The cold war on wheels

It has been almost four years since Matter and Powerslide started the discussion about 125mm wheels. Some people tought it would never work and that 110mm were there to stay. This new type of wheels is now getting more popular.

Par Jackob Savard

The beginning

Once again the folks at Matter were the ones trying to get a new diameter accepted. The american company allied with Powerslide and launched a big publicity campaign to get those wheels known and accepted. One of their strategy was to build a team for the 24h of Le Mans and break the world record. Bart Swings, Peter Micheal, Felix Rhijnen and the rest of the team broke the record on the one20five wheels and it was the beginning of the 125’s popularity.

It is in the Official Technical Bulletin of January 2016 that the FIRS announced that the 125mm wheels would be accepted in the marathons and long distances events. This announcement was a big revolution in the inline speed skating world.  

Haters are getting to the drawing board
Behind the scene, Matter's rivals were trying to create some 125’s while they were publicly hating on them. The future was in this diameter and they knew it. At the beginning there was a lot of frames on the market but the one20five Matter wheels were the only serious wheels. Companies that were completely against this new diameter all started to share prototypes on the social medias and talk about this revolution. The race to 125mm wheels had started.

Some skaters on 125’s at the start of the Quebec cup #1 Photo: Passion/Speed/Skating

Aluminium Hub: another revolution?
The first wheel that came out to compete with the one20five was the Red Magic Hardcore from Bont and MPC. They tried to counterpunch with a another revolution and we need to give them credit for that. It was an interesting idea. Those wheels with an aluminium hub are a good choice for big skaters on straight lines.

More choices on the market

While Matter already have a lot of different 125 wheels like the one20five, the g13, the code white and the image other companies are on their first generation of 125mm wheels. We are thinking about Arma, Atom, Rollerblade and Mota and other Matter rivals. A lot of interesting wheels are arriving on the market and everybody can find the wheels that fit them best.  

Some cheaper 125mm wheels are now arriving so that everybody can try this diameter. The Matter image is a mid-range wheel that is really good for training and the new Powerslide Infinity plus that just came out also have a really interesting price. Felix Rijhnen from Germany got on the podium of the Rhein-Main Skate-Challenge marathon with these new Powerslide wheels.

The people at Matter were not so crazy with their idea of 125mm wheels because this diameter is now the reference for long distance races and every other companies are now imitating them. It is a revolution for our sport and the advantages are evident.  

Where do you think this constant evolution of wheels will go next?