In this video we talk about roller skate cushions (aka bushings). What they do, the various hardness, and how to change them.
Hi, this is Lisa from RollerGirl.ca and today I'm here to talk to you about cushions.
Cushions, also known as bushings, are the little rubber or urethane bits inside your roller
skates.
They play a really important role in the maneuverability and turning of your skates.
Cushions come in a large variety of cushion hardness from very, very soft to very, very hard.
The softer your cushions, the more maneuverable and easy to turn your skates will be.
The harder your cushions, the more stable your skates will be.
So, a super soft cushion turns really well, but provides very little stability.
And a super hard cushion provides great stability, but doesn't turn very well.
Cushions come in a large variety of sizes and shapes.
It is best to purchase the cushions that are designed for the plates you are riding.
If you're unsure what cushions you need for your plates, contact us and we'd be happy to
help.
I'm going to give you some general rules for choosing cushion hardness, but keep in mind that it
really comes down to personal preference.
You need to try a few different hardnesses and figure out what works for you and your setup.
As a general rule, heavier skaters use harder cushions and lighter skaters use softer
cushions.
Harder cushions are also suitable for newer skaters.
They provide more stability and can make it easier when you're scared and learning.
Harder cushions are also appropriate for skate park skating, for hill-bombing, and speed
skating.
Softer cushions are generally used for dance skating and recreational skating.
For roller derby, it comes down to personal preference.
Some derby skaters like hard cushions and some derby skaters like soft cushions.
As a general rule, cushions come in two shapes, barrels and cones.
This Sugar-Grip Tipton skate over here has two barrels. It is a stability setup.
Two barrels look like this.
This Wifa skate over here has a barrel and a cone, also known as an agility setup. A barrel and
a cone.
This is another way that you can tweak your setup.
You can choose the hardness of cushion that you'd like to use and then decide if you want to use
a stability or an agility setup.
The agility setup will give you just a little bit smoother maneuverability than the stability
one will.
The stability setup will give you a little bit more stability.
In most cases, if your skates come with a stability setup, you can simply change them to an
agility setup if you like.
Cushions wear out over time.
If you've been riding the same cushions for more than 2 years, I suggest replacing them.
Over time, cushions lose their rebound and they stop performing as well.
If you've purchased used skates, it's a great idea to change your cushions.
They're likely old, dried up, and needing replacement.
A lot of roller skates, especially beginner roller skates, come with really, really hard
cushions.
This is great if you're just learning and uh stability is more important to you than turning is,
but as you progress as a skater, I suggest trying softer cushions.
It really changes the performance of your skates and is amazing.
If you've purchased skates that come with hard cushions and you like soft cushions and good maneuverability, I suggest changing your cushions immediately.
Today I'll be demonstrating with Sure-Grip Super Cushions.
They're compatible with a large variety of plates on the market, including many Sure-Grip plates
such as Avenger, Avanti, Rock, and Probe, also PowerDyne Thrust, and Bont Tracer, and
Athena.
The information I'll be providing on the installation of cushions is general and will apply to
pretty much any plate that you could be riding.
These Sure-Grip Tipton skates come with standard hard Sure-Grip cushions.
I'm going to be changing them for the purple medium Super Cushions in an agility setup.
For most skates on the market, you're going to need a 9/16" socket wrench to change your
cushions.
For a few skates, you might need an 11/16".
Use the tool appropriate for your skates.
I will be using the PowerDyne Y3 tool today for this job.
You take the Y3 tool or the 9/16" socket wrench and you turn lefty-loosey counterclockwise and
remove the kingpin nut.
Once you've loosened the kingpin nut, you remove it and then remove the top retainer.
Sometimes it gets stuck and you have to wiggle the truck to release it.
This will often release the top cushion as well.
The top retainer comes off and the top cushion.
Then once again, wiggling that truck to release it.
You can pull the truck off the bottom cushion and the bottom retainer.
If you're moving from a stability setup to an agility setup, you're going to need smaller
retainers for your top cones.
These are the small co retainers for the cone.
They fit on top of the cone.
To install the super cushions, start with the bottom retainer.
I am able to reuse the retainer from the original setup.
then the new barrel cushion.
The truck then goes back in being careful to fully install the pivot into the pivot cup.
Now you're going to put on the cone.
It's important that the cone is in this direction with the smallest part facing away from the
plate.
Because we've moved to an agility setup, you will need to use new retainers, smaller ones that
fit the cones.
The retainer goes on.
And finally, the kingpin nut.
Once you've changed your cushions, don't forget to adjust your tracks.
Your cushions are an incredibly important part of your roller skate.
They affect the performance of your skates almost like nothing else.
It is so important that you take the time to play with this and figure out what works for
you.
It will change the way your skates perform.
They are amazing.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
If you have any questions or suggestions for videos you'd like us to make in the future, please
leave them in the comments.
Happy skating!