Roller Skates Anatomy - Plates
This article is put together by Lou’s Skate Garage, a trusted skate building and maintenance service in Melbourne, Australia. Questions and comments to be directed to louskategarage@gmail.com
Table of contents:
Plates
Materials
Plates are made from either nylon or metal alloy (aluminum, magnesium or platinum).
Nylon
Nylon plates are lighter and are often found on entry level roller skates. Sometimes nylon plates are referred to as plastic. Nylon plates can flex, which means less power transfer. Some styles of skating require the skater to go up on their toe stops when stopping or during quick take offs, and the flex nylon plates have is not ideal for these styles. Other skaters prefer nylon plates because of how lightweight they are. If lightweight is your preference, and flex isn't a concern, look for a nylon plate that is still durable, such as the Sunlite plate that has patented v-bracing design and a lifetime warranty against breakage.
Metal Alloy
Aluminum (most common), magnesium or platinum plates are preferred by skaters needing a plate that is less likely to break if used frequently, roughly or by a heavier skater. Alloy plates also offer more power transfer (less flex) than nylon plates.
Lower priced aluminum plates have a tendency to be a bit heavier and this can make skating a little more difficult for a smaller skater. Higher end metal alloy plates are lightweight like a nylon, but maintain the durability of a metal plate.
Axle size
Axles are commonly available in two sizes. 7mm (9/32) or 8mm (5/16). Most current skates are manufactured with an 8mm axle because 8mm bearings and locknuts are more common and readily available. High-end plates like Labeda Proline, Sure-Grip Power-Trac, Sure-Grip Snyder and Roll Line still use a 7mm axle. 7mm axles are fully machined which provides tighter tolerances, meaning less play or wiggle of the bearing on the axle. 8mm axles have lower tolerance, which will allow more play (or wiggle) of the bearing on the axle.
Action
All roller skate plates have bushings (sometimes referred to as cushions). Some plates are "single action" and others are "double action".
Single action simply means that there is only one bushing on the plate on each kingpin. Double action equals two bushings, one on each side of the truck on the kingpin of the skate plate. Most skates now offer double action because it gives the skater more play (maneuverability) when skating.
Bushings are made out of either urethane or rubber. Similar to wheels, bushing hardness is rated on the 'A durometer' and can range from 71 up to 101. 71 being the softer end of the scale and 101 being the harder. More on this in the ‘suspension’ chapter further down.
King Pin Angle
Put very simply, the steeper the angle of the kingpin, the less pressure it takes for the axles to tilt, which is what makes your skates turn. So a really steep angled plate favors sweeping lateral movement, while a stricter angled plate favors efficient forward power transfer, control and precise edge work. The scale starts at 10° up to what is called ‘45° plates’.
10 degrees plates
This is what we would call a more 'rigid' or 'strict' angle. They tend to give a more stable feeling, because the kingpin and cushions are located more vertically under the skater. A 10 degree skating plate is designed to place the skater over the kingpin and bushings, creating a more stable skating feel. The truck design on a 10 degree plate is typically a more vertical approach which will help keep a skater more upright, typically a less aggressive setup. Looking back in history we can see many uses of this simple design, probably why it has remained the industry standard in skate design (eg: PowerDyne Reactor, SureGrip Avanti)
15 or 16 degrees plates
This plate is what we would call a good in between mix. This plate will give you the ability to sink into your lateral motion a little more than a ten degree plate. It will still give you good control, really strong ability to push forward and snapback. A good mix of power and strong laterals. (eg: PowerDyne Revenge or Rival, or Pilot Falcon)
20 degrees plates
These plates are traditionally a 'dance plate'. The higher degree kingpin gives the ability to really sink into your lateral motion in a nice swoopy way. Depending on your setup, you do start to lose a little bit of power pushing forward. (eg: Crazy Venus or Roll Line)
“45 degrees” plates / DA45 plates
These plates are often referred to as a 45 degrees plate however the kingpin is actually around 30 degrees.The cushions are positioned almost horizontally, this makes the skate more responsive to direction changes. Make quick changes in direction easier and quicker. The 45 degree skating plate is designed to place the skater over the pivot pin creating a more aggressive stance and feel. For many years this plate has been referred to as a figure plate as it got its humble beginnings on the skating floor doing figure loops. The truck design on the 45 degree skate is designed with a horizontal approach in relation to the skating floor, typically more sensitive to the skaters movement allowing them to change direction faster but still under control.
No Kingpin Plates
The only one on the market is the PowerDyne Arius plate. An innovative design, it takes out the forward to backward wastefullness of the round cushion by using butterfly shaped cushions that only allow the axles to move side to side, which makes energy transfer a lot more intuitive. With any plate, you can alter it's feeling with the cushions, however with the Arius, this seems to really give you a more personalised feeling. Simply by changing the cushions, you can get a super snappy feeling OR a softer, looser one (yet still retain the snap of being able to change direction quickly). (see fig. 3 at the beginning of the document)
Toe stop (or not)
Initially a toe stop was used for jumps in figure skating and or starts in speed skating. An essential part of skating whether you’re a beginner or an advanced skater is the toe stop. Typically skaters that wanted to skate figure loops or jam/dance would not use a toe stop because it would interfere with their crossovers. Speed skaters used no toe stop plates as well, usually because they were lighter in weight. Derby skaters are using and abusing their toe stops in many ways (braking, tip-toeing…).
