Let's assemble our inline skates

By Marc-Antoine Caron from  Marchands de vitesse 

In collaboration with Passion/Speed/Skating 
Photos by Carl Savard & Skateworld Backstage ( @skateworldbs )

If you read our latest article, guiding you into buying an inline speed skating kit, you may have all the pieces of your new kit in hand without really knowing how to build it. To fully enjoy your new skates, it’s important to assemble them properly. This article will present all the steps you have to go through to assemble your skates.

When you skate long distances on the road, the comfort of your boots is primary. If you can't afford full custom boots, a lot of the standard boots can be heat molded easily. The heat molding process will remove the pressure points and adapt the boots to your feet. The Australian brand Bont is a pioneer and a leader with its heat molding technology. Its boots can be molded many times without losing its initial proprieties. You can heat mold all the Bont models. In all cases, it’s important to follow the procedure suggested by the company.

Once the boots are ready, you will be able to install the frames. Without the wheels, it’s easier to install them. Be sure to use the screw provided by the company so the wheels can roll freely. Generally, those screws will have a flat head and you will need an Allen key to tight them up. It is important to use the right Allen key. At this moment, do not tighten the screws too much because you'll need to be able to realign the frames at the end.

Then, the hardest part for a newcomer in the inline speed skating world is clearly the preparation of the wheels. The installation of the bearings is simple, but you need to do it the right way. First, you need to install the first bearing. To do it, place the bearing on a solid table. Put the wheel above it and press it with your hand until the bearing is fully inside the wheel. Now put a spacer, place the second bearing and turn the wheel on the other side back on the table. To align the bearings and the spacer properly, you can insert a pen trough it before pressing the wheel with your hand until the second bearing is fully inside. Your wheel is now ready. Repeat those steps for all your wheels. Some tools like the MapleZ Mushroom exists to help you with this.

You are now ready to install your wheels on your frames. Set each wheel on the frames with the axles provided by the company without tightening them too much. Those axles are generally made with aluminum and they can easily be ruined. It’s better to verify your axles often before or right after your rides. Once the wheels are installed, you can align the frames with your boots before tightening the screws on your boots for good. Normally, we center the frames based on your foot. You may have to change this alignment if, for example, your ankles are not strong enough.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!