Choosing Longboard Wheels

How to choose the right longboard wheels to fit your needs:

There are a few factors that go into choosing the right longboard wheels. A few questions you might ask are: What type of surfaces am I going to be skating on? What type of skating am I going to be doing? And, what type of wheels do I need for my particular board? After you determine the answer to those questions, you will only have two choices: Wheel size and durometer number. The durometer number refers to how hard or soft the wheel is according to the urethane wheel formula scale. The scale ranges (for longboard wheels) from 70a (which is very soft) to 90a (which is very hard).

How to determine your wheel size:
If you are skating rough ground or rocky asphalt, choosing bigger wheels will give you a more comfortable ride and allow you to handle the cracks and pebbles on the ground with ease. The bigger the wheels are the more they absorb the bumpy terrain. 70mm to 76mm wheels would be perfect for those conditions. 65mm to 70mm wheels would be better suited for smooth streets or sidewalks. The most popular size on the traditional 36” or 40” longboards are the 70mm wheels. For minis the 65mm works best.

How to determine the durometer number:
The durometer is the hardness or softness scale used to measure the wheel urethane. When determining the wheel urethane, the main question to think about is: Am I going to be sliding or cruising? When you are sliding, you are sliding on your wheels at a 90 degree angle while still moving forward. If you are going to be sliding you would need a harder wheel such as the 83a or 85a ZaZa wheels. If you are going to cruise around the streets you would need smooth gel soft cruising wheels with a duro, such as our 78a wheels.

We hope this helps in choosing the right longboard wheels for you. If you have any questions please call us at: 949-689-0571