Can I Buy Toe Stop Hardware for My Roller Skates at the Hardware Store?
Yes!
Is this a familiar situation: you just can't seem to keep your toe stop in, every couple of skate sessions it gets loose or even falls out. No problem, you can order a lock washer from your favorite skate shop. Arg, but really, $3 for just one nut? $10 shipping?!? And then you order it and oh my god you assumed they came in pairs but you didn't read the fine print that they are sold individually and you just paid $13 and waited a week to get one single stupid toe stop nut. No, that's just me? .
Or how about this? You love the light weight, low price, durability guaranteed Sunlite plates, but hate that you have all the standard tow stop hardware, but it keeps falling out?
Well the good news is you may be able to buy locally have have toe stop hardware that is potentially stronger and cheaper than what you're ordering from the skateshop, or you can order online from something like Amazon or Ebay and get 10 just for the next time one of your friends is in the same situation (that's what I did).
What Size is Standard Roller Skate Toe Stop Hardware?
Most roller skate plates that have an adjustable toe stop, such as any PowerDyne, Sure Grip, Crazy, Sunlite, or Chaya plate, use a 5/8" Imperial thread stem toe stop. An exception to this would be European brands such as Roll Line, which use Metric sizing, so their size is M16 x 1.5, like this one
Besides the 5/8", another important number to look out for is 18 TPI (threads per inch). My first time ordering toe stop hardware from a standard hardware store, I saw two different 5/8" nuts and I didn't know which to get, so I just ordered a few of each. The 18 TPI fits perfectly on my Imperial threaded toe stops.The other one I got was 11 TPI, and that one does not fit. Make sure you get 18 TPI, not 11.
That's all you need to know: 5/8", 18 TPI.
I ordered mine from a German hardware shop on ebay because I live in Berlin, so I doubt my particular source is useful to anyone reading this. I'll drop some Amazon links so you can see an example of generic toe stop hardware you can use. Feel free to order those (I use affiliate links so be aware I'll make about 2 cents from your purchase) or if you hate Bezos and don't want to give him any more money, no problem, just use that as a guide when you go to the nearest shop and buy locally.
A small warning is that, as you can see, the nut I got is way bigger than the standard toe stop nut. This is not a problem for me because I like my toe stops low and it's actually way easier to loosen and tighten than that skinny one, but if you like your toe stops short it might make them too long, and maybe you need to order the skinny bolt from the skate shop, or at least pay attention to the bolt width and try to find a shorter 5/8", 18 TPI bolt than I did
A huge benefit is that, when I was using the standard tiny toe stop washers on my Sunlite plates, the toe stops loosened on a regular basis. After I bought bigger the nuts and lock washers in the photo, they never fell out again.
That's it! I hope I helped you improve your gear, and happy skating!
