Don’t Get Caught Up – Our Go-To Indoor Roller Skate Wheels

We’ve all been at the stage on our skating journey where those gummy, soft outdoor wheels that come on our first set of skates start to feel sluggish and sticky when we skate indoors. There’s nothing wrong with this, in fact, it's quite the opposite, it means you’ve become more comfortable and confident on your skates. If you’re ready to take your indoor skating to the next level then read on to find out about our favourite indoor wheels.

You’ll hear us talk about slip and grip in this blog and we thought we should clarify what we mean for all those people who are new to the wide world of roller skate wheels. When we say that a wheel still has a bit of grip, we mean that the wheel is still plenty agile, but it offers stability by gripping the skating surface when you really push into your edges. If a wheel has a bit of slip this means that the wheel has less of that grip when you push into your edges and instead slides a little bit. This slide is something to embrace as you progress in your skating.  

One more thing to think about when choosing your new indoor wheels is the kind of surface you’re skating on. All indoor spaces are not made equal! Some indoor surfaces can be a bit on the sticky side whilst freshly resurfaced or polished concrete floors can be on the slippery side. Even the weather can affect the feeling of the floor! Choose a wheel that is going to suit the kind of indoor surface you skate on most.  

My first indoor wheels:

• Roll-Line Fox – These are the perfect wheel for your first foray into indoor wheels! The Fox wheels are a friendly 92a hardness but with a good height and width so you can feel more agile without losing that little bit of grip for safety.
• Roll-Line Devil 39D – Another perfect introductory indoor wheel from Roll-Line with a nice amount of grip. These wheels are super lightweight too.
• Rollerbones Team Logo – Team Logo wheels are a great budget option for indoor wheels. Don’t be scared by the 98a and 101a hardness ratings, these wheels are made with a urethane compound that still has plenty of grip.
• Hybrid wheels – If you’re looking to move on from a soft outdoor wheel but don’t like the sound of hard wheels just yet you could always try a hybrid wheel as a steppingstone on the way to an indoor wheel. We like the Moxi Fundaes and the Chuffed Chillers. When skating indoors a hybrid wheel will have grip but won’t feel as sluggish as a soft outdoor wheel.
  
  

Hard but with a little grip:

• Roll-Line Panther – Nice hard wheel option if you skate on a slippery surface and still want a little bit of control. They are a 95a hardness with a nice height and width for agility.
• Roll-Line Mustang – Offering slightly less grip than the Panther is the next wheel up in this Roll-Line range, coming in at a 97a hardness.
• Moxi Roller Skates Trick – For those looking to experiment with something different the Moxi Trick wheels are skinny and slightly smaller than other wheels recommended in this blog.
  
  

I want to embrace the slip and slide:

• Roll-Line Leopard – The bigger sibling to the Mustang wheels, the Leopards still have a little grip when pushing your edges to the max but if you’re skating on a slippery surface there will be more slide than grip.
• Roll-Line Giotto – Ideal for more intermediate and advanced skaters, the Giotto’s are a RollerFit HQ fave. Be prepared for the slip with these ones (embrace it, it’s so much fun!)
• Rollerbones Art Elite – Another favourite with the RollerFit coaches, the Art Elites are a classic. These wheels are durable and when on a slippery surface they’ll get you sliding.

P.S.A:

• Indoor wheels can also be used outside on smooth surfaces. Just try not to do hard or rough stops otherwise you could get yourself a flat spot.
• Honourable mentions for any of the above categories go out to any skate park wheel! You can definitely use skate park wheels indoors because they are hard. Some might be a little more slippery than others, but they are an easy upgrade for park skaters who like to dabble in a little bit of RollerFit or dance. Same goes for roller derby wheels!
• If hard wheels aren’t your thing you can definitely stick to an outdoor wheel but maybe try a less bulky one like the Radar Energy in 57mm or the Radar Crush.

Good luck with your wheel explorations! Don’t be afraid to experiment if you can, even ask your skate mates to try some different wheels if they have some. A good wheel library, personally or amongst or skate crew, is always a good thing. If you need some more help finding your new set of wheels send us a message and we can have a chat about what might work best for you.