What durometer should i get

These wheels are most suitable for street skating, vert, bowls and ramps. Not a good idea to put these on your street deck. These wheels are specifically designed for longboards, old school boards, and daredevils that like to go downhill. Takes some time to get up to speed but they have excellent momentum.

The size also provides more grip and usually, they are a bit lower on the durometer scale. If you skated for some time you probably met some pebbles while rolling. The bigger the diameter, the bigger the distance between your tail and the ground. It just requires more effort to pop your deck. Lastly, larger wheels make it harder to flip your deck because of their weight, they also tend to bounce more.

There are 3 different heights but most brands just refer to their trucks as low or high. A lack of standards in the industry is to blame here.

If you pick wheels above 53 mm, make sure to get some high trucks. If you ride low trucks you could get wheel bite meaning your wheels touch your board when you steer. You also might want to tighten your trucks.

Slap some riser on your high trucks can carry up to 65 mm wheels. Keep in mind that if you have loose trucks, the number change. If you do like to skate that way go for a smaller diameter to prevent wheel bit.

Durometer, it sounds like someone just made that up, which is true by a scientist called Albert Ferdinand Shore. It comes from the Shore durometer machine which measures the hardness of materials. The hardness of your wheels has quite an impact on performance depending on the surface you skate. The durometer A scale goes up to and basically just means how soft or hard your wheels are. The lower the number, the softer your wheels are and vice versa.

Ok, so why can I buy durometer A a wheels? Checkmate blog poster! Another problem is that anything over durometer A 95a is hard to measure accurately. Shore durometer B is actually better. It covers the entire range of skateboard wheels hardness resulting in more accurate measurement. This makes the results much more reliable.

So why do most of the brands stick with Durometer A? Probably because skateboarders are used to it and know what it means.

Changing the scale would only be confusing to skateboarders. I applaud you for actually reading this because most skaters just want to go out there and have fun. Wheels are considered soft when they are under durometer A 87a. They have a lot of grip on rough surfaces and are more suitable for cruiser boards and longboards.

These wheels are great for cruising but are a bit harder. These wheels offer a bit less grip than the ones above. These wheels are the hardest available on the durometer A scale.

Most street skater and park skater use these wheels. Probably the most common durometer around. Hardest on the A scale. They are terrible on rough surfaces and slick surfaces. More for pros and extremely experienced skateboarders. These are the hardest wheels available on the Shore Durometer B scales. More for pros and technical skateboarders with a lot of experience. They are great for the street and skateparks. Because of their extreme hardness, they allow for quick acceleration and high speeds.

Horrible on surfaces that are slippery or rough. Your wheels contact patch is rather important depending on the surface you skate. The contact patch is the area that touches the ground. So the larger your wheels, the larger contact patch in general. The contact path distributes your weight, so a smaller contact patch means more weight on your wheels. Many people believe that colouring wheels does affect the durometer.

Maybe adding colour to the formula changes the formula slightly. As to whether or not it reduces the integrity of the wheel, you would have to consult a chemical engineer. From my experience of riding the same wheel in a natural or coloured urethane, the difference is coloured ones feel slightly softer or grippier. I like the natural ones best myself. Wheel manufacturers make a whole range of different coloured wheels. They have solid colours, clear, translucent and swirled colours and a lot of people love them.

Are they any good? Puritans will say they are not so good and stick to white and natural coloured wheels. With white wheels, some are coloured with a white pigment to give them that crisp appearance. Most natural urethane has a milky slightly off white appearance.

Natural wheels will often turn yellowish brown colour after being exposed to light over a period of time. They way you colour urethane and plastics is by adding a pigment or dye to the formula. There are a lot of coloured wheels on the market, so try a few out and ride whatever floats your boat. Or matches your outfit? So there you have it, a little run down on the difference between had and soft wheels. Need some new tyres? Click here. Deck Width 6. Length 30 - 33 Inches 34 - 35 inches 36 - 37 inches 38 - 39 Inches 40 - 41 Inches 42 - 43 Inches 44 - 46 Inches.

There are some manufacturers that may instead use the B Scale, which measures 20 points fewer than the A Scale, and therefore allows for an extra 20 points for the hardest wheels.

For example, an 80b durometer is the same hardness as a a durometer. These skateboard wheels have a wider and more accurate hardness range. Some brands will also experiment with dual-durometer wheels for a more tailored skating experience. In the case of a dual-durometer skateboard wheel, the inside of the wheel could measure one standard of hardness, while the outside of the wheel is another. Generally speaking, harder wheels are faster, and softer wheels are slower with the added advantage of having more grip.

Softer wheels are better suited to street skating; harder wheels are better for smooth surfaces, such as skate parks. Some companies even specially design their wheels for a specific use. Here are some general guidelines for wheel durometer as it concerns your skating preferences and skill level. Contact patch is an important feature of skateboard wheel performance.

A wheel's contact patch refers to the area of the wheel that actually makes contact with the pavement. If you have large longboard wheels, your contact patch will also be large. So why is contact patch important? If you have a large contact patch, your weight will be distributed over a larger area.

As a result, it allows for an additional 20 points for the hardest wheels. Let's take a closer look at the main skateboard wheel hardness scale levels. It's an intermediate setup for street skaters who seek a comfortable ride in an urban context. They have the least amount of grip and are not suited for riding rough and slick surfaces. It's the weapon of choice in technical and park skateboarding.

Choosing the right hardness wheels can be complicated for beginner skaters. They're also the best wheel hardness pick for bombing hills and cruising around town. The Durometer B Scale As stated above, some skate companies saw a need for wheels that are even harder than A, so they created the Durometer B Scale. Share this article. Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Share on Linkedin. Share on Reddit. Latest skateboarding news What is the environmental impact of skateboarding?

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