Skate bearings are rated using the ABEC scale (Annular Bearing Engineering Committee). ABEC 1 being the worse and ABEC 9 being the best. The quality of the steel used in the bearings is not covered by the ABEC scale but is an important consideration when buying bearings, so consult your inline skate stockist first and make sure you are paying for the overall quality.

Wheel hardness is measured using the A scale (76A for example). The higher the number the harder the wheel, with lower numbers indicating software wheels. Hard wheels are generally more durable and faster, but software wheels offer better grip and you don’t feel the bumps in the roads so much! Other terms you might hear when choosing wheels are Elliptic and Rounded profiles. Elliptic profiles minimize friction (less stable) and allow for a faster ride, but if you’re looking for better grip and a more stable ride; then rounded profiles are for you.

Wheel sizes differ greatly depending on the type of inline skates you choose. Putting it simply, the bigger the wheels the faster the skates (like recreational and speed skates for example). Smaller wheels on the other hand are better suited for maneuverability and faster acceleration (like aggressive skates).

54-56mm for aggressive skates
68-72mm for artistic inline skates
76-80mm for hockey, freestyle and slalom skates
80-110mm for recreational and speed skates

So you’ve decided to buy your first pair of inline skates, that’s cool. 

First decide what type of skating you’d like to get into.  Most people like to start off with recreational skating, while others might want to go straight into aggressive skating or speed skating.  I’d recommend recreational for first timers, learn the basics and progress to something more advanced.

Budget: You get what you pay for in this game.  Cheap skates are simply nasty bits of plastic and metal, designed for the type of person who uses them once then throws them in the back of the cupboard with all the other junk! Set yourself a budget of no less than £100, anything less and your burning money.

Comfort beats style:  How many people have you heard give this advice, “Buy skates that are one size smaller/larger than your shoe size”. This is rubbish, I used to follow this advice and found it to be bogus.  Simply try different sizes until you find a fit that feels comfortable (start with your shoes size, then move up or down a size).  The skates should feel snug, but not ‘tight’.  You should be able to wiggle your toes while standing up in the skates.   

Other Kit: If this is your first time on skates you’ll want to consider buying a helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads and knee pads.  Buy a decent backpack to carry your shoes in as well, something you can attach your skates to at the end of the day.  Or you could just strap your shoes to your trouser belt, yeah, that’s soooo cool!!

Where to buy from:  There are a few places I could advise you NOT buy from, but I wont.  So lets just say that I would recommend buying from Club Blue Room and Slick Willies as I’ve had experience with these shops myself and they know their stuff (most of the time!!).

Have fun shopping for your skates.

Inline skating burns just as many calories as running or cycling with less impact on the joints. Inline skating develops muscle groups not worked by running, swimming or cycling and is an ideal form of low impact aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

Inline skating works your stomach muscles, inner and outer thigh muscles, increases your cardiovascular endurance and improves your leg strength. Inline skating also tones up your bottom.. Ladies!

You can expect to burn between 280 and 300 calories during an average 30 minute skate. The harder you work yourself the more calories you’ll burn off.

Imagine that, 300 calories for half an hour of fun on skates

Skating in the rain is not advisable. No, no and noooo..

However, if you’re unlucky enough to be caught out in the rain and have no other option but to continue skating (you don’t have any shoes, or you’re nowhere near a shelter for example) then keep your strides short, skate much slower than usual and stay on the pavements wherever possible. Keep your wheels as vertical (on the center edges) as you can because this makes for better traction.

Did I mention that rain makes surfaces super slippery? Keeping this in mind, always take corners and turning in general on your inlines slowly, avoid skating on road markings (these are extremely slippery when wet, especially when spattered with diesel), oh and watch out for those flipping leaves!

Give your bearings a rub down with a dry towel when you get home and unless you’ve been skating through deep puddles I wouldn’t worry to much about greasing the bearings either.  On the subject of bearing grease, please DO NOT spray your bearings with WD40; why? because WD40 will not only disperse water, but it will also dissolve the grease leaving your bearings vulnerable to damage from grit. Only use WD40 if you intend on leaving your skates in storage for a long period of time, the WD40 will help prevent the bearings from rusting, but you will need to grease the bearings before wearing the skates outside again.

So Remember: Keep your strides short. Skate and turn slowly. Keep your skates vertical for good traction. Stay away from road markings, leaves and other slippery-when-wet surfaces.

Most importantly… Avoid skating in the wet wherever possible.

Unlike those lucky Paris Skaters with their smooth wide pavements and even smoother wider roads, us poor neglected London Skaters aren’t so lucky, with our bumpy narrow pavements, potholes, overcrowded roads and miles upon miles of rough surfaces. Ok, so it’s not that bad everywhere in London, but for the most part it isn’t too far from the truth.

But if you follow this simple guide and combine it with regular street skating practice you’ll master skating on rough surfaces in no time:

Keep your strides short, maintaining a long stride on rough surfaces isn’t easy and can lead to some embarrassing tumbles.

Bend your knees more to absorb the impact, this will also improve your overall balance.

Go faster not slower, it’s much easier to cross a rough surface going fast than it is slowly, plus if you go too slow you risk walking in your skates and it will be difficult to get a decent stride going again.

Bring your skates back under your body as quickly as possible (Higher Cadence) after each stride, this again helps with balance and overall control.

Keep those toes loose and wiggly, because less weight on your toes means greater control for your skates and it helps you to move more naturally over rough surfaces.

If the rough surface is only short and you think you can cross it in one push, then get that speed built up and cross it with one skate in front of the other (aka the Scissor), you should also make sure that your legs are roughly one fist width apart, not too far apart or you’ll lose your balance. Remember to keep those knees bent!

Ultimately the only way to master rough surfaces is through practice. Rough surfaces are a major hazard though, so please be careful.