Inline skate wheel setups

= Flat Setup =

A flat setup is the most common setup used on inline skates. Almost all non-aggressive inline skates are sold with a flat wheel setup. Flat means that all the wheels touch the ground at the same time when resting on flat ground. Flat setups are not the most manoeuvrable but what they lack in manoeuvrability they make up for in speed. Flat setups are widely considered to be the fastest setups. Speed skaters and marathon skaters normally use flat setups.

It is worth noting that having a flat setup is just one factor in a fast skate setup. A long frame, low resistance bearings and a good technique all contribute greatly to a skaters speed.

Full ‘Banana’ Rocker

Full rockers are used by skaters who favor manoeuvrability when skating on flat ground. Freestyle skaters, freestyle slalom skaters and artistic inline skaters tend to use this setup. This setup is called "banana" because it is curved, and mimicks a curved ice blade profile. On flat ground this setup will only have 1-2 wheels touching the ground at any one time. This makes the skate much easier to turn but lacks stability so it is harder to balance on. In addition, a full rocker is slower than a flat setup in terms of top speed.

Flat setups generally wear into a 'natural' rocker. This is because the front and back wheels seem to receive the vast majority of wear on inline skates.

Having a short frame (230mm-245mm) in combination with a full rocker is optimum for achieving the highest manoeuvrability when skating.

Front Rocker

Front rockers are often used by street skaters who want to combine the ability of a full rocker to handle imperfections in the ground with a flat setup’s sheer speed. Having a smaller wheel at the front encourages the front wheel to guide the rest of the skate over ground imperfections, rather than digging in and tripping up the less experienced skater. Maintaining a flat profile at the back allows the skaters to transfer power though the rear of his skate efficiently to maintain a good speed.

‘HiLo’ Hockey Setup

Some hockey skates and other skates include a HiLo setup. This is a great source of confusion to skaters. HiLo setups resemble a flat setup in that all 4 wheels touch the ground at the same time. Unlike a flat setup, however, different wheel sizes are used. The front two wheels will be smaller than the back two wheels. This is possible because of the location of the axles on the frame itself.

This setup is supposed to provide better maneuvering on corners while still giving the speed of the bigger wheels when going straight. It is also supposed to encourage a forward leaning ‘sprint’ posture, which may lead to faster skating. There is considerable debate as to whether any of these advantages are true.

References

* [http://www.nottinghamskaters.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=879#879 My original article on the Nottinghamskaters site]
* [http://www.londonskaters.com/article_rockering.htm The Londonskaters guide to rockering inline skates]
* [http://skating.thierstein.net/Knowledge/Inline_Skating_Rollerblading_Knowledge_Rockering.html Markus Thierstein's original article]