Heel Plug

X Games... trend busting... hanging out and just being cool got a literal "momentum" boost from surprising corners, namely footwear. And this latest fashion moves are not simply about racy colors or mix-and-match materials. No longer merely trend-setting personality-distinguishing fashion statements, casual "sports shoes" are literally building-in new sport possibilities into the heel of the shoe.

What's going on is movement. Like yo-yos and hoola hoops of decades back, the latest and hard-charging fun footwear trend that small kids, and large adults, are catching a ride on is a cross over between ordinary street casual shoes and a piece borrowed from inline skating as well as a piece borrowed from free riding skateboarding.

Placing A Wheel In Your Heel. MTV and Internet-enabled urban and sun urban kids have latched onto the possibility of getting a "free ride" from ordinary shoes. Looking like a sports sneaker, these wheel-in-a-shoe heelies create an entirely new rush of an experience for shoe-wearers. No longer confined to clomping along the sidewalk, the wheeled-shoe set can literally hang-back on their heelies and glide and swerve and figure-8 their way across a car park, or down the supermarket aisle as many kids now do.

When You Don't Want To Cruise While Walking. In every kid or young dude's day there comes a moment when "looking cool" does not include racing along atop an inline wheel imbedded in your shoes. You're headed out to film...or the weather has turned funky and cruising on a pair of heelys just doesn't cut it.

Solution? The leading wheel-in-a-shoe designs offer a simple twist-and-remove design for removing the wheel. All you need is a pair of quarters. Insert the coins in the grooves on either side of the wheel bracket and presto...the wheel pops. Insert the shoe "plug" and bob's-your-uncle you're ready to go wheelessly into the rest of your day.

Looking After Wheel-In-A-Shoe Footwear. Adding mechanical moving parts, and a mid-sole shock-absorbing suspension system is partly about creating a great ride and getting a good landing from heel grabs and other skateboard maneuvers now available in kids shoes. Adding locomotion to footwear is also about safety and maintenance.

Forget about shining your wheel-in-a-shoe footwear. Materials tend to be synthetic suede which are color constant. No, what you need to focus on are the shoe mechanics, namely wheel and bearing maintenance.

Removing Your Wheels. Like inline skating or skateboards, your wheel-in-a-shoe footwear attracts crud, rust and corrosion. Result? Your shoes literally slow down, as rolling resistance increases. Two (2) coins slip into slots designed into the wheel casing, so removing your shoe wheels is simple and straightforward.

Cleaning Wheels And Bearings. Most wheel-in-a-shoe footwear, for kids and adults, is designed based on quality Abec wheel bearings...same ones used in inline skates and skateboards. Cleaning the bearings on a regular basis removes crud and rust, and makes them roll quicker. A 20-minute dip in standard bearing cleaning solution is all that's necessary to remove crud. Next, lubricating bearings is a simple matter of buying a small can of machine oil, like white lithium. A few squirts, rub it in, and your wheels are ready for re-installing.

Adults And Kids Models. Most wheel-in-a-shoe brands offer the full range of kids sizes plus adult sizes to size 12 or size 13, with wide comfy fits.