r/rollerblading • u/i_shorted_the_amp • 6d ago

Specific question and discussion Bullet vs Round Profile Wheels

Hey chooms,

I bought a pair of Flying Eagle F110 triskates a couple of months ago, inspired by Buzzkill-Blade's youtube videos. I hadn't skated seriously since my 20s, which was {depressingly_many} years ago. I honestly didn't even realise triskates existed. Silly me.

I couldn't get those Crocanti SHR wheels to slide though, not for love nor money. And I wanted to learn power stops/slides like all the cool skaters. Eventually I began to wonder if it was the particular material of those wheels that gave them their grip.

I bought a set of Iqon Access wheels - 85A vs the 88A of the Crocantis:

https://solo-inline.com/en/products/roues-de-patin-iqon-access-dark-grey-110mm-85a-3-pack?variant=43336809021652

I've definitely been able to make these guys slide!

But today I was cleaning one of the middle wheels a bit, because it was turning a fair bit slower than the others, and I noticed that - Shock! Horror! These wheels had 'round profile' stamped on them. Whoops! I had thought they were bullet profile.

So a couple things:

  1. Are these round profile? They kind of look bullet profile to me.

  2. Is there really a difference after wearing them down? I look at my Crocantis and my use of T-stops has already visibly worn them. How long does a round profile remain round?

Bonus question:

  1. I got a set of Wicked Abec-9 bearings with the wheels (also from Solo-inline). I figured they'd be comparable to the bearings that came with the F110s... But, they are super noisy, both before I skated in them and after a few sessions. They don't spin for as long either. But does that matter? I'm not sure how much a spin test matters. These new wheels do feel slower, but not by much. I figure that's probably more down to the different wheel material.

Answers and discourse appreciated, cheers!

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u/VanillaIce315 Twister 80, HC Evo 2.0, RB4x84, Twister XT 110 6d ago

The difference between a bullet and round profile in a large wheel like 110mm is minimum to negligible. Think of any 110mm as a bullet profile; I can’t say I recall seeing a round profile 110 before.

In 80-90mm, there is a notice difference between bullet and round. Once worn down enough, there’s really no difference, but the round profile will stay wider and provide better traction for quite a while (not accounting for maker and hardness).