You may have noticed that the front wheel on your skates seems to be shrinking while the rear wheel may appear almost unused. To ensure your wheels wear evenly requires rotation. There are a lot of methods for rotating, and I have experimented with several different techniques, but I find the following to be the most effective.
A lot of times I get asked how often wheels should be rotated. The answer really depends. It could be anywhere from 2-10 games depending on the hardness of the wheels and the smoothness of the surface.
This guide assumes you are using standard four wheel skates. Some speed skates and roller hockey goalie skates have five wheels. Another exception is if your wheels are rockered, meaning the middle two are slightly larger than the outside. If you have this setup you probably already know what you’re doing so just stop reading.
Tools Required:
- 1 Hex key aka Allen Wrench (some skates may require two)
- Phillips head screwdriver (again, depends on the skates)
Removing the wheels on your skates is about as easy as it looks. You may need to hold one bolt in place as you loosen the one opposite from it. As you can see from the diagram the wheel in the first position is moved to the third position on the other skate: L1 becomes R3. When moving wheels to the other skate make sure the writing on the wheel faces the opposite direction it used to be.
Do this every time your wheels start to look uneven and they will last much longer.
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Tags: maintenance
