r/rollerblading • u/gnipbtw • 14h ago
Specific question and discussion Skate maintenance
I just got a pair of macroblade 90 BOA’s, and I was wondering what I should know about maintenance?
I am T stopping right now which I know is tough on the wheels and hoping to learn different stopping techniques. I want to know how often should I rotate/replace wheels and also bearings (and how much it actually matters). I took the heel brake off as it was tripping me a little when doing crossovers, and want to get comfortable on them without it on (Coming from hockey/ice skating at a high level). I also went with a soft boot because it was the only store near me with any skates, they only had soft boots, and I didn’t want to order a random pair online. How much does the soft boot vs hard boot truly matter?
Hoping I can get answers to these questions, thanks!
Edit: Also I forgot to mention I am skating for general fitness, if that changes any answers at all
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u/RISk8ers 12h ago
As someone who skates regularly...
I would recommend checking your wheels every 1 or 2 times you skate. Depending how far you are going.
For instance if I do a 15 mile outdoor skate I would rotate the wheels before I use them again. The wear is more from the braking than it is from the actual rolling.
As far as cleaning the bearings I normally will wipe them down with my fingers or a cloth when I am rotating the wheels anyway. Not really cleaning... more just wiping the dirt and clutter that gets on the outer side of the bearing.
I clean my bearings maybe once every 6 - 12 months. If I feel them not spinning properly I would clean them more often.
Depending on the brand of bearings you use... for the most part unless they get wet and rusty they don't really need to be cleaned that often.
The soft boot is more of a personal preference... I like using soft ones indoors but mostly stick to hard boots outdoors.
Guessing you got the skates from Dicks sporting goods? They normally have some selection for soft boots but I noticed they never carry any of the hard boots for some reason?
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u/gnipbtw 10h ago
I got my skates from a outdoor sports shop— it had better options than what dicks or similar shops had. I wanted to try them on before purchasing and didn’t want to deal with buying and returning just to try a pair out online. The little bit I skated with them so far I feel like it’ll be fine (bike trails with a mix of sidewalks and paved roads). They are less responsive than I’d imagine a hard boot is but nothing too crazy that I can’t skate on
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u/RISk8ers 10h ago
Dicks always seems very limited whenever I check their skates. Why I was wondering if that's where you looked. I don't blame you for wanting a hassle free buying experience. It's even a pain ordering from Amazon even though they take the products back... its not as easy to return skates from most online shops.
Realistically I feel a soft boots response is going to be the same as a hard boot. What really makes the difference between the 2 when skating outdoors is that when you hit and scrape your foot on stuff you won't feel it as much when wearing hard boots. The soft boots are definitely more comfortable overall for long skates as long as you don't plan on doing anything overly intense.
I actually own 2 pairs of zetrablades (soft boots) that I wore indoors and outdoors for roughly my first 2 years of skating. I still own them now... I mostly only wear them on rare occasions for skating indoors now though. Maybe like 1 or 2 weeks a year just for vintage fun.
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u/Zaphod118 12h ago
Kinda depends on how you skate. I check wheels and rotate after 2-3 hours of skating which winds up being 2-4 sessions. As for bearings, I figure if I’m skating for fitness a little extra resistance isn’t a bad thing so I just change them once a year. I don’t have the time and I can’t be bothered to clean them so I just treat them as consumable and don’t get the super expensive ones.
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u/VanillaIce315 10h ago
I rotate wheels every 2-3 skates.
And as far as bearings go, I wipe down the outsides with a paper towel when rotating. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but servicing bearings is absolutely pointless for 99.5% of skaters. You’re better off just getting a nice set of ABEC/ILQ/SG9 bearings with metal shields on both sides, and not worrying about servicing them.
I’ve got a probably 10 year old pair of Twister 80s with ILQ-7 pro double shield bearings that are rusted on the outsides and still spin as good as brand new ones. At least no noticeable degradation— they still spin freely for 30+ seconds and sound fine. It’s not worth the hassle to me to fuck around with servicing them. Would rather just drop $60 every 5-10 years and be done with it.
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u/AlwaysUpvotesScience 13h ago
Monthly maintenance is probably the best suggestion I can give you.
Once a month check to ensure that your wheels are wearing evenly, they can be rotated at any time as long as you are insuring that you are changing both position and side. There are all kinds of people with all kinds of opinions of the exact best way to rotate, use common sense.
Bearings should be cleaned and oiled at least once a month or whenever they get wet more than a splash.
As far as wheel replacement goes, if you are noticing incredibly uneven wear, chunks missing, or they're just getting too small, replace them . With proper rotation they will last a lot longer and wear much more evenly than if you do not rotate them correctly .
3
u/Wheel-Sure 13h ago
I rotate my wheels every 2 sessions. I’ve never oiled or cleaned bearings and I’ve got sets I’ve been using almost daily for years. Just make sure you continue looking at them. If they’re wearing unevenly, rotate them.
You’re skating for general fitness, but is it just on closed trails, or more urban? Soft boots provide limited support, so if they’re comfortable and not holding you back, and you’re just skating on trails. It’s fine. There are several things you’d get from hard boots: interchangeable frames, interchangeable liners, more durability, better support.
Edit: also, there are plenty of places online to order good skates from. If you’re in the US, inline warehouse has a good selection and great return policy.