Quick Guide on How to Loosen Roller Skate Wheels

It is easy to loosen or tighten roller skate wheels.

Roller skates have a boot attached to a “truck,” which contains four balls bearing wheels.

The wheels are set up in the same way as a car’s wheels, rather than inline skates that have the wheels in a blade shape.

Roller skates generally are best for younger children learning to skate, so tightening or loosening the wheels becomes a common job.

You can adjust the tension nuts to get the control you want.

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Do I Need to Loosen My Roller Skate Wheels?

The wheel should turn freely.

The nuts should be loosened if the wheel isn’t spinning freely or jerky.

You should start with a quarter turn. A small turn in roller skates can make all the difference.

You can do one or two full turns if your trucks are very tight.

However, if your trucks already feel loose, do a quarter-turn first.

Step 1: Turn over the skate so it is wheel-side up. Locate the tension nuts. You will find one at each of the wheel axles.

Step 2: Use a socket wrench. You will need a socket wrench set to loosen your skate wheels. However, each model is different. But usually socket size needed to loosen skate wheels is 1 1/16-inch.

Step 3: Attach the wrench and turn the handle until the nut is at the desired tension.

Step 4: Strive for medium tightness. Once you are done with the wrench, test it with your fingers. You can loosen or tighten it as you wish.

Next, repeat Steps 3 & 4 for the other 3 nuts. Then put the skate on. If the skate feels good, go back and do the same with the second skate.

You can injure yourself if the wheels are too tight.