 54/88 wheels and a brand of bearings called Crap. haha

Thanks for the reply!

I did just go out and buy some in that time:



But thanks for taking the time to type all that out. I THINK my wheels are 78 for softness.. I sure hope they don't wear out too quick.