Bayside Blogs

DID YOU KNOW - Bayside Blades offer skate repair and maintenance services. If you have some skates in need of some TLC, please get in touch with your enquiry.

BAYSIDE BLADES has always strived to empower skaters of all levels and disciplines through high-quality hardware that will stand the test of time, to inspire growth and progression in the skating world.

However, the fact remains that when we skate there's a lot of pressure on our skates and their parts, which over time can take its toll. With proper care and maintenance you can extend the lifespan of your skates, to keep you rolling for years to come.

Here are our top tips for extending the lifespan of your skates:

Wheel Rotation
Well performing wheels can make a world of difference when it comes to skating, but wheel maintenance is often over looked. Wheel rotation is crucial for getting the most out of your wheels in both longevity and roll, and can be super simple or even enjoyable to do.

As we skate the edges of our wheels will wear, most commonly the inside edge. By rotating our wheels we can swap the inside and outside edges so that our wheels wear down more evenly.

This can be taken a step further by taking into account the fact that we commonly put more weight on our front and rear wheels, causing them to wear faster than the middle wheels. In addition to rotating the edges of the wheels, we can rotate the position of the wheels. By moving the middle wheels to the front and rear position and vice versa, we can more evenly distribute the extra wear that wheels in these positions take.

Skate Storage
There are 3 things that all skates hate: Heat, Moisture, and Direct Sunlight.
Prolonged exposure to any of these things can drastically reduce the lifespan of your skates.

-Storing your skates in hot environments such as the inside of a car, can cause adhesives used in the construction of skates to lose their stick, as well as causing plastic parts to warp and potentially compromise their integrity.
-Direct sunlight can have similar results as heat, as well causing fading and discolouration.
-The best place to store your skates is inside your house in a cool area away from direct sunlight.

Exposure to moisture can cause parts to rust, as well as causing foul smells, and in extreme cases even mould. To help avoid this, it is best to let your skates air out in a well ventilated environment after use.

For skates with removable liners, taking the liner out of the shell to air is a great option. It's also a good opportunity to check the health of your shell!

Replacing worn hardware
Quality skates are designed to withstand a lot of punishment, but they aren't invincible. Even with the best care some parts will wear out over time. Parts such as scuff pads, as well as buckles and straps often become stretched and worn out, while small parts such as axles, nuts, mounting bolts, and cuff bolts, can all come loose during skating and potentially go missing.

Having a set of spares as well as a skate tool on hand or in your skate bag is a great way to ensure that you'll be ready to get back to rolling if tragedy strikes and you bust a buckle or damage a part while at the rink or park.

These are just some of the things worth paying attention to, and the more you take care of your skates the more they can take care of you!