So how do you know it’s time to change your roller skating wheels? Do you know how to change the wheels? If not, or if you just need some extra reassurance, we have you covered! Keep reading to learn when it’s time to change out your roller skating wheels and how to replace them!

When To Know It’s Time To Replace Your Roller Skate Reels 

There are a good many ways that you can tell the wheels on your skates need to be replaced. Maybe they’re making a thudding noise or you feel uneven wear. Both of these typically mean your skate wheels need to be replaced.

Wheels can wear differently based on which wheel it is on the skate, as well as what kind of skating you do. Certain roller sports like jam skating, roller derby, speed skating, and more can put more wear on your wheels.

5 Steps To Replacing Your Roller Skate Wheels

The wheels are imperative to roller skating, so it’s important to keep them in good condition and regularly maintain them. By following these 5 easy steps, you’ll have new wheels on your skates in no time:

Loosen the axle nut or screw

You’ll want to first loosen the axle nut or screw. Remember, lefty loosey! Continue loosening until you can remove the nut or axle bolt.

Remove the wheels

Next, you’ll want to carefully remove the wheel. Make sure you leave everything else ready to put the new wheel into it.

Fit the new wheels in the axel

You’ll want to clean the axle and then fit the new wheels in. Be sure they are lined up properly and facing the right way before you tighten them.

Attach the wheel and tighten them

Once you know they’re in there properly, it’s time to tighten them back up. Remember, righty tighty! Be careful to not overdo it and damage the axle.

Test the new wheels

Before you take them for a spin on your feet, be sure to test them on the ground and roll them around. Make sure they roll freely, but the wheel is still stable within the axle.

Once your new skates are ready to go, come by Rainbow Skateland to take them for a spin! Check out our hours of operation here.

There’s a briskness to the air and the scent of pumpkin spice is in the wind. Sweaters, light scarves, and boots are now in the closet and the leaves are starting to fall. All of the signs are here, it’s fall! If you’re looking for fun family activities in Lockport, New York to celebrate the fall season, we have the perfect ideas for you!

Go Apple Picking At McCollum Orchards & Gardens

This farm has been in the same family for 191 and is a hidden gem! It practices organic farming practices and offers a lot more than just apples.

Visit The Pumpkin Patch At The Great Pumpkin Farm

The Great Pumpkin Farm not only offers a pumpkin patch, but all sorts of activities to do while you’re there. They have a corn maze, apple cannon, hayride, shooting gallery, petting zoo, and so much more.

Hike At John B. Austin Nature Trail

John B. Austin Nature Trail has some easy to follow trails that are great for all ages. There’s also some beautiful waterfalls on some of the trails along the way!

Skate With Us At Rainbow Skateland

There’s family fun happening at Rainbow Skateland all year round! Along with roller skating, we have our bounce zone, game zone, and golf. Check out our Family of 4 Deal days, Learn to Skate Classes, and skate times here. Also be sure to check out our Veterans Day special on Friday, November 11th where all military members skate free!

We hope your family has tons of fall fun, including skating along with us at Rainbow Skateland!

Halloween will be here before you know it. Do you know what your family will be dressing up as this year? We have some great ideas for you to plan the perfect family Halloween costume!

Here are our 10 favorite family Halloween costumes:

Superhero Family

Whether you’re a Marvel family, a DC family, or a little bit of both, have everyone dress up as their favorite superhero for a personalized theme.

The Incredibles Family

Or if The Incredibles are more your thing, this would be a great option for your family!

Cruella de Vil And Her Dalmations

Anyone in your family can choose to be Cruella and the rest can be her dalmations!

Shark Family

For all the “Baby Shark” lovers, this is the perfect family Halloween costume!

Harry Potter Characters

For all of our Harry Potter fan families, have each person dress up as their favorite character from any of the books.

Peter Pan Characters

From Peter to Tinkerbell to Wendy to Captain Hook, each member of your family can be a character from the movie.

Circus Family

If your house is a circus, you’re certainly not alone! Revel in that and have each person dress up as their favorite act in the circus. 

The Addams Family Characters

With another movie coming out, this family costume is an oldie but a classic!

Gru And His Minions

Or you can have everyone dress up as minions. Your choice!

Favorite Sports Team

Give the expensive sports gear another use and have everyone dress up as a player from your family’s favorite sports team.

We hope this gives you ideas for your family’s 2022 Halloween costumes! We’d love to know what you decide to dress up as, stop by Rainbow Skateland and let us know.

The fall season and weather are here, which means your family may be looking for an activity to do outside before the weather gets too cold. Can we suggest a round or two of mini golf? Make sure dad leaves his clubs at home, he won’t need them! A good game of mini golf has its own rules and winning strategies.

