Are you looking for the BEST light up roller skate wheels? Looking for a way to customize your quad skates or inline skate and create an eye catching, unique look? Then you might want to snag a set of light up roller skate wheels.
Maybe you’ve seen someone with light up LED wheels at the local roller rink or on a skate video and thought “I GOTTA HAVE THOSE!”. As avid skaters we tend to gravitate towards, flashy bright and fun things when it comes to our skates. We love to customize…amiright?!?!?
When I was growing up in the skate world of the 1980’s you could have white skates or black skates…the wheels had equally as many choices. You were lucky to find a colorful pair of skate laces somewhere!
Thankfully things in the skate world have changed DRAMATICALLY and you can find everything in different colors and styles. There have never been SO many ways to customize your skates. Check out some of the best skates from around the internet below!
In this Ultimate Guide to Light Up Roller Skate Wheels we’ll discuss both outdoor wheels and indoor wheels. We’ll cover great wheels for the skate park, roller derby, indoor skating, outdoor skating and inline skates. We hope you’ll stick around for all the details of our recommendations but if you’re in a hurry below are our top recommendations for the best wheels:
Still with us? Great! So, we’re going to get a tad technical here as we introduce you to everything you need to know about the best light-up roller skate wheels. Don’t worry, it’s not too technical and you don’t have to be an engineer to understand roller skate wheel basics.
In most cases, the manufacturer will tell you whether a set of skate wheels are best for indoor use our outdoor use and how the LED lights are powered….but not always. Having a little information will let you know what a wheel should be used for and how fast it will be.
Quad wheels and inline wheels aren’t super complicated but there are a few things you need to know so you can make comparisons from one set of wheels to another and figure out what’s best for you.
What YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Wheel Hardness
The most important thing to remember is that every wheel has a hardness number that gives you an indication of whether it is an indoor wheel or an outdoor wheel.
Wheels come in a variety of hardness levels. The hardness will affect how your skates feel and what they should be used for indoors and outdoors. One end of the hardness spectrum is grip and the other end is slide.
You can pinpoint a wheel’s hardness (durometer) by looking at the side of the wheel itself or searching in the product description.
The durometer number is a two digit number followed by an “a” in the wheel’s graphics or in the product description. Softer wheels (usually for outdoor use) have a lower durometer and generally provide more grip and absorb shock. These softer wheels are ideal for rougher outdoor terrain…providing a smooth ride.
Harder wheels (for indoor use) with higher durometers offer more roll/slide/speed for an indoor rink…derby skating and speed skating.
If you’re looking for hybrid wheels that can do both, shoot for something in the middle (we have a hybrid recommendation in this guide). I personally have separate outdoor and indoor wheels because I don’t like skating indoors with a lot of grit and road grime stuck to my wheels (makes my wheels too slippery).
What YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Wheel SIZE (PROFILE)
As you’re shopping for wheels you will find that you are given wheel diameter (in mm) and width (also in mm). This isn’t too technical, just keep in mind that larger diameter wheels mean that the skater can travel further with each push (this is great for skating long distances).
Larger wheels achieve higher speeds. Smaller wheels mean more pushing and slower speeds. It doesn’t matter what type of skate you have…it applies to them all.
Now, let’s talk about the wheel width. Skinny wheels have less surface area contact with the ground and therefore less drag/friction so they will be faster but have less grip. Fat width wheels will be slower but have more grip.
If your a beginner skaters this level of detail is going to be nuance for you. You may not even be able to tell the difference at this point. Experienced skaters can really tell the difference from one set of wheels to another. Different hardness and wheel sizes can make a real difference to a life long skater.
What YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Wheel Bearings
Most wheel manufacturers do not include wheel bearings with the wheels. You can use the bearings from your current wheels or you can purchase a separate set (I love and use Red’s or Rollerbones Bearings).
I would totally recommend purchasing a 2nd set of bearings because it takes a significant amount of time to switch bearings out from one set of wheels to another set (and you need a bearing puller to do this without causing damage). If you change from indoor to outdoor wheels often, it’s a good idea to purchase a another set of bearings.
Make sure that you also have a skate tool so you can take wheels on and off and tighten them correctly. You should always carry a skate tool with you wherever you skate just in case you need to make an on the fly adjustment.
Skate wheels are made of a polyurethane material and you can find high quality, high performance light up wheels on the market today (which wasn’t the case a few years ago). You can even find them for different types of surfaces…inline skates…they’re really popular in the United States and are slowly making their way overseas.
Okay, now you know the basics…let’s take a look at the wheels that are top picks among REAL skaters.
BEST LIGHT UP ROLLER SKATE WHEELS – OUTDOOR WHEELS
BONT GLOW Roller Skate Wheels
The BONT GLOW Roller Skate Wheels are our top pick for outdoor light up wheels. These come in with a 83A durometer, 62 mm wheels which places them in a sweet spot for indoor or outdoor use…but we’d mostly use these outdoors as they are overall pretty soft wheels.
These wheels are sparkly and GORGEOUS even when they aren’t lit. So if you’re skating during the day and the light up effect can’t be seen…these wheels will STILL look really good. You can watch a video of them in action below:
What’s cool about these, is that they don’t use batteries! A magnetic floating spacer powers the wheel’s LEDs when the wheels are spinning (using kinetic & electromagnetic energy) . This means that you won’t have to worry about the light-up effect burning out when a battery dies (this is an important factor to consider).
