A Conversation: Fresh Meat And Wheels

New To Roller Derby & Want More Skating Options

SKATER: “I just joined a league that’s in its inaugural year. I’m still really new to roller skates. Any tips on how to skate more since all I have is indoor wheels and not always an indoor place to practice? Any advice would be great.”

YO, ROLLER DERBY: “You bet. Do you know what kind of indoor wheels you have?”

SKATER: “I have the Radar Tuners Tites… They are light blue. Our league practices on indoor polished concrete. That’s really the only indoor surface I can access… They are 62 mm 93A.”

YO, ROLLER DERBY: “Ok, they are the 62′s and are in the “medium” hard to soft range then. Also, on your polished concrete are you sliding out?… I’m trying to assess if you can just use your Tuners for outdoor as well. Sometimes that indoor/outdoor thing is a racket.”

SKATER: “I’ve tried skating outdoors with them and it’s impossible, every little thing catches. Indoor they seem fine. I’m not really sliding out, then again I’m not going very fast. I’m still a newbie and can barely go.”

YO, ROLLER DERBY: “OK, several ideas…”

“Find outdoor places like parkng garages, tennis courts, new sidewalks. they’re smoother, less rocks.” (Also, go to SKATEPARKS! FYI, I wore my Red Tuners both indoors and outdoors for a long time)
“Hunt around 4 a used pair of Sketcher skates! they r cheaper than new wheels, comfy & go like butter over weird surfaces.” (In my first year at Rat City I wore them for everything)
“Wear your skates in your house! This will help with several things. Build skate muscles, increase balance and confidence.”

And just one final note: If you are still learning, don’t expect to be awesome outdoors. It can be scary! Just be very disciplined about being super low ALL the time and resist the urge to stand up straight when you think you might fall. The earlier you get into a good habit of GETTING LOWER when you feel unsteady, the better off you will be for your entire derby career, really.

I hope this helped! Please comment below for ANY further questions on this topic!

And if you have ADVICE for our skater, please comment below!!!

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This entry was posted by Robin YoLife on April 21, 2011 at 11:28 am, and is filed under Derby Gear. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

WTB H831

I bought a pair of outdoor wheels when I first started skating in 2008. At first I gulped when I saw the price, but my Radar Pure 78a’s from 2008 are still in great condition for skating (although a little bit ugly after all this time and on their 3rd or 4th set of bearings). Highly recommended!

http://www.yorollerderby.com Robin YoLife

Ditto, WTB. The pink ones, right? Yeah, I like those too.
Rofoldamatic

Fuck that, I hate Pures. Wheels don’t matter that much. Just get your derby legs and workout like an insane woman and no gear on the world will matter.

Devilbarbie666

Pures have been great for me, but to each their own right?!
Just dont fuck up your good indoor wheels skating outside.

anon

I paid like $25 for a pair of Radar Zens (outdoor) a year ago and they are still treating me fine.
Brianasaurus Hex

Before I even knew what kind of wheels I had, I skated outdoors. This was week 1 for me on skates and my rink was closed. I went to the cul-de-sac around the corner. There was a slight slope (meaning, to me it was a Double Black Diamond hill but in reality, almost non-existant).

I believe as a new skater, wheels hardly matter. Gut checks, form and perseverance seem to be where it’s all at for me.
http://daphnedoesderby.blogspot.com Daphne du Gorier

Skating outside can be really helpful, but sometimes it can be demoralising when you can’t do a supposedly ‘easy’ skill, because you have way too much grip on the rougher surface.

Going up the stairs in skates!!! Awesome for balance. Not so good if you fall, I guess.
MystiqueRS

That indoor/outdoor wheel thing is definitely not a racket. For derby, depending on your skating surface, you’ll want a 90 – 95a wheel…maybe even as low as an 88a if the rink isn’t taken care of properly. If you like to slide (NOT recommended for derby, but good if you also want to learn JB, Rexing, and other forms of skating) a 96a or above is good. For outdoor, you’ll want an 88a or lower. The reason for the indoor/outdoor is simple: The softer the wheel, the less you’ll feel. You could trip over the smallest twig if you’ve got 101a’s when skating outdoors but in a 78a you won’t even notice that same twig. Gravel is going to be bumpy no matter what, but with a harder wheel, you’re likely to take chunks out of the wheels…with softer ones you risk less damage to the wheel so you may not have a smooth ride, but at least you won’t come home with wheels looking like they’ve been used as a chew toy for a dog. Generally, wheels between 88a – 93a can be used for outdoors with minimal damage IF you’re skating on a smoother and cleaner surface (such as that tennis court or freshly paved surface mentioned above), but why risk it? Especially if the wheels you have are in the pricey range! You can get inexpensive outdoor wheels for only around $20-30 new or troll local sporting goods shops that do re-sales or Goodwill/Salvation Army stores, even garage sales, etc. A $5 pair of skates that still has decent wheels is a great bargain…even better if the skates are your size for a beginner (disassemble and you’ve got plenty of spare parts), though – of course – with older ones you may have to change the bearings, but it’s still a cheaper alternative than buying new wheels.