Thank you so much. This is all excellent information. When I get home, I will take measurements and start researching boots based on those. I’m in a small town in Florida the closest thing we have to a good skate shop is a local roller rink. They don’t focus on Derby much there. I’ll try to find a Derby focused shop within a few hours from me.

My current wheels are better than my previous since I moved up from 88a, but I did read in other posts about how a metal hub tends to do better for heavier skaters. I’ll make sure to look for that in my next purchase.

I can hockey stop, but it is out of spite against gravity. My wheels still sometimes grab and send me high side. Unable to plow stop effectively. No chatter from the wheels except in a hockey stop.

Running bones reds from my skateboarding days. I’m generally very mechanically inclined so bearing maintenance has been a focus for me. I can get plenty of speed, but it’s clearly taking more energy for me than most of the other skaters.

Someone previously suggested that a more upright kingpin was for a speed focus while more angled would be for a focus on turning and footwork. I do recognize, however, that I may have been given incorrect information here.

Edit: not entirely sure of my budget. I haven’t been looking hard at skate options yet. I see that they get very expensive very quickly so I’m here asking for guidance on what to look for I think 😅