If you’re looking to master mini golf, check out our 4 tips:

Choose Your Putter Wisely

When you choose a putter, you’ll want the top of the putter to be around your belt level to make your swing comfortable. Should you want to play it safe, you can always bring your own putter to ensure a comfortable swing.

Get A Lay Of The Land

Before you putt, evaluate the land for the hole. You’ll want to take a mental note of any slopes, water traps, and any obstacles. In addition, it’s not a bad idea to watch any players ahead of you and learn from their mistakes. It may save you from a bad swing!

Play Your Angles

There will be obstacles between the tee and hole, that’s the fun in mini golf! The first hole or two are typically easy, so they build your confidence and get you comfortable with your swing. It’s important to remember once you hit holes with obstacles in them, the walls are your friend. Do a little math and play your angles to get around any hurdles. 

Have Fun

This is the important tip! You can visualize yourself getting a hole in one. Don’t think about missing it or having a hard time! Win or lose, the most important thing is to have fun!

If you’re looking for a fun mini golf course to master in the Lockport, New York area, come out and see us at Rainbow Skateland! Our course is now open for the season. Learn more about it here!

The end of August means school will be back in session before you know it! Are your kids ready? If the answer is no, just know you are not the only ones in Niagara County that aren’t ready. Don’t worry! We’re here to help get your family ready to send the kids back to school, so you can get back to enjoying the little bit of summer you have left!

Back To School Checklist

Here’s a general back to school checklist of everything you need to do to ensure a good start to the school year:

• Get child’s school supplies list
• Purchase school supplies
• Get a new bookbag
• Go shopping for clothes and shoes
• Finish any summer reading and other assignments
• Schedule doctor appointment
• Schedule dentist appointment
• Meet the teacher at the school open house
• Get the school year calendar
• Learn the bus route
• Plan child’s school meals
• Develop a schedule for the week days
• Get anything needed for fall sports or activities

Last Minute Summer Fun Checklist

Now that you’re prepared for school, it’s time to have some last minute summer fun the official start of Fall. Here are some of our favorite ideas of things you can do with your kids to wrap up your summer:

• Make smores
• Spend a Saturday together
• Have a family movie night
• Have a family game night
• Sleep in
• Have breakfast in bed
• Spend a day at the pool
• Visit Rainbow Skateland

We hope this helps you feel more prepared to send the kids back to school! Once you’re ready for school, we’d love to see you enjoy one of your last days of summer with us at Rainbow Skateland!

If you’re looking for a new hobby, roller skating is a great option! Keep reading to learn more about what roller skating essentials you need to get out on the rink.

What gear do you need to get started roller skating?

When you start a new hobby, it can be a lot of new information to consume to determine what you need. However, if you’re looking to get started roller skating we can suggest everything you need!

Here are the 7 things we suggest you have when you start skating:

Roller Skates

This seems a bit obvious, but of course you need a pair of reliable skates!

Multi-Use Skate Tool

The tool can help you keep everything properly tightened and ready for your next skating session.

Elbow Pads

If you’re learning how to skate, elbow pads are absolutely necessary!

Knee Pads

Much like elbow pads, knee pads will keep you as safe as possible while you learn how to roller skate.

Wrist Guards

Wrist guards aren’t as common as wearing elbow or knee pads, however they are certainly helpful in protecting you in case of falls.

Helmet

When learning any new hobby on wheels helmets are an absolute necessity. Even if you feel silly, it’s better to feel silly and keep your head protected than cause a major injury especially if you’re taking your skating outdoors.

Longer Socks

Since stroller skating boots are taller, it’s important to protect your feet and ankles with longer socks especially as you break the skates in. You may even find that you prefer thicker and longer socks with your roller skates.

That’s just the essentials! Don’t forget all the fun things you can add to your skates to make them more personalized such as fun colored skate laces, light up wheels, and more! However, the fun stuff can come later once you get adjusted to all your skate gear.

When it comes to starting a new hobby, it’s better to be safe than sorry and have all the gear you need to get going. Remember to just keep skating and you’ll be an expert in no time! We can’t wait to see you skating the days away with us at Rainbow Skateland!

Summer will be over soon, so don’t wait until it’s too late to start making 2022 your summer of skating! Check out our top 3 reasons why we think you should enjoy roller skating all summer long:

Beat The Heat

Does anyone actually want to be in the hot sun in the middle of summer? We doubt it! Being in the heat for too long can make you feel dehydrated, extra tired, and sick. So how can you get a good workout in the summer? We vote for an air conditioned roller skating rink!

