We love sparkly shiny things (you know that though), and have searched for years for the perfect light up wheel.
Light up wheels are powered by a dynamo that sits in the centre of the wheel. This needs to be firmly pressed by the bearings as when the wheel turns, it forms a temporary connection with each LED light, making it appear to flash. At faster speeds, the LED flashes so quickly, that it appears to be always on. Even better, no batteries are required - you are providing the energy!
The Luminous wheels are the brightest we have ever tried and our favourite. These wheels contain super bright white LEDs housed within coloured urethane wheels. In the old style of luminous wheel, the LED was positioned in the centre of the wheel, making the whole wheel glow. In the updated wheel, Seba have repositioned the LED on the outer edge of the wheel making them appear even brighter. The old and new style of wheels are identical in hardness (85A) and size so they can be mixed and matched as a set of 8 of your colour choice.
We love these wheels, because during the day, you have a bright, pretty wheel, and during the evening they additionally flash. We love to skate indoors and outdoors, and while the mid-hardness is not specialist to either indoor or outdoor, it is a perfect leisure wheel. (By specialist, I mean that you probably wouldn't skate a long distance outdoors in these wheels, where a softer wheel would provide more comfort, nor are they designed for high speed spinning and super precise jumps and landings, where a much harder wheel is required.)
The Luminous glitter wheel has added glitter in the wheel compound and a pearlescent shimmer which looks stunning by day. By night, the LEDs have been sunk into the urethane at different depths. The LEDs are also different colours, giving the wheels an overall blu-ish tinge when they are spinning quickly. The LEDs closest to the inside of the wheel are blue, while those further away are more peach, giving a warmer tone to the overall colour.
Although the new style of luminous wheels are more expensive than the old style, we feel the new position of the LEDs, making them seem brighter than ever, justify the price increase. The manufacturers also cite an increase in production and material costs as reasons for this increase. For a purse-friendly option, we mixed and matched 4 glitter wheels with 4 old style wheels, and put the glitter wheels on the outside of our skates. They look amazing!
We'd love to see your combinations of luminous wheels. Tag us in your social media posts or send us your pictures and video! @roller_girl_gang on Instagram.