Everything about wheel profile
What is the best wheel profile:
the short answer: It does not matter that much what wheel profile you get.
The long answer:
Wheels can have different shapes and these shapes can affect how a wheel handles the ground. The shapes are:
- Pointy (speed profile)
- Round
- Flat
Flat wheels are more stable and also have les trouble with riding over cracks in the ground. Pointy wheels are faster.
Pointy profile wheels
back in the early 80's and 90's when inline skating was brand new, all wheels were pointy.
- Faster, that is why they are also called speed profile wheels.
- Less stable.
- Offer less material to wear down and need faster replacement.
- Less stable to ride on.
- Easier to get stuck on cracks with.
Round profile wheels
- Not as fast.
- Easier to ride over cracks with.
- More stable.
- Lasts you longer because there is more material.
Flat profile wheels
Because all wheels were once pointy, the was a counter reaction to that in the 90's within aggressive inline skating to push for the smallest and most flat wheels possible. They thought flat was the future. Right now we can say however that flat wheels are:
- Out of fashion
- Not nice to steer with
- Very stable in landings
- Slow
- Easier to ride over cracks with.
For aggressive skating it turns out that round profile wheels are the perfect middle ground. It can even be said that wheel bite can be prevented by having a pointy profile wheel
Magic Rocker
If you put a round profile in the 2nd and 3rd wheel, and put a pointy profile in the 1st en 4th wheel. then this is called a magic rocker.
Ricardo lino invented it and it enables you to be more maneuverable in the corners. When the skate is in an angle, only the side of the middle wheels will touch the ground creating a rocker effect.
Reshape the profile
Turn a flat profile in a pointy one! You can actually use a grinder tool to reshape the profile of a skate.
Learn more about reshaping profiles here:
https://www.thisissoul.com/blogs/custom-tutorials/how-to-reshape-wheels