Don't forget to take the time to take care of your skates!

Before you skate:

• Check your toe stops to see if they are tight and secured with a skate tool.
• Wheels shouldn't jiggle! Make sure they are secured by tightening the axle nut.
• Spin a wheel, they should be able to roll smoothly. If they have some resistance, scroll down to watch Karli's video on how to clean your bearings!
• Make sure your laces don't have any tears. They can rip during a session and trip you up!
• The insole should be perfectly flat and fit within the skate. It might cause some discomfort or slipping around within the boot.

Essentially, you're ensuring all the parts are working properly :)

While skating:

• Sometimes toe stops can loosen up as you brake. Check often!!! You don't want them missing when you're at the skatepark! Unless that's your style. ;)
• Avoid puddles! They can rust up your bearings.
• If you've made any new adjustments or upgrades to your skates, make sure your wheels don't touch your plate when you turn or that the kingpin doesn't drag on the floor.

After you skate:

• Unlace your skates, loosen the laces past the hooks, and pull the tongue out to air out and dry your skates. This reduces any funky smells from sticking around!
• Check out how your toe stops have worn down. One toe stop might be more used that the other, switch the skates they're on once in a while for even grinding down.

Bearings

• You want to see a smooth spin on the bearings. Over time skating, dirt gets built up.

Watch this video on how Karli cleans her bearings!

Trucks

• As you advance in skating, you might want to adjust your trucks to see if it'll help you level up more! Here is a video on how to adjust your trucks and what kind of movement you get out of these adjustments.

Maybe it's the cushions:

Maybe it's the laces: