Urban Skates Buying Guide

It’s interesting how the fact that global warming is partly due to the massive air pollution caused by cars has made so many people turn to alternative transportation means like bikes, skateboards and skates. And why not? You know what they say about bikes: it runs on calories and protects the environment. So do skates and skateboards for that matter; no pollution, no fuels – just your strong legs and calories you have in abundance (no offence).

And for things to be even better, the fast rise of the hipster culture is making owning skates, skateboards and cool bikes a must-have. These things become an inevitable part of the look of an urban person; he/she moves on a fancy pair of skates, a skateboard with cool colours and prints or bikes, and all that is perfectly designed to complement their overall philosophy of life and lifestyle: they’re cool, care for the environment, and care for themselves. So, the point? The point is: start searching for your next pair of skates on any skate shop Australia website and start contributing to two main causes: reduce global warming and improve your lifestyle! No need to think it through too much, just follow the guide:

1. Elements Of Skates

• Boots and liners

Boots are the body of your skates. The liners should be soft and made of quality materials so that they offer comfort to your feet. The plastic boot, however, should be hard enough and lightweight at the same time so they can offer stability and shock absorption.

• Frames

Frames are mainly made of aluminium since aluminum allows them to be lightweight and durable at the same time. It’s recommendable to get skates with shorter frames as possible so they fit the size of the wheel and offer you better control and corner abilities.

• Wheels

Urban skates have smaller wheels than skates designed for sports purposes. Mainly these would be 80 mm in diameter. As I said, the smaller the wheels, the better the control and speed of skating.

• Bearings

There are three types of grades for bearings: recreational, high-performance and performance grade. Bearings contribute a lot to the smoothness of the rolling and for the speed as well. More experienced skaters will probably find more convenient high-performance bearings while the recreational and performance bearings are more suitable for beginners and intermediate skaters.

2. Frequency Of Skating

How much will you be using the skates? Are you planning on going to work with them, or just for recreational purposes in the park every weekend or so? This matters, since if you’re going to be using them every day for work, you’ll need to search the skate shop Australia online/offline offers for skates with larger wheels and smoother bearings, whereas if you need them occasionally for smooth surfaces like the park tracks, then softer boot skates will give you the much needed short-term comfort.

3. Where Will You Be Skating?

I’ll get right to the point: you’ll be skating either through city streets or in the park on specialized tracks. The catch is, how much will you be skating on each place. To put it simply:

• 90%+ on city streets

For this purpose, search through skate shop Australia online and offline offers for skates with wheels of 80-84 mm in width, which fall under the category small wheels. City streets tend to have bumps and aren’t exactly made for skating, which implies you’d need more control, which is why smaller wheels are designed for.

• 50/50 for park/city

What really matters here is how much do speed and control matter for you as a skater. How much is the city busy? Do you have to rush to places? In this case, you get to choose according to your own estimate.

• 90%+ in the park

Skating for fitness and recreational purposes in the park means you’d need skates with larger wheels since larger wheels offer smoother roll over long distances and ample speed. You may not be able to corner perfectly, but that’s just one small, I may say insignificant sacrifice for a beginner skater.