Radar vs RollerBones Wheels: What Skaters Say
Nine skaters in our compilation ride one or the other, and none of them compares the two: five derby players listed Radar wheels at 93-95A, while the four RollerBones riders all have a signature wheel or a team tie to the brand. What separates them in our sources is hardness and floor, not brand: Radar for indoor derby, RollerBones mostly for hard park wheels. Bonnie Thunders appears on both sides: Radar in 2010, her own RollerBones wheel today.
Gear on this page: six wheel sets — Riedell Radar Halo, Riedell Radar Energy 62, RollerBones Turbo 62 mm 94A, RollerBones Art Elite 101A, Art Elite 103A and ESTRO JEN Bowl Bombers 62 mm 101A. They are optional, the page works without them, and the links to them are Amazon affiliate links.
Amazon prices were read on the listing on 7 October 2026, for the size and colour Amazon shows by default; other sizes and colours can cost more or less. Price and availability are set by Amazon and can change.
The two brands side by side
| Radar (Riedell) | RollerBones | |
|---|---|---|
| Models our skaters name | Blue Zodiac, Halo, Presto, Devil Ray, Speed Ray | Bonnie Thunders signature (Turbo), Estro Jen Bowl Bombers, Elite |
| Figures from sources and listings | Devil Ray 95A, Speed Ray 93A (Jackie Daniels); Halo 93A, 38 mm wide, 4 pack (Amazon listing); Energy 62 mm 78A, outdoor (Amazon listing) | Thunders signature 62 x 38 mm, 94A or 96A, aluminium hub; Bowl Bombers 57 or 62 mm, 101A, 30 mm wide, hubless; Elite 57 mm, 101A or 103A |
| Main use in our sources | Roller derby, indoors | Derby (Turbo) and, above all, skatepark and bowl (Bowl Bombers, Elite) |
| Who rides them | Bonnie Thunders (2010), Snot Rocket Science, Juniper Simonis, Nina Erwes, Jackie Daniels | Bonnie Thunders (today), Estro Jen, Caro Hernandez, Kid Ace |
| Sponsor link | None stated by any of the five | All four tied to the brand: a signature wheel (Thunders, Estro Jen) or a Moxi team setup using RollerBones (Caro, Kid Ace) |
What each skater says
None of the nine compares the two brands directly. Five lists are WFTDA “featured skater” gear lists from 2010 to 2016; the four RollerBones voices all have a commercial tie to the wheel they ride. Read it as “who rides what”, not as a verdict.
Radar
- Bonnie Thunders (jammer often called the greatest player of modern derby; World Cups 2011, 2014, 2018, 2025; 8 WFTDA titles) rode Radar Blue Zodiac in 2010 (gear list, WFTDA, Aug 2010). Today she has a RollerBones signature wheel, see below.
- Snot Rocket Science (Team USA 2011 and 2014) listed Radar Halo among her wheels, alongside Bont FXX and Ballistic; no sponsor stated (gear list, WFTDA, 4 Oct 2016).
- Juniper Simonis (WFTDA champion 2015 with Windy City) rode Radar Presto; no sponsor stated (gear list, WFTDA, 10 Jul 2016).
- Nina Erwes (Helsinki All-Stars captain for four years, MVP Big O 2016) rode Radar Presto on custom Wikko skates (gear list, WFTDA, 8 Sep 2016).
- Jackie Daniels (Windy City Rollers, skater in the film Whip It, coach) rode Radar Devil Ray 95A and Speed Ray 93A, so 93-95A (gear list, WFTDA, 1 Mar 2010).
RollerBones
- Bonnie Thunders now has a RollerBones signature wheel: 62 x 38 mm, 94A or 96A, aluminium hub. The figures come from the product, not from her own words (distributor listing, undated).
- Estro Jen (Michelle Steilen, founder of Moxi Skates; signature RollerBones Bowl Bombers) tells park beginners to ride 92A or harder and would pick 62 mm over 57 mm for a beginner, for speed with less effort; she adds that her talk is “not an advertisement for my wheels”, though it is her own wheel (Estro Jen, 9 Jan 2021; Moxi, 31 Jan 2021).
- Caro Hernandez (Colombian bowl skater, ex-derby; Moxi, Powerdyne, RollerBones and S1 gear) rode RollerBones Estro Jen 62 mm in 2021 and Elite 103A narrow wheels for sliding in 2020 (S1 blog, 6 Dec 2021; Moxi, 7 Oct 2020).
- Kid Ace (Moxi team rider: vert, gaps, stairs; record not verified) rides RollerBones Bowl Bombers 101A for speed (Moxi, 25 Sep 2020).
