Roller Skate Mounting 101

If you are looking to put a custom roller skate build together or want to upgrade your current set-up with some new plates, you’ll need to know what kind of mount you are trying to achieve so you can select the correct size plates.

As with all things roller skating, there are a bunch of mount styles, each serving a purpose for different skill levels and skate disciplines. We’ll be chatting about what mounting is, how to choose your mount, breaking down 5 common ways your roller skate plates can be mounted and wrapping this up with some mounting FAQs. Let’s get into it!

What is roller skate mounting?
Simply put, mounting is the placement and installation of roller skate plates onto your boots or shoes. It’s a common misconception that your roller skate plates are meant to line up with the centre seam of your boots. Instead, a correctly mounted roller skate plate should be offset, usually sitting more towards the outside of the boot. Offsetting the plate enables it to be better lined up with how your foot sits inside your skates. Not all boots are the same shape so how the plate looks and lines up when mounted properly will be different. Likewise, some plates come with specific mounting guidelines from manufacturers that may require the plate to have an increased offset.

How do I know which kind of roller skate mount I need?
When it comes to choosing the best kind of mount for you and your skating there are a bunch of things to consider:

• What style of skating is the set-up for? Will it need to be versatile for varied types of skating or will it be catered for a specific style?
• What is your skill level in this skate style/s? 
• What skill goals are you hoping to achieve with this new set-up? 
• Do you have any personal preferences when it comes to your plates and how they’re mounted?

On top of these, there may be some technical factors that influence what mount styles are possible including the shape of the boots, boot heel or toe incline, the length of plates and their placement on the boots as per manufacturer guidelines. Regardless of whether it’s preferential or technical, skate shop staff and mounting technicians can help talk you through it and give you recommendations.

Common Roller Skate Mounts

Standard mount
This is the most common way you’ll see roller skates mounted, particularly when purchasing a complete off-the-shelf skate. For a standard mount, the overall plate length is very close to the full length of the outsole of the boot, usually around 5mm from end of the toe of the boot. A standard mount puts the rear truck axle under the ball of the heel and the front truck axle anywhere from the ball of the foot to just under your toes depending on the plate’s kingpin angle and the length of the wheelbase (distance between the front and rear truck axles).

Pros: Overall one of the more versatile mounts. The longer wheelbase provides more stability for balance and control.

Cons: No major cons, just pure preference that other mount styles may be better suited to your skating.

Suitable for: Ideal for beginners of all kinds of skating. This is a very versatile mount and can be used for various skating disciplines but is common for all levels of park, outdoor, street, and recreational skating.

Long mount
A long mount is very similar to a standard mount, but the main goal here is to have the front axle positioned under the big toes to create the longest wheelbase possible. The plate may be equivalent to the outsole length of the boot. To achieve a long mount you may have to purposefully seek out a plate designed with a longer wheelbase.

Pros: Increased stability from a long wheelbase, which is favourable when skating with speed, over long distances or executing big or multi-rotational jumps.

Cons: Long wheelbase may be cumbersome for some skating styles like roller dance.

Suitable for: Skaters seeking maximum stability. This may be long-distance skaters prioritising stability over agility, advanced artistic skaters wanting a solid base for advanced jumps or park skaters looking to maximise their slide/grind block size.

Artistic / Dance mount
A common mount style for the artistic dance discipline and a popular choice for some roller dance skaters, this slightly shorter mount is created by installing a plate that is one size smaller than a standard mount. The plate may sit 10-15mm from the front of the boot and roller dance skaters might like the plate to sit 5mm in from the heel.

Pros: Smaller wheelbase for tighter turns, precision for footwork and easier rotational movements, placement of toe stop or plug under the base of toes for easy access and application of pressure.

Cons: A shorter wheelbase means less stability for advanced jumps and balance.

Suitable for: Artistic dance skaters and intermediate-advanced level roller dance and rhythm skating.

Short-back mount
The short-back mount is enjoyed by some advanced roller dance and rhythm skaters who prefer a very small wheelbase. The plate is usually 2 sizes smaller than the boot, but the placement will be determined by lining up the front truck axle at the centre or just slightly behind the centre of the ball of the foot and the rear truck axle will be under the centre of the heel.

Pros: Very small wheelbase provides easy access to heel and toe wheels for balancing in a manual position, precise movements and tighter turns for intricate footwork.

Cons: Less stability from a very small wheelbase especially for landing jumps, it can be difficult to hit and hold certain edges for artistic style spins, depending on the plate it can make it difficult to use a toe stop or plug as it sits too far back.

Suitable for: Advanced roller dance and rhythm skaters who have a solid foundation in edgework, balance and control.

Short-forward mount
The short-forward mount is all about agility, making it a preferential mount style for speed skating and roller derby. Using a smaller plate size for the boot as compared to a standard mount, the short-forward mount has the front truck axles just in front or directly at the centre of the ball of your foot and the rear truck axles placed just in front of the centre heel line. This mount is best suited to a plate with 45-degree kingpins, so whilst a shorter plate is being installed it maintains a longer wheelbase when compared to a 10-degree kingpin plate.

Pros: Applies more pressure and power directly to the wheels for more speed, reduces the likelihood of falling backwards, and smaller wheelbase provides more precise action and agility.

Cons: Not a common mount outside of speed skating and roller derby.

Suitable for: Experienced roller derby and speed skaters.

How to mount roller skates
Some say it’s an art, some say it’s a science, but either way a bit of experience or a good dose of self-confidence always helps when it comes to mounting roller skates.

For a standard or long mount, it’s not super complicated to mount your skates yourself if you’ve got the tools handy. You can check out this blog for some detailed instructions on what you’ll need and a good beginners process on how to mount your skate DIY style.

If you’re not confident or are looking for a more technical mount like the artistic, roller dance, short-back or short-forward mount we recommend you reach out to your local skate shop or mounting technician.

FAQS about roller skate mounting
If you’re not up on the tech side of roller skates, and let’s face it there’s a lot out there to know, you might have questions about what a good or correct mount looks like.

• Some brands and plate models have a left and right plate, meaning they are for the designated foot and will look a little different from each other. Make sure to take note of this if you’re mounting your own skates.
• We recommend that you mount your skates with bolts and nuts. The bolts are installed from inside the boot and secured externally with a washer and nut. Some artistic boots and plates can be secured with a small artistic screw instead, due to the internal construction of the boots.
• The roll test (pushing your skates on a flat surface to see if they roll in a straight line) is not the best test of whether a skate is mounted correctly. You need to feel it out when stepping/rolling once you’ve checked all the hardware is installed properly. For your hardware checklist: make sure pivot pins are sitting nice in the pivot cup, cushions are sitting in cushion caps, trucks aren’t super loose, wheels aren’t too loose or too tight and all wheels are making contact with the floor. Of course, changing to a different mount type is going to feel strange at first but there’ll be signs if the mounting is completely off.

That should get you up to speed on roller skate mounting for now! If you still have questions let us know, our staff will be happy to answer any and all of your mounting and skate tech questions. If you’ve decided on your mount and are thinking about roller skate plate options, check out some of our fave and go-to recommendations.

Happy skating!