New wheels and bearings or new skates?

[stocovick]

Hi everyone, it's been 3 years since i bought my k2 moto 100 and despite the fact that i don't skate that much, when I do, i like to go fast. And i think my wheels and bearings are not keeping up anymore. Shopping through the store I came up with a total of almost $200 for a new set of wheels (matter white) and a new set of bearings (bones swiss). Is it the best thing to do? Or should I just buy a new pair of skates? If a pair of skates is the answer, what's your recommendation? Thank you!

[IW Staff]

If liking the boots and comfort of your existing skates, there's nothing wrong with spending to get the wheels and bearings so that you have a the fastest setup possible with the existing boots. That's my opinion anyway. Matter Wheels and some Bones Swiss for example will make your existing skates move very nicely.

The Tempest 100/110, Radical Pro/100 and of course moving to even more of a race boot style like the Bont Semi Race have a lower profile boot that allows for more range of motion and likely will increase your speeds further. The question is whether you'll have the same comfort level you have now with your existing boots. The new RB Tempest lineup is great and have a snugger fit, lower profile than your Moto 100's. So they are a bit more responsive. The Radical Pro or Radical 100 are going to have a little less up top for freedom of motion, but are more flexible in the boot construction so they'll feel more similar to your Moto's and be comfortable. You'll keep the comfort of the softboot construction and give a little bit of responsiveness having the softer boot construction. So some give and take.

Tough call. But if you like your boots and they have a lot of life left in them, the expense isn't a bad idea to upgrade. If the liners and boot are on the way out, maybe jumping up to a new model is the way to go.

Thx for the post.

[stocovick]

Thank you! They are in pretty good shape so I guess I'll be buying new wheels and bearings very soon! Is there much difference between the regular bones swiss and the six ball bones swiss? And what about the emt and hc matter wheels?

[IW Staff]

The 6 ball have a less number of balls so friction is less and can withstand larger loads is the argument.

The Bones Swiss are awesome though and I've been skating them for years. Either one is great. I'm on the regular Bones Swiss.

EMT is a less performing wheel/hub than the hollow core. Matters are top of the line as well though so the EMT is a great wheel to save a few bucks on the Matters and are worth it. The HC's even better. Matter and Bones setups are a safe and wise choice.

Thx

[stocovick]

Thank you for the help! I still have a few more questions! I have just found out a great outdoor track near my house that let's you develop great speeds. I'm considering jumping to a speed skate, but I have never even tried one. I've been skating for more than 10 years so I guess it's safe to say that I'm an experienced skater. And I just love to go fast! I've been looking into the Luigino Strut and Bont Jet. From what I understand these are great for beginners. I know I would be giving up comfort, but how much? What about 110mm wheels? I'm used to the hi-lo setup on my moto 100, is it a big difference? Now regarding shipping prices, I've been searching in several online shops, and found out that adam's inline ships to Brazil for $60 while inlinewarehouse's shipping calculator is giving me rates of up to $170. Is there something you can do? My zip code is 09030060.

[IW Staff]

Shipping. That will depend on what you are combining on the order and I would be happy to look at it if knowing what is going in there. I can tell you that we would not ship anything having the value of a Strut or Bont skate in a way that doesn't have tracking and coverage. It just wouldn't be smart for us to do so for your protection as well as ours.

The Bont Jet isn't a beginners skate. The Bont Semi Race or Cheetah likely a better choice to compete with the Strut. All are great skates. 110mm is very large and I think 100mm a good place to be at. 110mm will of course go faster, but takes more to get up to that speed as well as has less control.

My opinion would be with the Strut or Cheetah for a first speed boot. Strut works out great for most and is comfortable very quickly. All would be considerably less comfortable that your K2 likely as they have a soft boot that will stretch and give. A speed skate is make to be stiff and responsive where it won't stretch and give so as to capture power.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the post

[stocovick]

Thank you for all the help iwstaff but i ended up buying a bont vaypor from a local representative here in Brazil! I know it's not for beginners in speed skating but it was the only one he had at a resonable price! So I gess I'll just have to get used to it. Thank you.