Buying Skateboarding Wheels
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009
by Lazar Rodriguez
The Skateboard Shop
If you're a skateboarder, then you know how important skateboard wheels are. There are many, many types of wheels out there. What kind of skateboard wheels does a skater want? This article should help you generate a much better understanding of the many different types of wheels you can buy.
The very first item you must to learn about wheels is that they can be bought in all kinds of hardness's. Skaters call this 'hardness' the wheel's Shore D, or durometer. The durometer scale comes in two types. The D scale is used on materials that aren't very soft, while the A scale is used for softer materials, such as the urethane used in a skateboard wheel.
The next feature a skater has to look at in a wheel is the shape of it. There are a couple separate shapes of wheels, and each is designed for a different purpose. A 'freeride' wheel is your every day skateboard wheel. Freeride wheels have rounded edges and a rounded face, which makes getting off ledges or coping much easier than it would have been if you had conical wheels with a squared back. Downhill longboarders often use soft freeride wheels because it makes it more enjoyable to go down a hill. The rounded edges also give the skateboarder a little extra grip whilst carving.
The other type of wheel is the conical, or tunnel, wheel. Conical wheels have a reverse volcano shape to them, with a cubed reverse side. (If that does not create a proper visual, do a quick image search and you'll understand what I'm talking about.) Conical wheels are often used for street longboarders, as they're very light weight and absorb the street quite smoothly. Since they're lightweight, a cruiser or longboarder won't have to push as often as they would with a regular wheel.
The next thing you'll want to look at the diameter of the wheel. Normal skateboard wheels typically come in sizes from 50 to 54mm. Skateboard wheels aren't typically made too much smaller than 50mm, as they get too tiny to be useful. Larger wheels are typically utilized on longboard or cruiser boards; some longboarders like to use a soft wheel that is around 59 to 60mm. Longboarders use bigger wheels than street boarders because it is easier to get over flaws in the road. Extreme downhill longboarders will sometimes get even larger wheels - up to 70mm or more - because of the speed increase. The bigger the wheel, the more speed a skater will gain on a hill.
The last step you must take in purchasing your wheels is to assess what is available to you at your town's skateboard shop, and then purchase the wheel that is going to suit your needs. If you're a street cruiser, you may want to check out getting some 78a 60mm conical wheels. If you're a street skater, you will probably need wheels that are small and hard - 97a 52mm wheels should do nicely. Before you purchase anything, see if you can try out a board that has the wheels you were checking out on it. A few skateboard shops have skateboard decks that they will be happy to let you test.
In conclusion, we talked about what the durometer of a wheel is, why the shape is a factor, and the differences in size. If you are still not understanding wheels after consuming all this information, head down to your local skateboard shop. They'll be glad to help out a fellow skater.
The Author has been a skateboarder for a very long period of time. He loves longboarding, trickboarding, and everything in between. If you're looking for an online skateboard shop after reading this article, feel free to check out http://www.the-skateboard-shop.com/
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Great info, thanks!
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