Note! These are sold in sets of 4 so you would need to purchase 2 sets to complete a pair of roller skates. If you like two different colors you can mix and match for a custom look (there are 9 different colors to choose from).
Also, these do not come with wheel bearings so you would need to purchase those separately. This is one of the top brands in the skating industry so you can feel confident in the high performance of these wheels.
BEST LIGHT UP ROLLER SKATE WHEELS – HYBRID WHEELS
Luminous Wheels
Luminous Wheels are our top pick for hybrid quad light-up wheels. These come in a bit harder than the Bonts with a 85A durometer, 62 mm wheels which put them in the middle of the hardness scale. The majority of my skating circle tells me that these wheels are hands down the best choice for straddling both indoor and outdoor skating.
I didn’t think it was possible but these wheels are even more sparkly than the Bonts. These wheels look just as good unlit as they do lit. You can see them in action in the video below:
Much like the Bont Glow, a magnetic floating spacer powers the wheel’s LEDs (using kinetic energy) when the wheels are spinning (no battery required). What I really love is the variety of colors (23 various colors to be exact). You can mix and match BEAUTIFUL wheels like black pearl and cotton candy.
Note! These are sold in sets of 4 so you would need to purchase 2 sets to complete a pair of roller skates. Also, these do not come with wheel bearings so you would need to purchase those separately.
BEST LIGHT UP ROLLER SKATE WHEELS – INDOOR WHEELS
Tanzfrosh Light UP Wheels
The Tanzfrosh Light Ups are our top pick & top value for indoor roller skate wheels and smooth surfaces. Each set comes with 8 wheels (so thankfully you only need to purchase one set). They come pre-installed with ABEC-9 bearings (so no additional bearing purchase is required).
Much like the Bont Glow and Luminous wheels previously discussed, a magnetic floating spacer powers the wheel’s LEDs (using kinetic energy) when the wheels are spinning the lights will be going (so no battery required here either).
There are 6 different colors to choose from and I have just a few complaints I want to share with you. They aren’t as pretty as the Luminous Wheels or BONT GLOW when unlit. Also, these wheels are REALLY small (58 mm) which means less overall speed and more pushing than some of the larger wheels on the list that came in at the 62 mm mark. If you can get past either of these downsides…these are a great price.
BEST LIGHT UP ROLLER SKATE WHEELS – INLINE SKATES
Lionix PRO Nebular Light Up Inline Wheels
The Lionix PRO Nebular Light Up Inline Wheels are our top pick for inline skates (or Rollerblades). With 82a hardness these wheels fall in the middle of the scale making them an excellent choice for both indoor and outdoor skating.
Unfortunately inline skating has really been in decline over the last ten years and the selection for inline skate light up wheels is almost non existent. There are only a few people out there to choose from. Thankfully this is a well reviewed set.
These are sold in sets of 4 so you would need to purchase 2 sets to complete a pair inline skates. These do not come with wheel bearings so you would need to purchase those separately or use the bearings in your current inline skates.
Much like the light up wheels previously discussed, these wheels do not have a battery to replace and naturally charge/operate as you use them.
There are 3 different colors to choose from (pink, green & white) and I’m truly impressed by how bright these are. Make sure that you select the right wheels (usually it’s 80 mm, 90 mm or 100 mm check out the side of your wheels for this info or do a manual measurement).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How DO LIGHT UP SKATE WHEELS WORK?
Most light up skate wheels work by having small LED lights built around the hub of the wheel. When the wheel spins as you skate, the lights inside are electrified. Some first generation light-up skate wheels have batteries built-in that are activated when the wheel is in motion (and the battery eventually burns out). Newer designs use kinetic energy or electromagnetic energy to light up the LEDs inside the wheel. These new designs should last as long as the LED bulbs life span (which can be upwards of 100,000 hours) and never need a battery replacement. The best LED wheels will have the newer technology.
How Long DO LIGHT UP SKATE WHEELS LAST?
Newer light up skate wheel designs that aren’t battery dependent will last as long at the LED bulbs can last. It varies widely (check with the manufacturer) but low wattage LEDs can last anywhere from 10,000 hours to 100,000 hours. There are other technical issues that can cause the LEDs inside a wheel to stop working but they can be hard to diagnose or fix because every component is tightly contained inside the wheel itself.
One of my light up wheels stopped working. now what?
If your wheels are flickering or have stopped working completely you may want to try and tighten the axle nut a little more to increase the pressure between the magnetic spacer and bearing. The magnetic spacer is part of process that creates the light up effect. If it’s too far away from the wheel it may not work or only work intermittently. If you have older, first generation light up wheels that include a battery…that may be the end of life for the light up effect. You can continue to use the wheels but they won’t light up anymore.
I hope that you’ve found our guide to the best light up roller skate wheels helpful and you can create the best roller skates ever! Almost everything on our list can be found on Amazon which is nice because you never have to worry about return shipping costs if it doesn’t work out for you. Light-up roller skates are a great way to customize your skates and make them totally your style. Don’t forget to ALWAYS wear protective gear when you’re skating and HAVE FUN!
SAVE THIS BUYING GUIDE TO PINTEREST FOR LATER!