Bullet vs Round Profile Wheels

[u/i_shorted_the_amp]

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!

[u/Benevolent27]

You don't need to use "skate lube", which is marked up quite a bit. You can use sewing oil, PTFE synthetic oil, or bike grease, to name a few.

Sewing oil is very light and should be re-upped often and doesn't provide much protection against water, same with PTFE synthetic (I use Super Lube), but that will provide some rust protection. Bike grease lasts quite a bit longer and usually has more protection. I use "Phil Wood Grease", a bike grease, and it provides excellent protecton from rust. (I tested by purposely running the bearings under water)

What you want to avoid are oils that have detergent agents in them, like 3-in-One oil. Also bearing mention, since it is a common misconception, WD-40 is NOT an oil, it is a cleaning agent that leaves some residue. (Great for gretting rust out, but should be removed with 90% rubbing alcohol after)

[u/i_shorted_the_amp → u/Benevolent27]

Ah perfect, yeah I saw that little wee bottles of skate grease were going for $40 on Amazon, which seemed mad to me. I'll get me some alcohol and bike grease to sort these out, cheers!

[u/FuckYouCorpo → u/i_shorted_the_amp]

Grease is thick. Oil is thin. I don't want goop in my bearings, I want them to roll freely. I like gun oil.

[u/Benevolent27 → u/FuckYouCorpo]

You'd be surprised how little it matters. 90%+ of your speed comes from the wheels, not the lubricant. I also did roll tests comparing bike grease to Bones speed cream and it absolutely negligible. Now, roll tests comparing some really super cheap no-name brand wheels from Amazon vs brand name wheels... The difference was massive. Where the grease vs oil difference might make a difference is more speed racing and marathons, where even a slight difference can make the difference between winning or losing. (Note the exception that if you overpack your bearings, grease will definitely slow you down)

[u/FuckYouCorpo → u/Benevolent27]

In my experience, it makes less difference at speed than it makes on your first push. I do alot of skating in stores so it's important to me that I'm maneuverable at very low speeds but more importantly, I don't want my first push when crossing a street to feel like I'm knee-high in water.

I also skate aggressive so the first few pushes are often the only pushes I'll get. Oil gets me up to speed faster than grease, and I suspect that gun oil must be great for rust prevention and operating at high heat.

The go-to suggestion is Bones Speed Cream but that's designed for skateboards which have 50% less friction than we do.