Wheel Hardness

[Woodsticks]

I'm a new player just coming to roller hockey (I played ice, but that won't help me with this question) and it seems to me that the hardness/quality of a set of wheels is one of the most important aspects of skating well (aside from ability of course). As this is the case I was wondering if anyone here could give me a recommendation as to what wheel hardness would be best. By the way I'm about 150 lbs. I would assume that goes somewhere into the calculations. I'm sure it depends on whether I want better maneuverability or speed but your best recommendation along with a brief explanation would be much appreciated.

Thanks so much, I know I'm kinda asking a lot.

[quick_dry]

what surface will you be playing on? a sport court/plastic tile surface will need a softer/grippier wheel, whereas a grippier surface like a urethane covered wood or urethane covered concrete floor you can get aay with something harder.

It'll take a bit of figuring out, but you're only light, so it won't be tooo big a deal for you, most things will grip enough.

[Woodsticks]

Alright thank you. I'm pretty sure I'll be playing on a sport court type surface, so what would be a recommended hardness rating for that? Like there's a numbers system right?

[quick_dry]

for sport court I use about a 74 hardness

[althoma1]

It depends what type of wheel you're getting. If you're getting Rink Rat wheels then I'd recommend XXX soft in the 08 Hornets or Hot Shots or 62/76a in the older Hornets or Hot Shots (there's also the MB816s if you want or have minibearings). Those are dual pour wheels and provide a good combination of grip and speed. Those are the softest Rink Rat sport court wheels. For most of this season I've used a combination of 62/78a and 62/80a Rink Rat Hot Shots, but I'm much heavier than you at over 200lbs so that's why I use the harder wheels. At only 140lbs you'll definitely want the softer wheels, although you could also try the XX Soft or 62/78a Rink Rats or a combo of those and the XXX Soft 62/76a's.

If you're going with Revision Varient wheels (another wheel a lot of people online seem to like and some teammates of mine have used and like) then go to their site and look at their wheel matrix. For someone your weight they recommend all Gold (74a) for Max Speed, two Gold and Two Platinum (72a) for a combination of Speed and Grip, or all Platinum for maximum grip.

The Revision and Rink Rat wheels are both dual pour wheels with different designs. You can go to their websites to read more about them, but they're the ones I've seen the most positive feedback for for Sport Court play.