Question about replacing inline skate wheels
 

My old wheels were on abec 5 bearings. I have replaced them with identical sized wheels (72 72 80 80) and the new wheels have abec 9 bearings. But after putting in the new, clean wheels, there is a LOT of resistance to turning. Did I do something wrong?

In the meantime, I've gone back to my old ones.

Bearings broken in maybe? Over tightening them maybe? Try using some proper bearing lubricant.

What "grip" rating are your wheels?

They're purple/clear Labeda Millenium wheels... not sure about the grip rating. Durometer rating: 76a.

they're very soft. you should have bought 84 or more

76 is for indoor hockey yo

These are my skates for rollerhockey indoors. :)

Did you buy brand name or generic bearings? And 76A's you can use outdoor... I've had the stock ones on my skates ever since I bought them about 5-6 years ago. I used to rollerblade to/from school before I had a car and they're still in decent shape.

Hmm they're probably generic abec-9s. :(

I got them for free with my wheel purchase at http://www.hockeywheels.com/

Worse case scenario - I guess I'll take my abec 5 bearings from the old wheels and use them with my new wheels. Bit of a hassle though, having to pop the bearings out.

The generic bearings are most likely your culprit. Even though it has a higher ABEC rating than your old bearings, your ABEC 5's were probably made with a higher quality material which will allow it to roll smoother.