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louierev07

Which wheels last the longest for concrete/asphalt?

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So I started this thread a few days back because I was having a problem with my wheels wearing unevenly with a hilo setup: http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/65607-thinking-about-getting-rid-of-hilo-screwing-up-my-balance/

My problem was that my back wheels wear quicker than the front, which ends up leaving me with wheels that are all more or less the same size. When you try to put all the same size wheels on a hilo rollerblade, you end up with a skate that is drastically pitched so all your weight is on your heels,

Heres a pic to show what happens (excuse the MSpaint skills):

zwFwEGe.jpg

So you can see what happens to the pitch once you end up with a problem like this. Once you get to this point, the problem only gets worse because more of your weight ends up on your heels.

I have a hard time switching between ice and roller, so I would like to set my wheels up in a way that gives me a consistent pitch between the two. I have listed my Mission Axiom T9's for sale if anyone is interested: http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/65635-mission-axiom-t9-roller-blades-size-8d-warrior-projekt-girdle-m-and-shells-m/

Not sure if im gonna get what I hope I can get for them, so if I end up keeping them, I was thinking of possibly putting softer wheels in front, and the longest lasting wheels in back and hoping that they wear out more evenly.

Its still going to be a PITA to try and keep my skates balanced with the hi-lo setup, but at least if I can keep the wheels in front 8mm smaller than the back Ill be in better shape than before.

So which outdoor wheels are the best, and which arent as good?

From my experience, Ive had good luck with Labeda asphalt wheels, but ive only had terrible wheels to compare them to. I know the labeda asphalt are listed at 80A, so maybe putting a 84A in the back will keep me balanced? Or should I be looking to keep the 80a in back, and maybe go for a 78a for the front wheels.

Anyone have any info on this?

EDIT: So from searching around, it seems like the Revision Axis Agent Orange and the labeda asphalt are the two best outdoor wheels. Anyone have any experience with both? And which last longer (so I could put those in back).

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Is it painted concrete??

Also, odd that the backs are going before the fronts. Generally speaking, most people's front most wheel is the first to go. Mine were at least.

Are you rotating your wheels properly? I rotate mine every other game and haven't had any problems since I started doing that.

The wheels I use are the green Labeda ones. I forget the name, but they are one of the few that are labeled as indoor/outdoor. I believe they are 78A hardness. I played with a few pro's last summer, and this is the wheel they all used.

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You may need to consider adding a shim to your skates. You might be on your heels too much and thus are putting too much pressure on the back wheels. I know I was before I added the shims.

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Is it painted concrete??

Also, odd that the backs are going before the fronts. Generally speaking, most people's front most wheel is the first to go. Mine were at least.

Are you rotating your wheels properly? I rotate mine every other game and haven't had any problems since I started doing that.

The wheels I use are the green Labeda ones. I forget the name, but they are one of the few that are labeled as indoor/outdoor. I believe they are 78A hardness. I played with a few pro's last summer, and this is the wheel they all used.

I usually play on a tennis court, so yea I guess you could consider it painted concrete.

On my last pair of roller blades (older missions with a 80,80,72,72 setup), my front wheels would always wear before the back, to the point where at the end of the life, the front would be nubs before I was ready to switch out to new wheels.

Since Ive had these, Ive always used labeda asphalt wheels when playing outside. For whatever reason the back wears just a little faster than the front on these, which ends up exacerbating the problem, because then the back wears faster from the pitch being more towards the heels. They usually end up being just a tiny bit bigger than the fronts (vs the 4mm they should be).

I rotate my wheels after almost every skate if I can help it. My right wears a little quicker than the left. So I usually swap the two fronts with each other, two backs with each other, and make sure to put the worn side on the outside of my skate. Once they are even on both inside and outside, I switch all wheels from the left skate, and put them on the right, and vise versa. Then once they are even again, back to the original setup.

I just ordered red star wheels in 84a and 82a - so ill put the softer wheels in the back to see if that makes them wear more evenly. Not sure if thats the best solution, but I'll try it and see what happens.

You may need to consider adding a shim to your skates. You might be on your heels too much and thus are putting too much pressure on the back wheels. I know I was before I added the shims.

Not sure why I didnt think of this before - seems like a much better plan then trying to keep softer wheels in front. Since they are wearing in the back faster, it probably means I could and should be using a higher pitch skate.

