Are you new to skateboarding? If yes, then you must be thinking about which skateboard will be right for you as a rookie. Later you will need the best skateboard for tricks and cruising to better your skill. While you can buy a traditional or electric board as your first one, you need to check the quality of best skateboard wheels for cruising and tricks as well.
Skateboarding isn’t difficult as most people assume it to be. Instead, it’s one of the most fun sports that you can master within a short time! However, you must maintain some simple skateboarding laws to make sure no one is bothered by it. Not to mention the protection measure you should take regardless you are an expert or a novice skateboarder.
Best Types of Skateboard Wheels For Cruising And Tricks
As we all know, there are different types of skateboard depending on the usage style. All these varieties require specific types of skateboard wheel technology. The wheel’s performance depends on the location you are going to skate. A cruiser needs different wheels than a street skater. Besides, there is no such type of wheel that you can use for everything.
Street Wheels
So, what could be the best skateboard wheels for street skating? Street wheels come with a smaller diameter ranging between 49mm-53mm. The skateboard should have small parts for a quicker response and smooth maneuver. The wheel hardness should be 99A and 101A as softer once will bounce your board during the trick performance.
Wheels For Mini Ramps
When skateboarding on mini ramps, you should choose one with a large diameter, preferably 54mm. You can also go above or below 53mm if you want. The durometer should be 96A-101A or 82B. Choose the conical-shaped wheels with round lips and soft texture.
Wheels For Bowl Skating
Bowl skating may be difficult, but the large diameter of wheels ensures a balanced speed for the skater. It would be best if you used an old deck to practice with the bigger wheels. Bowl skating also needs suitable bearings like Bones Swiss as they are durable and inexpensive.
Wheels For Cruising
For cruising, your skateboard should have wheels over 60mm to suit you perfectly. While smaller ones can speed up your ride, they can roll only for a limited time. The cruiser wheels should be softer with 96A durometer and a large contact patch.
Riser pads will be helpful to prevent wheel bite as well. You can always replace the wheels with plastic ones to make the board more lightweight.
Wheels For Concrete Skate Parks
Skateboarding on a concrete surface requires wheels between 53mm-54mm with a durometer of 96A and 101A. Make sure the wheels have round lips and are conical in shape.
Wheels For Cruising And Tricks
If you are looking for a skateboard to cruise and perform occasional tricks, the wheels should be between soft and hard. This will let you pop the deck and yet ride smoothly. The wheel durometer should be 86A and 95A, while the diameter should be between 54mm-56mm.
Wheels For Transition Skateboarding
A well-built transition skateboard should have similar features as the skatepark wheels. For the best result, look for the durometer of 96A and 101A and a diameter between 53mm-54mm. Get the soft ones as harder ones will be noisy and uncomfortable. You can also ask the salesperson to reduce the vibration to stop tingly feelings and narrow the falling scope.
For the transition skating, the wheels should be soft with a durometer between 78a and 87A. Threaded wheels should have a square lip and a large contact patch.
One Wheel To Use Everywhere
While it would be great to have such an extraordinary wheel type, there are no such wheels that all skateboarders can use. You can’t use your cruiser to perform every type of trick available out there. However, wheels with an ideal diameter of 53mm-55mm should work for most of them.
How To Choose Best Skateboard Wheels For Street & Cruising?
While you are thinking about purchasing the correct wheels for your skateboard, you can check some simple features to make the pick. You can follow these skateboard wheels buying guides for further assistance.
Choosing Skateboard Wheel Diameter
The diameter of the wheel is the most important thing you should consider at first. The usual range you can find in the market is 50-75mm. Small ones will give you a slow ride, whereas bigger ones will speed up the ride. The diameter also determines how quickly and sharply you can run and turn your board.
You have to choose the proper size of wheels depending on your skill range. As a beginner, you should go for the smaller size to learn better.
- 50-53mm: These are the smallest skateboard wheels, which is perfect for amateurs and provide balance for trick riding
- 54-59mm: These average-sized wheels are ideal both for rookies and medium level riders
- 60mm+: This one is built for professional skateboarders, particularly for longboards. These wheels can run on any ground and are made for agility and to easily run over the rough surface.
- Depending on your skill level, choose the size wisely. If you are a complete beginner who is just starting, I recommend the smaller items (50-53mm).
Choosing Skateboard Wheel Durometer
While the diameter means the size, the durometer measures the hardness. The higher the durometer is, the more hardness your wheel will be. Usually, 99A is considered the best durometer among all. Out of a 100-point scale, this one belongs to the A scale.
But some manufacturers prefer the B scale as well by counting 20 points less, which allows the scale to measure 20 points extra for harder wheels. For example, an 80B durometer wheel will be hard as a 100a. These wide wheels usually show a better hardness range.
Soft wheels are slower, but they provide more grip, which is perfect for street skating. You can smoothly ride them on even surfaces like a skate park. You can follow the durometer scale to know how the skateboard will perform.
