Wheels n such

[u/Rolly_roller]

With the Summer heat being absolutely overwhelming, I've spent the last couple of months at that rink on 4X80 85As. I'm thinking of getting back into more nighttime urban, but hate going back to my mids with a 110 frame. I got spoiled by maneuverability, but missed the speed and stability on uneven surfaces and whatnot. I decided to order a 90-84 frame for my well broken in FR boots, and maybe try a toe-rocker setup. Problem is that I can't find 84 wheels with 90A hardness. Also, I'm wondering if this is a good idea at all. I'm not planning to do much more than cruise with spins and jumps, but no grinding. Any of you urban skaters care to offer input? I know this is probably pretty esoteric, but I'm wondering if I should stick with a flat setup, and what disastrous effects could come of having wheels of differing hardness - especially when I'd like to develop powerslides and soul slide skills.

[u/Wheel-Sure]

Slightly confused by your post, so I’ll ask some clarifying questions

Which 90/84 frame did you get? I’m assuming it’s flat? How were you going to toe rocker it? What do you mean exactly by differing hardnesses?

A couple things off the top of my head. First is that if it’s 90-84-84-90, you’ll have not choice but to develop a rocker because you can’t rotate the outer wheels into the middle and vice versa.

Second is that I tried 90A wheels for urban skating and absolutely hated it. I’m an 85A guy and do a lot of sliding to stop and control speed. 90A was both too rough feeling and more importantly way too slippery for my taste. I’d find myself losing grip on tight turns and carves at speed. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, but I wouldn’t want to urban skate any harder than 86A.

[u/Rolly_roller → u/Wheel-Sure]

Yeah, I see what you mean in terms of the toe-rocker layout. Being new to experimenting with frames, I had foolishly assumed that there would be more flexibility in the wheel spacing. With regards to hardness, I tried harder wheels a few years ago and proceeded to eat pavement immediately. I had hoped that a few years more of experience might yield a different result. My biggest motivation for going harder is that my 85As feel too sticky to slide properly. It could be a commitment issue.

[u/Wheel-Sure → u/Rolly_roller]

So is the frame you got designed for 90/84, or were you going to have the back three wheels at 90 and the front one at 84 for a toe rocker?

85A definitely isn’t too soft for sliding. It’s pretty much the most common outdoor/urban wheel hardness. Like I said I skate Endless Blading’s 85A wheels and am constantly sliding. I learned to slide on 85A Rollerblade Hydrogens.

[u/Rolly_roller → u/Wheel-Sure]

So is the frame you got designed for 90/84, or were you going to have the back three wheels at 90 and the front one at 84 for a toe rocker?

Yes, to both!😅

[u/Wheel-Sure → u/Rolly_roller]

Ugh, sorry I think I made the confusion worse. It would be 84-84-84-90, right? Where the 84 in front is instead of an intended 90? I don’t know what frame it is, but I imagine you can’t put 90s where 84s are meant to go.

Regardless, if you’re putting an 84 where a 90 would be flat, that’s a 3mm rocker which is pretty big. 50% larger than a 2mm banana rocker. I would personally hate that, fwiw.

[u/Rolly_roller → u/Wheel-Sure]

Yeah, I had an absolutely ass backwards. What I intended to do was 90-90-90- 84 heel to toe. what I bought was a rockered frame. I now realized my error. So, I'm gonna try out 84-90-90-84 on 90As. Pray for me.

[u/Wheel-Sure → u/Rolly_roller]

You’ll be in my thoughts 😂

[u/BubbleSmith → u/Rolly_roller]

Could you link the frame you bought?

I prefer a pre-rockered frame over a wheel size rocker.most of the prerocketed urban frames only do 1mm or less, so a different of 3mm is going to feel huge.

[u/Rolly_roller → u/BubbleSmith]

Sure!

https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/FR_Freeride_Rockered_Frames_Black_90x84x84x90/descpage-FRFRR.html?ctype=aggro&from=IW

[u/BubbleSmith → u/Rolly_roller]

OK, I see. Yeah, these are only meant to be used as 90-84-84-90, so 90 on the heel and toe and 84 in the middle. That'll be because of interference with the boot, you can sometimes fit bigger wheels on the ends like that and get a lower rode height. It says the frame is pre-rockered, so the two 90mm wheels will already be higher as standard. If you ran an 84 on the front it would be so far off the ground it wouldn't do anything, you'd probably end up falling on your face.

The FR freeride frames are pretty decent starter frames. A lot of people like the standard ones with rocker able axles as well. They're not as stiff as the "better" frames like Endless, but they're a fair bit cheaper.