Considering the countless number of longboard wheels currently available on the market, it pays off getting to grips with different aspects of wheel functionality so as to be able to choose an appropriate wheel for whichever purpose it'll have to serve. Our little guide below is designed to give a brief overview about some very important aspects with regards to longboarding wheels. This entry is mainly aimed at the novice skater who has no idea which wheels to get - hopefully it'll give you a bit of a better idea of what to look out for when choosing a wheel. Saying all that, we hope that the more seasoned skaters among you will equally appreciate this little fact sheet.
We've given you enough information to make your own maths and make your own deductions as to which wheel is suitable for you, your riding style as well as the longboarding discipline you're going to practise.
And before we start a few points to remember - Your choice of wheels should also always be based on your own abilities and your skating style, i.e. on the rider's skills as well as the overall speed you intend to reach and maintain while riding a particular set of wheels. Even the grippiest of wheels will eventually break out if you smoke down that hill fast enough - simple physics!
Every rider has individual preferences, so to find out which wheel suits you best, try out as many different ones as you can! It should be noted here as well that the rider's weight is quite important when it comes to skating, a factor that is all too often neglected, especially when it comes to women's skateboarding, as a lot of commercially available equipment is designed around male riders.
And now without further ado - enjoy!
1. Wheel Material:
The most commonly used material is urethane (short for polyurethane, remember that from your chemistry class? No? Too bad!) which comes in all kinds of blends depending on the desired hardness, measured in durometer. These typically range from about 70 to up to the high 90s - the higher the number, the harder the wheel. The durometer is also rated according to a scale that is represented in letters - wheels duros are typically stated as '80a' for example, with the 'a' indicating the duro scale on which it is measured. There are other scales, for example 'd', or the '00' scale, however longboarding wheels are always measured on the 'a' scale. Typically, longboarding wheels are designed taking speed and traction into account.
Please note that the quality of urethane is a decisive factor. Every company uses their own secretive mixture(s) of 'thane which means that 2 wheels with otherwise comparable specs in the same duro made by 2 different companies might feel different although they theoretically are the same hardness.
2. Wheel Size:
Compared to skateboarding wheels, longboarding wheels are bigger. Diameters typically range from about 60mm to about 97mm and even beyond - the bigger the wheel, the less it has to spin in order to maintain the same speed and the top end speed will also be higher. Accordingly, the smaller the wheel, the more quickly it accelerates.
3. Wheel Duro(meter), i.e. Hardness:
- The harder the wheel, the longer it'll last (i.e. it'll wear down more slowly)
- The harder the wheel, the easier it'll flatspot (part of the wheel has been worn down unevenly which means the wheel can no longer roll evenly and usually makes quite some noise when it does ;) )
- The harder the wheel, the easier it'll break out i.e. slide/drift
- The harder the wheel, the less it'll deform (especially if it also has a large core, more on that below). Note - the more the wheel deforms under the rider's weight, the more it loses its roundness and therefore its ability to roll, ergo - it'll roll more slowly
- Very soft wheels can almost melt and become sticky on very hot tarmac
- Softer wheels are a good choice for rough surfaces and lighter riders
4. Wheel Edges
A wheel has either got hard edges (lips) or rounded edges. Round edged wheels have less traction which makes them slide/drift more predictably.
Hard edges increase wheel grip.
Example for hard edged wheels:
Example for round edged wheels:
5. Wheel Hub
The next part we're going to have a look at is that hole in the middle - the hub of the wheel, which is home to the bearing seat, which, as the name suggests, is where the bearing that makes the wheel spin fits into. The hub is usually made of hard plastic or sometimes out of an aluminium alloy (DTC wheels), which is generally quite costly. The bearing seat placement within the hub greatly affects how the wheel will perform - makes sense because depending on where the bearing sits will be the part of the wheel that takes the most impact from the rider's weight, thus the wheel will wear where the bearing seat sits. The bearing seat can be either centerset (right in the middle), offset (slightly off centre) or sideset (noticeably positioned to one side of the wheel). Note - in a wheel description you'll usually find something like this ' Core: centerset', i.e. it'll talk about the wheel core, what is meant however is the placement of the bearing seat.
- Sideset wheels have the least amount of traction and are prone to quick coning.
- Centerset wheels are least likely to cone and wear the most evenly. Due to the centred placement of the bearing seat, this kind of wheel offers predictable slides.
- The characteristics of offset wheels are situated somewhere in between the other 2 ;)
6. Wheel Core:
The 'heart' of the wheel. The larger the core, the less the wheel will deform under the rider's weight.
7. Contact Patch
The contact patch specs are measured in mm (millimetres). This indicates the wheel width that is in contact with the tarmac while you ride. Once the wheel has been broken in and worn down a bit (more on that later), the contact patch will typically be a bit wider. The wider the contact patch, the more of the wheel is on the ground, ergo - the wider the contact patch, the grippier the wheel.
When you unwrap your new wheels, you'll find that their surface is very shiny and almost a little bit greasy. The wheel will perform at its best after it's been broken in i.e. after this shiny fabrication layer has been worn off, so get out there and go for some hard carving or sliding to break in your new wheels.
Summary:
Which criteria should a wheel fulfill to be suitable for...
Sliding:
- Duro depending on your personal preferences - some skaters like it hard, others prefer sliding buttery soft wheels - theoretically any wheel can be used for sliding really, so get out and on your board and start experimenting!
- Rounded edges for predictable slides
Downhill:
- Durometer depending on rider's weight and on whether you want to:
a) Stick corners:
- Softer duro, hard edges, large contact patch
b) Drift through corners:
- Harder duro, rounded edges, smaller contact patch
Slalom:
- Firmer wheels (again, in relation to your weight) hard edges, larger contact patch, larger core (so they deform less when you get that snappy wiggle on!)
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