Skateboard wheels are helpful for moving and determining how fast you can go. Generally, these are made by using polyurethane. They also come in a wide range of colors, durability levels and size to suit your skateboard preference and style. Durometer and diameter are used for measuring the wheels of skateboards. Former is the hardness of the wheel and the latter is its size. Both these factors are determined by personal preferences and use of skateboards. Custom building is helpful for you to select the best skateboard wheels that match your hardware, trucks and deck.
How to Choose the Best Skateboard Wheels
Skateboard wheels have greater impact on your ride in several ways, which include speed, feel and ability to control its movements. Wheel choice is one of the biggest factors in skate set-up. You can select the best skateboard wheels on the basis of materials, contact patch, durometer and diameter.
a) Materials
Most skateboard wheels are manufactured from polyurethane (PU), a hard composite material. With the introduction of PU wheels in 1970s, the face of skating has changed forever. Durability is the most important characteristic of this material. It also has the power to resist abrasion to a sport, which was in desperate need. PU provides topmost performance benefits. Besides, these wheels are relatively not expensive to manufacture. Therefore, you can purchase top quality equipment at an affordable cost.
b) Diameter
Millimeter (mm) is used for measuring skateboard wheels. If the number is lower, the wheel will be smaller. The diameter of most skateboard wheels range from 50 to 75mm. Larger wheels result faster ride and smaller wheels provide slower ride. Besides, the acceleration and turn is also determined by wheel diameter. If you can do technical tricks on shortboards, smaller wheels are the ideal choice. Larger wheels provide required speed and balance for cruisers and longboards.
- 50-53 mm wheels are slower, smaller
- 54-59 mm is the average wheel size and it is perfect beginners and riders skating vert ramps, bowls, parks and street
- 60mm+ wheels are designed for dirt boards and downhill. These are made for rougher surfaces and speed.
c) Durometer
The hardness of skateboard wheels is measured by using durometer. Most manufacturers use A Scale Durometer. This is a 100-point scale, which quantifies the hardness of a wheel. If the number is higher, the wheel is harder. Average diameter is 99a. However, some manufacturers use B Scale Durometer, 20 points less. It allows scaling an additional 20 points. It means, the hardness of 80b durometer and 100a durometer is same. However, such skateboard wheels have more accurate and wider hardness range.
- 78a-87a- soft wheels
- 88a-95a – little bit harder and faster. Though grip is less, it is still good
- 96a -99a-Grip and speed is good, great for beginners
- 101a+ : Fastest and hardest with least grip
- 83b-84b : Extremely hard
d) Contact Patch
Contact patch has greater role in the performance of skateboard wheel. This is the area of a wheel, which actually makes contact with the pavement. Contact patch will be very large with large longboard wheels. Large contact patch helps to distribute weight over a larger area. This is helpful for reducing compression of urethane in your wheels and decreasing rolling resistance.
Review of Top 10 Best Skateboard Wheels
1. Set of 4 LED Light-up Skateboard Wheels
According to my experiments of a large number of products, these are the best skateboard wheels and they are equipped with ABEC-7 Bearings Ride – 60x45mm. These wheels can light up the night, so it can be used even during night. It has multi-color LED bright lights, so, batteries are not needed for lighting up these wheels. High quality ABEC-7 is the other stunning feature of this wheel. All these features make this skateboard wheel the best product in this category. The price of these wheels is below $50.
Key Features:
- Wheel size is 60mm x 45mm
- Made by using PU
- No batteries required
- Comes with high intensity LEDs
- Multi-color lights when spinning
- ABEC-7 road runner bearings
2. Tiger Boards 59mm Skateboard Wheels
I also checked the Tiger Boards thorough on many surfaces. Tiger Boards 59mm Skateboard Wheels (78a) has unavoidable role in the best wheels for skateboarding category. These are available in stunning colors, which is helpful for making a strong fashion statement. These are super soft skateboard wheels, so these will be the perfect replacement for lots of similar sized skateboards. Tiger 3” or 4” trucks and Tiger Abec7 bearings are the other specialties of these skateboard wheels. Amazon price of these wheels is below $20 with free shipping on eligible orders.
