Inline Speed Skating Wheels: How to Choose Diameter and Hardness
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Written for OurSkates. Reviewed and verified by Vincent Henry, 50x British National Champion and FISS Level 3 coach. Last updated July 2026.
Every skate wheel tells you what it is on the sidewall. Two numbers: one followed by mm, one followed by A. Diameter and hardness. Learn to read those two numbers against your discipline and your surface, and choosing wheels stops being guesswork.
Diameter: the speed and stability number
Wheel diameter in speed skating runs from around 90mm for junior setups to 125mm at the marathon end. The trade is simple. A larger wheel holds speed better and tracks straighter once rolling, but takes more effort to spin up from a standing start and raises your ride height. A smaller wheel accelerates quicker, sits you lower to the ground, and changes direction more willingly.
That is why the discipline dictates the size. Track racing, with its tight bends and repeated accelerations, favours smaller setups. Road circuits reward the roll of 110mm. Marathons are now skated almost universally on 125mm, because over 42 kilometres the reduced rotations per kilometre save real energy. Juniors run smaller wheels while technique develops, moving up as strength and control arrive, and there is no prize for rushing that progression.
One hard constraint before you buy anything: your frame has a maximum wheel size, and no wheel larger than it will fit. You can always run a smaller wheel in a bigger frame, never the reverse. Check the frame before you check the basket. For frame lengths and setups, read our guide to choosing the right frame.
Durometer: the grip number
Hardness is measured on the Shore A scale, and higher means harder. Race wheels live in a narrow band, roughly 81A to 85A, but within that band the differences are large. At 81A the wheel is soft enough to bite the surface, which is what you want for sprint starts and hard cornering, at the cost of faster wear. At 85A the wheel rolls further per push and lasts longer, but grips less, so it belongs on very smooth surfaces and longer distances. In the middle, 83A is the wheel that covers most track and road racing, and if you own one set of race wheels, that is the sensible hardness.
Two things complicate the printed number. First, manufacturing tolerance: race wheels are commonly produced to plus or minus 3A, so one brand's 83A can sit where another's 85A does, which is why some makers have moved to Firm and X-Firm labels instead of numbers. Second, your weight is part of the equation. A heavier skater compresses a wheel more, gaining grip and losing roll, so two skaters on identical wheels are not really on identical wheels. Heavier skaters often run one step harder for the same feel.
British conditions add one more variable: rain. A standard race wheel on wet tarmac is genuinely dangerous. If you train outdoors year round, a dedicated wet weather wheel with a soft, grippy compound is not a luxury, it is the difference between a winter of training and a winter of bruises.
What is inside the wheel matters too
Two wheels with the same numbers on the sidewall can behave completely differently, because the urethane compound and the construction underneath decide rebound, the speed at which the wheel returns energy after compressing under your push. High rebound urethane gives back more of every stride. Bont builds its top race wheels with a flexband core, a high rebound band inside the wheel that adds spring without sacrificing grip, sitting on hubs of fibreglass reinforced plastic, which balance stiffness against weight. Aluminium hubs rebound better still but cost considerably more to produce, which keeps them rare.
Making wheels last
Wheels wear unevenly because your push is not symmetrical, so rotate them regularly between positions and between skates to even out the wear. Replace them when the profile has visibly flattened or the wheel feels dead underfoot, because a worn wheel loses both grip and rebound long before it stops rolling.
Our shortlist by skater
New to the sport: the Bont Elemental, a forgiving all-rounder. Wet British weather: the Typhoon, built for grip in the rain. High mileage training: the Highroller, the longest lasting wheel we sell. Racing: the RedMagic, and at 125mm the RedHardCore for marathon and road speed.
And because you will see them on every start line, the honest word on the competition. The MPC Black Magic, sold through Junk Wheels, is one of the most raced wheels in the sport and runs from 80mm to 125mm. Powerslide's current race wheels are the German-made Phoenix and ERA, launched after seven years of development, with the Phoenix as the all-rounder and the ERA as the sprint wheel, both offered in 84A and 86A. And Manao is the German newcomer pouring its own polyurethane in-house. All three make fast wheels. We stock Bont because the consistency across a pack of wheels is what we would race on ourselves, and consistency is what wins over a season.
Browse the full range of inline speed skating wheels. Unsure what suits your track? Contact us with your discipline and surface and we will recommend a setup.