Get Out Of The House

With it being so hot, your family may feel like their options are limited. If you’ve found your family spending their summer so far on the couch watching Netflix or playing video games, get to the rink. Roller skating allows your family to get in a good workout, make new friends, and create some new summer memories together!

Celebrate The Good Times

Your local roller skating rink gives you the opportunity to celebrate all summer long, and out of the blazing sun! It’s a great way to celebrate summer birthdays, team parties, or just get togethers over the summer!

Ready to get out on the rink this summer? We’d love to see you at Rainbow Skateland where it’s nice and cool! Check out our new summer hours to skate with us!

If you have been skating, you may know what pain it can cause. Throughout your time skating, falls, bruises, and blisters are par for the course, especially when you’re first starting out. Keep reading to learn how to avoid and fix common causes of pain from roller skating, because skating shouldn’t hurt.

Here are the 5 most common causes of pain from roller skating and how to avoid them:

Blisters

Blisters can unfortunately occur in new, poorly fitting, or rental skates. Plan ahead with tape or blister pads to keep them from forming. Band-aids don’t work well due to the continued friction causing them to fall off.

Sudden Foot Pain

Sudden foot pain, cramping, or irritation when you’ve never had it before can be a bit alarming. If your boots are already broken in, it could be a wrinkled, twisted, or ill-fitting sock. Always make sure your socks are fully pulled up without wrinkles before putting your foot in the boot.

Cramped Toes

Keep your toenails trimmed to keep your toes from jamming into the front of your boot.

Rink Rash

Roller skating in shorts can cause rink rash if you fall. Rink rash hurts, so it’s best to wear something on your legs to protect them in case of a fall.

Broken Wrists

Wrist guards will lessen injuries if you fall, but they do not prevent them. A better solution is to learn how to fall safely with no hands on the ground at all. We suggest landing on your butt to protect yourself from injuries.

Roller skating, like most sports, is not without potential risks. Yet, if you love to skate and keep practicing, you’ll be skating with few falls and better balance in no time. We can’t wait to see you safely skating the day away with us at Rainbow Skateland!

If you find yourself hitting the rink a lot at Rainbow Skateland, you most likely own your skates. If you haven’t already bought your own skates, there’s a lot of reasons to. This includes saving money from not paying the rental fees each time, picking a skate that’s perfect for you, and having the ability to customize them to your style!

How To Stand Out In Your Customized Skates

There are no rules when it comes to customizing skates! This gives you unlimited opportunities to make these skates truly customized to your personality and style. If you’re drawing a blank on where to even begin, you know we have you covered with some ideas!

Laces

Laces come in all sorts of colors! Time for you to find the perfect color(s) to lace up your skate. The laces don’t have to match, embrace your creative freedom and do different laces on each skate. Did you know there’s even light up skate laces? How fun would it be to light up the rink!

Wheels

Like laces, wheels also come in all sorts of colors and options. Additionally, wheels come in a variety of thickness and sizes. It’s important to choose the wheels that are good for how you like to skate. Even with narrowing down to the correct thickness and size, you still have tons of colors to choose from and different options like glow in the dark and light up wheels!

Toe Caps

This may be one you haven’t thought of just yet! Toe caps come with all different colors and designs. Changing your toe caps will undoubtedly make you stand out on the rink.

We hope these tips help get you started to fully customizing your roller skates! We can’t wait to see you hitting the rink in them at Rainbow Skateland!

Summer is here! Bring on the warm weather and loads of fun activities. If you haven’t already, you need to make your family’s 2022 summer bucket list. Lockport, New York offers tons of fun activities, so it’ll be a challenge to fit everything in during the few months of summer. To help you prioritize, we put together a list of 5 things we think should be on your family’s summer bucket list!

Explore The Unknown With A Lockport Cave And Underground Boat Ride

Take a walking tour and learn about caves and the Lockport cave! Your kids will love this fun experience.

Learn Something New At The Erie Canal Discovery Center

Spend a few hours learning something new at The Erie Canal Discovery Center. Perfect for your kids that love history and learning.

Spend A Day At The Blackman Homestead Farm

Spend a day on the farm, The Blackman Homestead Farm that is! Your kids will love the animals, activities, and fun treats they offer!

Go Back In Time At The Transit Drive-In

Show your kids what it was like to go to the movies way back in the day at Transit Drive-In. They’ll love this different experience of watching a movie whether it’s the first time, or the millionth!

Skate The Day Away With Us At Rainbow Skateland

Of course we couldn’t leave out skating with us at Rainbow Skateland! Your family can skate the day away together and have some fun.

While you’re at Rainbow Skateland, be sure to let us know you’re taking our summer bucket list suggestions!