Key Features:
- Super soft (78a softness)
- Extremely smooth wheels (59mm)
- Come in a wide range of bright colors
- Comparable
- Separate solid bearings
3. Bones Wheels 100’s Wheels
Comfortable ride is the right for every rider. Bones is popular for making some of the best skateboard wheels, so you can confidently buy Bones Wheels 100’s Wheels. The company manufactures these wheels by using urethanes, which is revolutionizing the future of skateboarding. Besides, all skateboards of Bones can provide you warranty. The price of these wheels is below $30
Key Features:
- Color of the wheel is white
- Made in the USA
- High quality
- Comes with a warranty
4. Bones STF Stree Tech Formula Skateboard Wheels
I can surely say that top quality components are used for manufacturing Bones STF Street Formula. These are engineered specially to provide the best properties. Amazing slide capabilities and substantially higher rebound are the other major features of Bones wheels, especially this model. The wheels of Bones are produced and developed in its on plant in Santa Barbara, CA. The manufacturer is very confident about the topmost quality of these skateboard wheels.
Key Features:
- Smooth surface
- STF hardness
- Comes in a set of 4
- Available in white color
- Used topmost quality components
5. Orangatang In Heat 75mm Skate Wheels
Do not believe my words, just check and find it yourself! The contact patch of this skateboard wheels is 56mm and it is 75mm tall. These wheels are designed for providing speed, hard carving, and pumping. These wheels have the ability to slide when they are broken. Nevertheless, these are not freeride wheels. Edges of these wheels are hard sharp to provide good grip. Speed can be maintained because of thick lips. Rippled inner walls are helpful for providing you progressive energy return.
Key Features:
- These wheels come with a set of 4
- Durometer of these wheels is 80a
- These are softer and gripper
- These are softer and gripper
- Durometer of 86a provides harder/slider wheels
6. Shark Wheel High Performance Skateboard Wheels
I also used these wheels in many surfaces. These SIDEWINDER skateboard wheels come in 70mm 78A and these are available in a Set of 4. Generally, Stark Wheels are considered as the next-level wheels. They can provide you high performance because of 70mm wheels. Besides, these wheels are really great for all around cruising. These wheels are available at below $80
Key Features:
- Stark Wheels can be used even wet conditions
- Provides good slide control
- Very fast because of sine-wave shaped wheels
- Can use them in rough terrain
- Look square when they roll
7. Sector 9 Slide Butterballs Longboard Wheels
I can confidently say that these wheels are awesome for easier sliding and cruiser setups. The butter based urethane leaves fatty thane lines behind. They slide amazingly even when they are broken in. The price of these 65Mm (4) wheels is affordable enough.
Key Features:
- Pretty fast roll speed
- Slide smooth and consistently
- Affordable Price
8. Powell Peralta Rat Bones Re-Issue Skateboard Wheels
Powell Peralta Rat Bones are great for cruising and vert skating. These are great wheels if you just started for learning how to slide. These are also very buttery, which is beyond explanation. These super smooth wheels are great all around. Powell Peralta Rat Bones is ideal for older style decks. These wheels are available at under $40
Key Features:
- Smooth surface
- Natural Formula
- 85a hardness
- 44 mm Width
- 60 mm diameter
9. Ricta Clouds White 78a Skateboard Wheel
I used Ricta Clouds for skating from Downtown Brooklyn. I can surely tell you that these wheels can provide you lots of grip. They can also able to keep your board in motion. In order to enjoy every beat, I used in manhole covers, grates, twigs, rocks, crappy pavements and electric covers. These wheels are really stunning. You can purchase these amazing wheels spending less than $50
Key Features:
- Provides smooth rolling
- 78A soft urethane
- Can be used in roughest surfaces
- Modern Shape
10. Sunset Skateboards Cruiser Wheel
These skateboard wheels come with ABEC-9 Bearing (4-Pack). From my experience, I can tell that these wheels are designed for providing best level performance. These are soft cruiser wheels with small size. These are super smooth and provide you a soft cruiser ride. The manufacturer used the brightest LEDs, which can glow for 100,000 hours! The price of these wheels is below $50
Key Features:
- 59mm x 45mm standard wheel size
- High intensity LED skate wheel with awesome brightness
- No batteries required
- Soft and durable
- Fast moving
Final Decision
I have a passion for testing skateboard wheels and I picked these top 10 skateboard wheels on the basis of through research and deep experimentation. I have checked hundreds of models picking the best skate wheels. Finding the best wheels for skateboarding is not an easy task. So, I checked them with all types of surfaces. I also checked the speed, movement, control, spin, etc. The top skateboard wheels mentioned here are the best wheels available in the industry. You can confidently purchase one on the basis of your affordability and usage. I am sure that all these products can provide you maximum satisfaction. These skateboard wheels are really worth for providing you the best value for your money.
Leave a Reply