Reddit reviews Rollerblade Inline Skates ILQ-9 Pro Bearings, Silver, 16 Pack
We found 3 Reddit comments about Rollerblade Inline Skates ILQ-9 Pro Bearings, Silver, 16 Pack. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
ENHANCED SPIN, SPEED AND DURABILITY are enabled from the exclusive 6-ball bearing design.SCRS SHIELD PREVENTS DIRT AND DUST from affecting the bearings performance.TK GEL (MADE IN THE USA) LUBRICATES AND COATS the bearings for very fast speed. It is very slippery and helps prevent friction in the bearings which reduces speed.Package Dimensions: 8" L X 6" W X 2" H
I wish I'd taken a "Before" picture of my skates. They were filthy with dirt from lots of rolls over wet and muddy ground here in Philadelphia over the past few weeks. You can see how filthy (and worn down!) the old wheels were. I put about 575 miles on them.
I replaced the wheels with Hydrogen 80/85A wheels, the bearings with Rollerblade Twincam ILQ-9 Pro Bearings (though I got them from Inline Warehouse, not Amazon), and a new Rollerblade brand brake from Amazon. I also bought a Sonic Skate Tool, which really worked well!!! I got it from Inline Warehouse, too.
Took them out for their inaugural roll this morning, and although I couldn't skate at top speeds for long periods, due to wet, leafy patches, the spots where I could, they were AWESOME!
Like new skates again!
Ceramic Bearings
I have tried them all and these are hands down the best you can buy for the money.
I won’t use any other bearings in my skates.
If you don’t want ceramic, I recommend these as an excellent alternative at an incredible price.
ILQ-9 Pro Bearings
>As the title suggests. Picked up a pair of Macro blade 80 Rollerblade's with slow roll. I thought I was upgrading my Zetra blades but the Macro's seem so much slower( lots of work).
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>Any suggestions on an Amazon upgrade wheel/bearing package for outdoor asphalt/concrete skate.
As far as free-spin of the wheels goes, the stock bearings for the Macroblades are a sealed bearing lubricated with a silicone-based grease. In general, grease-lubricated bearings do have a "run-in" period where they do not spin quite as freely as they will once they're run-in & warmed-up.
"Grease lubricated super-precision bearings initially run with a relatively high frictional moment. If they are run at high speeds without a running-in period, the temperature rise can be considerable. The high frictional moment is due to the churning of excess grease, which takes time to work its way out of the contact zone." (source)
Though, it should be noted that, in truth, oil-lubricated bearings also have a similar "run-in"/"break-in" requirement - see here.
As far as slower skating speed and requiring more work to get/keep going, the stock wheels for the Zetrablades and the Macroblades are of the same hardness: 82A. in general, a harder wheel rolls better, as a harder wheel deforms less under load, and loses less energy to hysteresis - "The primary cause of rolling resistance when a body (such as a ball, tire, or wheel) rolls on a surface is hysteresis. This is attributed to the viscoelastic characteristics of the material of the rolling body." If both skates were using the stock wheels (or identical replacements), both would experience the same energy losses, assuming all else is equal.
And, as you describe your Zetrablades as "well worn" & mention using a lithium grease to lubricate the bearings in those skates, I would presume that you are not using the original wheels or bearings in the Zetrablades?
With regard to potential upgrades, pretty much any serviceable bearing from a reputable company (examples: the ILQ series from TwinCam, or the Reds series from Bones) will do, and wheels for outdoor use should generally have a somewhat higher durometer than that of the stock Zetrablade/Macroblade wheels - something like these, these, or these (all 80mm/85A) would work well.