Bell toe stop
the OG - a cone of rubber or urethane directly screwed to the plate by a bolt through its middle channel. non adjustable, usually present on entry level plates. (see fig.1 at the beginning of the document).
Adjustable toe stop
the rubber/urethane disc is molded over a threaded aluminium stem providing vertical adjustability to compensate for the wear of the material. they come in short or long stem depending on the use of your setup. most plates are using imperial threads (⅝’/18 UNF), some european manufacturers favors metric (M6x1.5). Be careful when you order some as manufacturers often offer the same version in both threads. there is 2 ways plates manufacturers deal with the locking mechanism, either lock nut and cup washer (usually 15/16’ UNF) or lateral grub screw / set screw (see fig. 2 at the beginning of the document)
Dance plugs/jam plugs
Jam skaters or dance skaters don’t usually use toe stops. Using dance plugs on standard plates allow more flexibility for their setup instead of going for NTS plates (No Toe Stops) whilst protecting the floor, the plates, and allowing more front clearance than regular toe stops. Manufacturers are making them for all the threads types, the ones compatible with bell stop plates can be hard to source.
NTS plates
No Toe Stop plates - usually some version of dance plates machined without the toe stop mount, or some vintage speed plates.no toe stop plates (NTS) are suited to speed roller skating, as the lack of the toe stop blocks helps minimize weight, or for dance/jam skating where the toe stop would not be used and the front clearance is primordial for a better range of motion.
Pivots
Most entry level plates use nonadjustable pivots and a rubber or nylon pivot cup. The theory here is that beginner skaters were not at a level in which a precision pivot would benefit them. The adjustable pivot will allow a skater to change the geometry of the skate without compromising control. Too much adjustment and you risk breaking a kingpin and or pivot pin, care should be used when adjusting or consult a roller skate technician. The adjustable pivot gives the skater a precision feel with more feedback when skating. It will also not wear out as fast as a rubber or nylon pivot cup. More on this in the ‘suspension’ chapter further down.
Bushings
Understanding which bushings work best for you depends heavily on what kind of sensation you're after underfoot.The softer the bushing, the more your truck will bank/tilt when pressure is applied. This will provide you with more lateral carving agility, but you'll be sacrificing explosiveness off your edges. Conversely, harder bushings are going to feel stiffer under pressure which is going to result in more lateral explosiveness.
bushings are made out of either urethane or rubber and, as with most roller skate wheels, bushings hardness is rated on the 'A durometer' and can range from 71 up to 101, 71 being the softer end of the scale and 101 being the harder. This can give you an indication as to how the feel of those bushings will compare to one another, but making a little less precise if you're looking for exact feel from one brand to the next.
Many different plate manufacturers utilize differently shaped bushings to accommodate their truck designs. For traditional kingpin designed trucks you have the capability to tighten or loosen the top nut in order to compress the bushings more or less. This can give you a slight adjustment on feel of the truck if you're looking for a responsiveness which sits between those provided by the available bushings ranges. Ideally, these micro-adjustments won't be required, as cranking pressure into the bushings from that top nut can result in increased wear over a shorter period of time (more on that later). With non kingpin plates such as the Arius, these micro-adjustments aren't possible and the feel of the truck is completely down to the bushings selection.
Some skaters will mix up their bushings across their setup in order to try and get that perfect feel and opting to place one durometer of bushings on the top half of their truck and a different durometer on the bottom. The idea here is that this will provide a feel somewhere between the two. It may provide a slight difference, but in reality the banking truck will only move as much as the harder of the two cushions will allow. If you're wondering if you should put a firm bushings on the bottom and a soft bushings on top, then perhaps going for a set of medium all around will get you the feel you're after.
Bushings, just like wheels will start to wear over time. In fact, bushings are far more likely to wear down faster than wheels. Unlike wheels, the wear on bushings results in them becoming compressed over time due to the constant edge pressure applied on them. This can result in skaters tightening the top nut which actually serves to exacerbate the problem, increasing the rate at which the cushion will compress over time.
The bushings found on entry-level plates generally utilize more cost effective material. These bushings won't provide you the same responsiveness as those found on higher level plates or stand alone after market bushings. This material also has a tendency to compress or lose it's elasticity quicker and won't bounce back when you apply pressure into your edge.
BIG FAT DISCLAIMER
Take everything with a grain of salt - don’t trust anyone blindly and do your research, experiment and see what works best for you and your use of your skates.
There is no universal/miracle solution.
And remember…..
Keep roller skating fun :)
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Sources :
olisskateshop.co.uk
rollerskatenation.com
gingerskates.nl
derbywarehouse.com
doublethreatskates.co.uk
rollergirlgang.co.uk
roller.sk8.berlin
derbygearadvice.tumblr.com
QuadSquad FB group
The vintage skates coalition FB group
Extreme quad skate builds FB group
Corey skates PTY LTD FB group
rollerskaterevival.com
rollerskatedad.com
rollerskatedad.com
rollergirl.ca
machinedesign.com
bikeradar.com
