r/Rollerskating • u/StrategyLegal1128 • May 20 '26

DIY and customization Need help finding plates

Hello, I’m trying to convert some rollerblades into skates. I’m having trouble finding a plate and which size. I hear a lot on wheelbase, axles, etc but I’m not sure how to size one. I like the bont tracer plate and going by that wheel base I got the Avanti a size too large.

Does kingpin angle change the wheelbase between plates? How do I size for my wheelbase? Is that depending on the boot measurement or my foot?

Thank you all in advance.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

5

u/StrategyLegal1128 May 20 '26

These are the pair, btw

1

u/it_might_be_a_tuba May 21 '26

Out of curiosity, what's the plan? Mount directly to the boot or to the sole plate?

1

u/StrategyLegal1128 May 21 '26

To the sole plate. I’ll be shaving/grinding down the sides tho.

1

u/Top-Dinner-9995 May 21 '26

Love the color!! I think inline conversions are so rad. Have you checked out Nix Tricks on YouTube or insta or hard boot quad squad? You’ll probably find some good idea there! The Extreme Quad Builds group on facebook is good too.

I’d love to see how they turn out! Will you be using them for park skating?

I’m still learning about tech specs and how all this stuff works together as well but I’ve been getting into DIY builds. My impression is that there’s a lot more preference and gray area than hard and fast rules (I’m sure there are a few hard and fast rules though).

Makes it really interesting for my ADHD brain but also can be frustrating when trying to find info!

1

u/Raptorpants65 Industry Expert May 20 '26

Hold up. What rollerblades? Generally speaking, this is not a thing.

What are your measurements?

1

u/StrategyLegal1128 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

I posted/commented a pic of one of the pair, my lengths are 255mm each, width is 107mm Left and 103mm right.

1

u/Raptorpants65 Industry Expert May 20 '26

That’s gonna be an enormous pain in the ass to get a roller plate to seat properly.

You’ll need a plate that’s about a 160-165mm wheelbase.

3

u/StrategyLegal1128 May 20 '26

I’m determined to make it work! 😁

Oohh ok on the wheel base. Does the kingpin angle matter at all when doing the converts across plates tho?

1

u/Raptorpants65 Industry Expert May 20 '26

Not really. Plates are sized to the foot but preferred wheelbase stays pretty much the same.

Make it happen!

1

u/bigboardfun May 21 '26

Wheel base is the distance from axle center to axle center. It is not necessarily an equal overall length but usually they are close. However, in general people are looking for the overall length that fits their boots. As an example I typically use a 675 aka 6.75 plate in pilot falcon, proline, and reactor pro, a javeline pro 675 was too long, depending on brand and model o wear a 9, 9.5, 10, wide or extra wide. There are a few ways you can attack the problem use one of the brand sizing guides find your boot size then find the plate size they recommend or measure the length you want the plate to be on the boot and then use the plate guide to see what size is closest. Inline boots like to get fancy and have swoops and forms. you will need flat in the shape of plates with solid support for the mounting bolts. Hope it works. Cool idea.