wheels size??

aussie_stu · Posted: Aug 07, 2003 10:23 pm Post subject: wheels size??

Does wheel size make a difference?? I riding on like 54-55mm at the moment, and a guy at the local park said to swap to like 50-51mm, does it make much of a difference, if so how?? and what are you guys riding on? thanx heaps

Fredrick Eisenhauer · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 12:02 am Post subject:

Wheel size IMO makes a huge difference, the bigger it is means it will drift over rocks easier and roll easier they roll easier because one rotation on a big wheel coveres more then a smaller wheel.

Another issue is the width, wider the wheel the more traction you will have but the more speed you will lose 2 friction, so IMO bigger wheels and thin wheels are the best. Hope this helps.

Jester · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 7:15 am Post subject:

Unless you're making a huge switch in diameter I don't think wheel size makes too much difference. You won't notice much going from 55 to 51. When I switched from longboarding to shortboarding I went from 72 to 56, THAT'S noticeable.

Benefits to the big ones are as VIP says, you can roll over stuff a bit easier, but you also hafta contend with wheelbite, which I'm sure you've dealt with at least a couple of times. Small wheels make it a bit easier to flip the board, but you gotta push harder to get good speed.

Honestly, if you can try out your friends' boards with different sized wheels that'd be the best way for you to figure out what you want.

Fredrick Eisenhauer · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 8:20 am Post subject:

Jester, some where in your post you said small wheels make the board flip better... how does that work?

Jester · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 10:16 am Post subject:

Because the board is lower to the ground so you don't hafta put so much effort into ollieing & flicking.

A good way to visualize it is to imagine trying to kickflip a board with Sector 9 soft wheels. Not very easy. Why? 'Cuz the wheels are bigger & heavier & you hafta put a lotta effort into your ollie. You can also see how easy it is to flip boards with small wheels if you watch any of the early Plan B vids. EVERYBODY is doing double & triple kickflips or heelflips. Questionable is where Rodney busts his infamous 540 double flip.

aussie_stu · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 3:02 pm Post subject:

thanx heaps guys

x2xwakegurlx2x · Guest

ya, when i first started, i had big wheels, they made my board heavier, and someone told me that bigger wheels were meant more towards ramps and stuff, and smaller ones are better for street, and like ollies and stuff, so my friend gave me smaller wheels, and i noticed the differance by far, plus my board was alot lighter

criminally_minded · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 7:55 pm Post subject:

I find the Duramiter (sp?) of the wheels a lot more important than size. Don't get anything super hard unless your riding vert. I think 98A is about right.

Fredrick Eisenhauer · Posted: Aug 08, 2003 8:44 pm Post subject:

So for skating street you would recommend smaller wheels? Because i skate mostly street...

Jester · Posted: Aug 10, 2003 1:12 pm Post subject:

Wheel size is a personal preference. I'm riding 57's right now & I like 'em, but I also have 54's on another board of mine. I don't notice too much difference between the 2. Like I said before, I doubt you'll notice too much difference if you drop just a few millimeters.

Durometer plays a part in it too like CM said, but I come from the opposite school of thought that he does. I would ride soft wheels for vert & hard wheels for street. My street wheels are 100A, but I have a set of ramp/vert wheels (currently unmounted since I never ride ramp or vert) that are 95A.

criminally_minded · Posted: Aug 10, 2003 1:28 pm Post subject:

Jester, your probably right bro, softer wheels might prevent the board sliding out on a vert surface. I might swap my Powell mini logos back on and check that out.

I hate hard wheels for street though, the ride is rough, it's unforgiving on small rocks (wheel lock!) and it's harder to maintain speed. Different strokes eh?

Fredrick Eisenhauer · Posted: Aug 11, 2003 12:38 am Post subject:

I would have thought that, the harder the wheel the easier it would be 2 maintain speed, and a softer one would absorb some of the softness making it harder to keep up speed....?

Jester · Posted: Aug 11, 2003 2:32 pm Post subject:

CM, you're right, the hard wheels make the ride rough, but you can't powerslide the softies as much so I like the hard ones.

VIP, the soft wheels absorb more of the impact that would normally slow your wheels down. It's kinda hard to explain, but imagine soft wheels being like Jell-o. When they hit a crack or a small rock the wheel changes shape slightly and moves over the obstacle easily. With hard wheels, they don't change shape as well as soft wheels so when they hit a crack it's more like a collision than just a transfer of energy.

The easiest way to visualize it is to think of bumper cars vs. real cars. When bumper cars hit they bounce & continue moving (like soft wheels). When real cars hit, they just stop (like hard wheels).

Fredrick Eisenhauer · Posted: Aug 11, 2003 11:48 pm Post subject:

Oh i getcha now Jester.

criminally_minded · Posted: Aug 12, 2003 12:56 am Post subject:

Good explanation Jester.

Hard wheels do powerslide easier, your right, I prefer slightly softer ones however for powersliding. Don't ask me why, I don't know! I just love having to really lean back against the slide and pump the sh_t out of the tail of my deck to get it around, and then leaving little bits of urethane on the asphalt behind me Twisted Evil

I guess it's my longboarding background.

Sorter wheels, however, wear down faster and suffer from flat spotting more often. I hate that!

Jester · Posted: Aug 12, 2003 7:29 am Post subject:

criminally_minded · Posted: Aug 13, 2003 9:18 pm Post subject:

My longboard wheels cone, but I have never had that problem on short decks.... are you're axles bent?

Jester · Posted: Aug 14, 2003 7:36 am Post subject:

I meant that my wheels would cone on my longboard deck. I've never had a problem with my shortdeck wheels.

s-s213 · Outlaw Joined: 12 Sep 2003 Posts: 150 City: Nanaimo

Didn't read the whole post so someone might have posted this already. If your wheels are too big I find they mess up crooked grinds. (Not just k-grinds, I mean Salad's, Crook 5-0's Overcrooks ect). Also if your wheels are too small and you hit a rock cruisin by a huge group of girls, you'll wish you bought the bigger wheels.