I do have a philosophy that Wide Wheels are not needed for Roller Derby. In fact, we suggest narrow, (what are sometimes termed) Art Wheels. The look of a wheel that is not a wide Speed Wheel type may take some getting used to, but will give more roll with better grip (with the proper Durometer selection) than most of the wider Speed Wheels. With the wider Wheels, there is more of the wheel in contact with the Skating surface causing more friction and drag, also the wider Wheels will tend to flex excessively on the outer edges causing drag on every push. Most of the wider Speed Wheels like Radar are Grooved when purchased, and therefore you are actually only skating on the tops of the grooves or about half of the surface anyway. As the grooves wear away the feel and drag of the wider speed wheels changes significantly. Wheels with a thick Tread of Urethane tend to become mushy with Tire Compression after a few usages, because of the Heat of Friction working with the Urethane. The thicker the Tread of Urethane, the more drag and less roll will be generated with each push. This is why Roll-Line uses a large stiff Delrin Hub and a thinner Tread to provide a wheel that both Grips and provides Great Roll. The Top World level Quad Speed Skaters from the rest of the world and the top Quad Roller Ball Hockey Teams use the more narrow Roll-Line wheels(like the Rapido and Formula), for the primary reason that they can get their feet closer together and not clip their wheels against one another when crossing feet on the corners. Crossing with tight feet should be VERY Important to Roller Derby Girls, as the track is very small and the corners are very tight. The Roll-Line Wheels are made with extreme precision and consistency in the hardness of the wheels and offer a wide variety of Durometer Hardnesses to work with every Skating Surface. Peer pressure and the look of a wider wheel seems to be more important to some than the enhanced Performance of the more narrow Wheels like those available from Roll-Line Derby Wheels. >>
