Quad skate hardware: Why on earth aren't the left axles reverse threaded???
Been quad skating the streets continuously for 33 years. Never suffered an injury of any consequence except for 3 times. Each of those was because wheels came off my skates while I was gung ho skating. First time was before I got my reasonable-quality Sure Grip Jogger plates & trucks, which I have skated ever since.
That first accident was on a pair of cheap skates I picked up in a thrift store and the front wheels just came off while I was skating an asphalt path around a lake and it took a year to get over the sprain to my wrist(s).
2nd and 3rd accidents happened this last year. Around last Xmas a wheel came off (axle nut came off) and left leg still hurts in bed. 4 months later a king pin broke without warning and front wheels shot ahead of me and down I went on the pavement again, going ~10mph. I'm still doing physical therapy to my badly sprained dominant hand pinky. That injury was very painful. Hand surgeon wanted to get after it with a scalpel but 2nd opinion from his colleague was to straight splint it 6+ weeks and more therapy, so I escaped the OR.
Well here's the deal: The broken king pin caught me by surprise, I wasn't aware that could happen, but I met a skateboarder who said that happens all the time and I should try to make sure my king pins are tough and/or changed with frequency.
The axle nut that came off last ~Xmas wasn't a complete shock: the skate shop owner who sold me my Joggers told me I should change those axle nuts when I remove/replace my wheels, but I didn't take him seriously enough. That recent accident over 30 years later underscored the importance of that.
Now, a week or so ago I was shocked and very very lucky. I had new hardware on the skates (new trucks, wheels, bearings and axle nuts). I'd skated them maybe 50 miles only on the street. I was standing on my front lawn and the inside left wheel on the right skate came off. I had skated a couple blocks and doubled back when I realized I was wearing the wrong glasses (lucky I did!). I'm WTF! I had checked the axle nuts before lacing on the skates! I could have been seriously injured. I started to think... what can I do to prevent those nuts from coming off "by themselves?" I got the idea of thread locking compounds. I have some but it's old. I just ordered and received new stuff, and I'm going to use it today, then wait 24 hours before skating again.
I started thinking some more: Both times my axle nuts worked there way off by themselves it was nuts on the left side of a skate. One was on the front (devastation), the other on the back (didn't fall because I was standing still). Why on earth don't they reverse thread the axles (and nuts) on the left side of quad skates??? It is obvious to me that the direction of rotation of the wheels will work to work off axle nuts on the left side of quad skates if they are conventionally threaded. AFAIK, reverse threading on those left axles and nuts is not done for quad skates. Maybe it is, but I have not heard of it. In fact, my searches aren't coming up with a whole lot about using thread locking compounds to prevent quad skate axle nuts from working their way loose, however reverse threading left-side axles & nuts would make that unnecessary.
What do you make of these things?
Comments
It sounds to me like you might be using regular nuts. On roller skates, it is recommended that you use nylock/nylon insert lock nuts. While I don't have the experience you have, I have been skating for over 10 years (indoors) with about 8 of them on quads and at least 5 of those skating at speeds much higher than the average skater will ever achieve. In my years, I have never had a nylock nut come loose on me and I have yet to replace the nuts on either of my two pairs of skates. I have gone through periods where I didn't change wheels for years and others where I changed my wheels once a session. If you are using the proper nylock nuts, my best guess would be that it has to do with you skating outdoors on potentially rough surfaces that result in the nuts vibrating loose. If this is the case, I suggest that you check your wheels each time you skate to ensure that they aren't coming loose.
Hope this helps.
Over time nylocs can lose their grip on threads. If you don't change wheels much you won't notice them loosening up. So they need to be checked every few skate sesdions.
I have never had an issue with the nylock nuts. I am speaking on multiple pairs of skates.
"I have never had an issue with the nylock nuts. I am speaking on multiple pairs of skates."
It's been over 15 months and my left leg still hurts. Maybe damaged nerves, I guess not a blood clot or I might be dead. Yes, I have ALWAYS used exclusively nylocks on my skates.
While I was saying I've never had an issue with the nylocks, I have had some equipment failures too. There is definitely differences in materials and quality in various skates. The two worst failures I have had were a broken king pin and a shredded bearing. The broken king pin was the worst potential as I lost the entire truck off my Snyder Imperials. I was fortunate that when the king pin broke I doing a pivot turn and landed on my seat. The shredded bearing caused the whole wheel to fall that side of the truck. Again I was lucky the bearing failure was during a backward skate and I landed again on my seat.
After the king pin failure I replaced all four on that pair of imperials, and did a full rebuild of the cushions too. After the Shredded bearing I bought all new bearings for a new set of wheels I replaced on that pair of skates.
I always inspect and clean my skates. I was shocked when I had these issues.
Skates are used for forward and backward motion, so your solution would increase the likelyhood of nuts coming undone if one side were left hand thread.
The other problem is people :( most don't even understand that the plate is different to the boot, let along right hand thread and left hand thread (the first they would know would be AFTER crossthreading them :( )
Nyloc nuts in good condition should negate the issue provided there is enough thread to engage the nylon lock and the bearings aren't seized.
The step-by-step procedure for cleaning roller skate wheels. Step 1: Disassemble the components of your skates. Step 2: Prepare a cleaning solution and clean your skate wheels for the first time. Step 3: Clean your skate wheels one again. Step 4: Allow the skate wheels to dry. Step 5: Clean the bearings on the skate wheels.
Is iristhomas1299 using a chatAI?
I agree and think iristhomas1299 is a bot and should be blocked.