DOES SKATEBOARD WHEEL SIZE REALLY MATTER???

In this video I go over WHY wheel size matters so much and WHAT to look for when you buy your next set of wheels!

Let me know if this video was helpful in the comments below 👇🏼

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[LeonPaxton]

What is the best size wheel for your style of skateboarding?

[BLVCKSEA]

I started skating with 48mm wheels..this was in the mid 90s..like 96'..and back then i skated a 7.5 board with venture trucks..so the small wheels made sense and it was the trend at the time..over time I started riding wider boards and sized up to 50mm to 51mm wheels..and i kept my wheel size the same while my board width was getting bigger. My setup before i stopped skating was 8.125 board with Indy 139s and Spitfire Classic 51mm wheels. That was around 2005. I started skating again recently and now i skate a 8.5 board with indy 149s and 54mm spitfire classic f4s 99a. Its the biggest setup ive ever had, but im also at my biggest weight, so it works out for me. Plus im not skating at the same caliber as i did in my younger days, so not flipping my board as much or hucking down rails and gaps.im a low impact skater these days 😂

[insanogeddon]

If you use trucks that are shorter like indys/aces or get a shorter wheel base board for length you can have the benefits of bigger wheels and keep your preferred pop.
Basically the longer the effective tail the larger the wheel size can be w/o the board being near vertical to pop.

[victorrios]

Thanks man, I was looking for a new wheel size because my 50 mm are rough on the streets. This was super helpful, thanks for testing and explaining it so well.

[cyberspongethefirst]

The editing from around 3:50 on was beautifully percussive.

[mikeegbert]

And if you do decide to go big, you can always sand in your own wheel wells. You can buy a drum sander attachment for your drill. If you go about 3.5 plies deep, your hitting about 4-5mm, which is still more room than no wells with 1/8" (3mm+) risers. So 54mm with 1/8" risers would be similar to 60mm with wells and no risers. Just a thought for those contemplating.

[madveteran]

Hey Leon this is very informative and helpful man awesome video man

[diddymelone]

when I began around 3 years ago, I started with 52mm cause it seemed standard enough.
even then I thought maybe bigger wheels might be nice to go over crust better.
so my next wheels were 55mm, felt too big actually.
then I was on 54mm for a while and now I actually like small wheels.
currently I am riding 2 sets of wheels: spitfire conicals at 49mm and powell dragons in street which are now 46mm
both started out as 54mm.
when I buy new ones, I'll go with 53-52 cause I want some material to rip through before they are really small, but not too much, because again I really came to enjoy small wheels.
feels more stable, better pop, more control, less wheel to get in the way on ramps etc.
the obvious downside is that especially on the dragons I have to push more to keep speed, but that really only is an issue when commuting.
for my actual street sessions so far its not a problem.

also consider that the riding surface does grow bigger when the wheel wears down (rotate them every few months so they don't cone like crazy) and that counteracts the shrinking diameter a bit.

[diplenski]

i have a bunch of different setups, but my preference is taller. indy standards w/ 1/8" risers, 56mm or bigger wheels. bigger wheels ride smoother/faster and last longer.

[lurklingX]

wow this is an incredible intro. just started looking into this and was trying to understand what's good for a beginner, and why. it's reminding me of when i was a kid and i wanted roller blades. my mom got me some for christmas and they were the cheapest damn things. i couldn't hardly move or roll and i THOUGHT it was me and that i just couldn't skate. meanwhile a friend of mine with skates was just gliding. :/ i studied both and it seemed to me that the wheels were diff, one seemed like hard cheap plastic (mine) and the other was... idk felt like a dense rubber.

anyhow i used those skates a few time then told my mom that going for the cheapest thing just doesn't WORK sometimes. so the next christmas i got the real skates (just got what my friend had) and voila. now i easily skated and rolled. ((maybe it's a bearings thing, too.))

so i have ptsd over the whole wheel thing haha. this time i'm studying up. ran across some info before this vid that said some wheels work on the street and rough surfaces and that's precisely what i need. i just wanna get the ride down, no tricks yet. as a super young kid i played with my brother's skateboard and my balance wasn't great (i was like 5) and i also couldn't make it GO. and he didn't know either and didn't really use the thing.

so, GREAT breakdown on some of the technical stuff and WHY certain things matter, what it's good for. that's exactly what i was looking for and i'm checking out your channel for more.

[finakies]

Going from 56mm to 54mm only actually make you 1mm closer to the ground because its diameter not raduis. Other than that, always good when you upload haha

[metaldan]

Im a kinda beginner and am going through wheel sizing thinking it’s gonna make all the difference.
I am running 56mm with a 1/8 riser and do find that the pop is far too long so I’ve also ordered 54mm.
I would of thought if you were running a 1/8 riser you’d make up a total of around 4.5mm losing the riser and moving to 54mm wheels.
Were you running riser pads? Video was just what I was looking for :)

[MrDerek-kmxw]

Do you have classic or conicals on your current setup?

[DTC]

I think I am happy with 54mm and 97 Duro F4 now. I have the Classics and I am very curious about the Conical shape now, as I think it will give me a bit more stability while riding and landing. I'm still a beginner so nothing fancy, and not sure if going from Classics to Conicals will make a huge difference at my level.

[K_spawn]

I was skating 56 dragon/nano cubic.... Like 3 weeks ago I changed to 45mm OJ swamp wheels and I don't miss the dragons nor my nano 😅, I do ride very low trucks

[romaniandl]

i will try 56mm oj mini combo got them in sale

[Uait_jr]

I'm about to buy some new wheels (oj’s plain jane).
I want to do both tricks and crusing. do you recommend 54mm or 56mm?

[TheReal_DeanD]

Explaining durometer is a real pain in the arse. At my local skate shop the homie there said just go with 99 duro and deal with it on rough terrain. You'll be better off for it. For me I always go 55mm or 54mm because I don't want to deal with risers anymore. Although for cruising the 60mm wheels feel much nicer.

[Skter-Dad]

You still rockin 54mm? I have been running 56 all summer and my indoor wheels are 58mm wondering if I should get 54 or 56 conical fulls for my indoor wheels. 🤔 definitely cant go back to 58 now. They feel too big and i hate risers 😂

[sparkc]

size matter for what kind terrain. For gap in surface to wheel ratio. general you want ratio large than four to one. so if there is 13.5 gap in road you need wheel size bigger than 54mm. for raise it one to ten. So if bump in 10mm in height you want 100mm to go over it. In Cedar Rapids some of side walk are really ruff which there are 15mm gaps. So 54mm is not going cut It for cursing on the street here.