- 78a-87a: These soft wheels are good if you want a smooth ride on rough grounds, street boards, and longboards.
- 88a-95a: These are a bit harder yet faster. They may offer a little less grip, but they are quite suitable for streets, hills, and rough terrain.
- 96a-99a: These hard wheels have a good grip and speed. These wheels are perfect for rookies, skate parks, pools, ramps, etc.
- 101a+: These are the fastest and the hardest ones, but they provide the least grip. They are built for pro skateboarders only.
- 83b-84b: These are quite hard wheels. They will provide more speed but with the least grip.
Skateboard Wheel Contact Patch
The contact patch of a skateboard influences your skateboard’s performance to an extent. This is the area where the wheel touches the pavement. The large longboard wheels will have a large contact patch. A large contact patch means your bodyweight will be scattered over a large area and vice versa.
However, the smaller one will increase the urethane compression in the wheels that ultimately slows down the wheel. The wheel shape is also a crucial factor for the contact patch size. Square wheels tend to make the maximum contact with the pavement, whereas the rounded ones will make less contact.
Skateboard Wheel Shapes
To get the best wheels for cruising and trick, their shape is another crucial factor. Choosing the wheel shape wisely is mandatory to make sure you got the perfect ones. If you like to cruises, carve, and slalom, go for the sharp-lipped wheels as they will give you better grip during hard turns. If you want to do carves and surf slides, a round-lip profile will provide you with the perfect finish.
How To Practice Skateboarding At Home?
After getting the best skateboards Longboards for tricks, it’s time to practice the basics before you start skating seriously. While it is better to practice outside, it’s not always possible to do so. In that case, you can always practice it at home. From skateboard tricks easy to skateboard tricks hard, you can learn some of them indoors as well.
Do Some Balance Board Exercises
Skateboard balance exercises should be at the top of your priority list. You can use the balance board made of a flat board and a roll to manage your stability and strength. You can do this for an hour each day for a fast result. This modern modality is perfect for all players who prefer snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and many more.
You can also enhance your leg strength by doing some fun challenges like flipping a toilet paper roll while coordinating your body. This will not only better the motor control, postures, and health condition but also improves your visual response.
Skateboarding At Home
Skateboarding requires a fit body, if not an athletic one. In case you don’t have any gym devices and mechanical objects at home, you can use different household items to do practice at home. You can use a dust cover or a towel as a mattress and do a core-strengthening workout. You can use your skateboard at home to maintain your shape.
Do Some Coordination And Resistance Activities
As a skater, you need to do some coordination activities to get comfortable on your board. The more control you have on your body, the faster you can move and execute the tricks. Resistance will provide you the ability to change tricks or to perform a move for a long time. You have to practice coordination daily, so you don’t forget any trick sooner.
You can do jumps, push-ups, cross-training, and many other forms of exercise to improve your ability.
Practice Skateboard On Carpet
You can use your board without wheels and trucks by putting the board on a carpet. After that, try out some tricks like flips, 180, etc. Thus, you and the floor will both be safe and unscratched. These types of activities help you to remember different tricks for a long time.
Eat Properly
Each physical activity requires you to have a healthy body and mind. While you need to be in good shape, you should never compromise with your food. You need to have sufficient nutrition. Hence, make a diet habit that includes healthy food, protein, vegetables, carbs, vitamins, and plenty of water. Try to avoid greasy food, candies, surgery drinks, etc.
Build Your Personal Skate Spot
You could always make your own ramp to practice skating at home if you have no place to skate. You will need a few things like wood, tools, a rail, etc., to build one. The advantage of having a personal skate spot is that you can learn different tricks and move the spot anywhere you want to.
Easy Skateboard Tricks To Learn In One Day
If you grade skateboard tricks list easiest to hardest, some of them take several days to adapt. And some you can learn in one day!
- Flip Jump Mount: Put the deck side of the board on top of your feet. Now, hop into the air by flipping the board. It would be best if you tried this trick on a carpet or grass field to manage the balance. You can easily master it after practicing ten minutes!
- Nosebleed: In this one, you have to run directly into the curb and shift the weight to your back leg. Then you pop for an inch and roll away from the curb.
- Ride Off Curb: You have to drop the board slowly and hop on it just after the board hits the ground. Practicing one hour is enough to learn this trick!
Final Words
Riding on the skateboard isn’t just standing on it and pushing forward. While you can use it for daily commuting, you can use it for performing creative tricks as well. But you need to know and trust your ability first. Once you get comfortable on your board, the rest will be easy enough to follow. You can skate on the busy street, sidewalk, or just workout using it!
If you are worried about the investment, a board’s price depends on the quality and brand you are getting. You can customize your skateboard with the specific parts you want. However, it would be best to get the best skateboard wheels for cruising and tricks for a long-time purpose. Once you get your skateboard ready, there is no stopping you!