I was thinking the hi-lo should take care of this by itself - but I dont think thats the case.

How much does it cost to add some shims? And can I possibly have them try to match the pitch with another kind of skate? (either my vapors that Im currently wearing, or the makos that I hope Ill be wearing in June)

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Shims are cheap. Just need some HDPE plastic. I skate on a Hi-Lo as well, and the pitch wasn't aggressive enough for me either. Worked like a charm.

Yea I'm definitely gonna try this, just called my LHS and they said its usually like 30 bucks for shims - is that about right? I definitely dont feel comfortable doing this myself, and im not even sure if I have the tools to do it.

How much did your add to your hi-lo setup? I would like something pretty aggressive - at least as aggressive as my vapors, and at most as aggresive as mako ice skates.

I remember trying to skate full speed on ice after roller blading, and constantly feeling like I was either falling forward, or awkwardly straight up in the air, so hopefully this fixes the problem of adjusting from ice to roller and roller to ice, and also fixes my problem with the wheels wearing down.

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Thinking about it last night, would adding more pitch actually make this problem worse or better for me?

If you adjust the pitch to be more aggressive, wouldn't that mean that more weight would actually end up on your heels (even though your stance would be more forward)?

I probably would prefer something more aggressive regardless, but just wondering if this is gonna make the problem even worse for me.

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Thinking about it last night, would adding more pitch actually make this problem worse or better for me?

If you adjust the pitch to be more aggressive, wouldn't that mean that more weight would actually end up on your heels (even though your stance would be more forward)?

I probably would prefer something more aggressive regardless, but just wondering if this is gonna make the problem even worse for me.

If your weight is on your heels, your form is off and you're likely over compensating for being off balance.

I have a hi-lo set up and my fronts get waaaaay more abuse than the rears. I replaced all my wheels at the same time, and the rears look almost brand new, while my fronts are all scuffed up. The wear is fine because I rotate them, but I would not expect my heels to see more abuse than the front.

Try the shims, and also try superfeet. That will put you on your toes a bit more.

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If your weight is on your heels, your form is off and you're likely over compensating for being off balance.

I have a hi-lo set up and my fronts get waaaaay more abuse than the rears. I replaced all my wheels at the same time, and the rears look almost brand new, while my fronts are all scuffed up. The wear is fine because I rotate them, but I would not expect my heels to see more abuse than the front.

Try the shims, and also try superfeet. That will put you on your toes a bit more.

Its strange, because before when I was on a 80 80 72 72 setup with my older skates, my fronts would wear much faster than the backs. Since switching to axiom T9's (80 80 76 76), I started seeing the backs wear faster.

I have two options:

1) softer wheels in front so they wear evenly. But I think this doesn't address the cause of the wear - so not an ideal fix.

2) Shims in the back to get me on my toes more. Which would allow me to wear all the same hardness wheels and would fix my form.

Pretty sure im gonna go for option 2. How much should I look to add on my axioms? The pitch doesnt look as aggressive as my vapors, so should I have them try to match it?

So roller blades typically have a lower pitch than ice skates, due to having pretty much no rocker. From looking at pictures, thats what it seems like. I know I really shouldnt be over-analyzing it as much as I am, but I want to have something that is easy to switch back and forth on.

Probably gonna end up getting a marsblade chassis when they are released here anyway.

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^^ Not really sure how much you should add, I've never used shims before. I don't mess around really because I found the hi-lo pitch to be enough to keep me on my toes. When I switch back to ice it feels like a much smaller radius and pitch angle, but overall shape of the blade is different so I don't try to turn my rollers into ice.

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I know it sounds odd, but if you want something cheap and easy, try EZeeFit ankle pads. Although giving forward pitch is not their intention, it does help. On my last skate, I forgot mine at home and I felt waaaaay back on my heels.

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I have 1/8" and it does a nice job of putting me on my toes.....

Did your wheels wear more in the front when you added it? (vs stock)

And is 1/8" considered a lot or a little? I know the answer here is whatever feels the best for me, but I can get used to almost anything - which is a problem because even when I had a negative pitch, I eventually got used to it. This made it rough though going back to skates though, which is why im looking to make them the same (aside from getting the wear pattern to be more even).

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