You used to be able to get rollerblade wheels in many sizes and durometers (hardness). Prob still can, it’s just been many years since I looked. Bearings also came in different ABEC ratings for friction.
If you wanted skates for doing tricks you wanted pretty hard plastic and small diameter wheels. You could slide sideways especially on concrete, and the small wheels were better for jumping etc. Fairly horrible though for distance on the street, but kids would use them all over. They also made a different sound. I can still hear them. It was part of the cool factor as reg softer rubber wheels were near silent with good tight bearings.
For the half pipe sections those smaller, harder wheels were better.
I once did a half pipe. Regular skates. This was before I’d ever done one on snow. It’s a real lesson in forcing yourself to move downhill in front of your feet. It’s really keeping above your feet, which are about to be vertical on the wall. That means you have to be at a near right angle to the wall. Not natural or comfortable at all.
So first time I drop in I go right on my butt before I know what’s happening. It took a couple of tries to be able to go down the wall and up the other side. The large wheels (normal wheels) make it a bit harder because you’re further from the surface. But they were faster and more directional.
It’s strange it all sort of disappeared. People were doing some cool stuff.