What the split really is
In our sources the brand matters less than the hardness and the floor. The Radar voices are derby players on indoor floors at 93-95A; the RollerBones voices are mostly park skaters at 101-103A, plus Thunders’ 94-96A derby wheel. Scald Eagle, who rides neither, says to choose a wheel by hardness, not colour (Bont blog, 14 Sep 2020, a brand text).
Which one for a beginner
No skater in our compilation names either brand for a first wheel. What the sources do give: Estro Jen’s 92A floor and 62 mm for a park beginner; Caro’s view that soft, gummy wheels are “amazing” for a beginner on the street and on rough floors (Moxi, 7 Oct 2020). So: pick the hardness for your floor first, then either brand in that hardness.
From the skater behind this site
- 78A-85A outside, 95A and up on a smooth rink floor. A smooth floor lets a hard wheel roll fast; grainy asphalt sends every bump through a hard wheel into your feet, a softer one absorbs it. He skated inline and learned quads later, so this is general, not brand advice.
The products we could check on Amazon
| Model | Price seen (date, where) | Use | Linked skater | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riedell Radar Halo, 4 pack | Amazon.com $69.00 (B01EJYHRXA, pink 93A by default), read 2026-10-07 | Derby, indoor floor | Snot Rocket Science | 4 wheels: a pair of skates needs 2 packs; 59 mm diameter not confirmed on the listing |
| Riedell Radar Energy 62, 4 pack | Amazon.com $40.00 (B01N7TRWOK, white, 78A), read 2026-10-07 | Outdoor | None (outdoor hardness only) | 4 wheels only; no skater in our compilation names it |
| RollerBones Turbo 62 mm 94A, set of 8 | Amazon.com $179.95 (B00L9ZQTPU, “only 3 left”), read 2026-10-07 | Derby | Same line as Bonnie Thunders’ signature wheel | Price; the signature colourway itself was not found |
| RollerBones Art Elite 101A, set of 8 | Amazon.com $99.95 (B00LA01ISC, 57 mm), read 2026-10-07 | Rink, park | Kid Ace and Estro Jen ride 101A (Bowl Bombers) | 57 mm, not the 62 mm Estro Jen suggests for a park beginner |
| ESTRO JEN Bowl Bombers, 4 pack | Amazon.com $49.95 (B08RJGV3S2, 62 mm, 101A, “only 1 left”), read 2026-10-07 | Skatepark, bowl | Estro Jen’s signature wheel; Kid Ace rides Bowl Bombers 101A | 4 wheels: a pair of skates needs 2 packs; sold by a third-party seller |
| RollerBones Art Elite 103A, set of 8 | Amazon.com $99.95 (B00LA01P94, 57 mm, “only 5 left”), read 2026-10-07 | Park sliding, rink | Caro Hernandez (Elite 103A, 2020) | Very hard: no grip on rough floors |
The Estro Jen Bowl Bombers are in the table: $49.95 for a 4 pack on Amazon.com on 7 October 2026 (B08RJGV3S2), read with a US delivery address.
Beginner FAQ
Are Radar or RollerBones wheels better?
Our sources do not say: none of the nine skaters compares them. Five derby players listed Radar (Thunders in 2010, Snot Rocket Science, Juniper Simonis, Nina Erwes, Jackie Daniels); four skaters with a RollerBones tie ride RollerBones (Thunders today, Estro Jen, Caro Hernandez, Kid Ace). Hardness for your floor matters more.
What hardness do derby players ride?
93-95A for Jackie Daniels (Radar), 94-96A for Bonnie Thunders' RollerBones signature wheel. Scald Eagle says to choose by hardness, not colour.
What hardness for the skatepark?
Estro Jen says 92A or harder from the first session; the park pros in our sources ride 101-103A RollerBones.
Which size for a beginner, 57 or 62 mm?
Estro Jen would pick 62 mm for a park beginner: more speed for less effort. 57 mm gives more feel once you can pump.
Do the skaters get paid to ride these wheels?
The RollerBones riders are all tied to the brand (signature wheels or a Moxi team setup). The five Radar riders state no sponsor in their WFTDA gear lists.
How this page was compiled: 9 skaters named and sourced (5 on Radar, 4 on RollerBones, Bonnie Thunders on both), plus Scald Eagle on hardness, from our skater compilation of 7 October 2026. Each claim links to its dated source. Full compilation and method: the skater gear compilation.
Read next: rink wheels: what to buy · outdoor wheels: what to buy · first roller derby skates · first quad skates for the skatepark · wheel hardness tool · outdoor vs indoor wheels · when to replace wheels
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