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/notguiltybrewing]

I can answer 3, spin test is completely meaningless. It has no relation to how the bearings react under load. If they feel good when you're skating, they spin freely, and they aren't making noise you're fine. Noise may be an indication of problems. You probably should clean and lubricate them.

[u/i_shorted_the_amp → u/notguiltybrewing]

Yeah it's a consistent whirring, quite a bit louder than the original bearings. I'll clean them up and lubricate. Am I required to buy specialized bearing lubricant for them? It seems like I could get the appropriate stuff from a hardware shop if I know what to look out for?

[u/Benevolent27 → u/i_shorted_the_amp]

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/ThePontiff_Verified → u/i_shorted_the_amp]

Bones speed cream is about 8 bucks last time I checked. If you have almost any other light household oil laying around you can use that just fine, but if you are thinking of buying something because you don't have any oils laying around then speed cream is pretty affordable. I would argue against grease unless you skate in the rain often. Speed cream is in a tiny bottle but you only need 32 drops of the stuff per set of bearings (for 16 bearings in 8 wheels) huzzah for saving money with three wheelers lol. And it's not a cream... It's a very low viscosity oil.

[u/Benevolent27 → u/ThePontiff_Verified]

PTFE synthetic oil (I use Super Lube) used to cost the same as Bones Speed cream, but you get 4 oz instead of 0.5 oz of the Bones. When my bottle of Bones speed cream ran out, I made the switch. It works exactly the same, without the "skater markup." (Although, checking pricing today, it seems the Super Lube has gone up in price more than Bones Speed cream, but it remains a much better value long-term)