Skateboard Wheels – What’s the difference?

With so many products and brands on the market these days, deciding which Skateboard Wheels are for you can be a difficult decision, so hopefully this blog might be able to help you make the right decision for you –

Street Wheels –
Street Skateboard wheels have traditionally been poured from a hard urethane (99d or 101a the most common), however, the emergence of the soft sliding wheels in the last couple of years has changed the game for some.

Bones and Spitfire Wheels are the best selling hard wheels. Really, if you’re after a good quality street wheel, not many people look further than one of those two brands. The Spitfire Formula Four and Bones STF ranges have been the go to skateboard wheels for street rippers for many years, and have firmly cemented themselves as the two most prominent hard urethane formula street wheels! Both companies offer an array of shapes, sizes and colours, so whether you want a 52mm or a 58mm, a classic cut or wide cut, a classic white wheel or something a bit more colourful, they have you covered.

Spitfire Wheel Shapes –
Classic – Medium width riding surface, round sidewalls. Designed for control in all situations
Conical – Full riding surface, symmetrical cut in sidewalls for speed, control and slide when needed
Conical full – Wider version of standard conicals with a wider riding surface. A controllable shape for all terrains
Radials – A round edge, medium width riding surface, offering the versatility of the classic shape and the width of a conical
Lock Ins – Asymmetrical shape and design, conical cut profile on one side and straight edge ‘Lock-In’ cut on the other
Lock In Full – A wider version of the lock-in shape.

Full guide here

Bones STF Wheel Shapes –
V1 Standard – Perfect balance of radius, width and speed for best all-around performance
V2 Locks – Tighter profile and straighter edge for better lock-in control
V3 Slims – Narrower width and lighter weight for faster flick and easier slide-ability
V4 Wide – Wider contact patch for greater stability and solid landings
V5 Sidecut – Sidecut walls designed for more stability, less drag and longer grinds
V6 Widecut – Wider contact patch with sidecut walls for less drag for longer grinds and greater stability

Full guide here

As you can see above, Bones have Spitfire have got you covered for a top of the range set of skateboard wheels, however, if they aren’t your thing, there’s a few other notable high quality brands to look at, these include;

OJ Wheels
Santa Cruz Wheels/Slime Balls
Speed Lab Wheels
Dial Tone Wheels

Soft Slider Wheels –
As mentioned earlier, the emergence of soft sliding wheels has changed the game for some street skaters. The soft sliding phenomenon has only been around for a couple years, and the first company to release one was Powell with their Dragon Formula Wheels, followed by Bones with the X-Formula. A soft sliding wheel breaks down everything that was thought about street wheels, that a wheel needed to be hard to slide, and that you wouldn’t get the smooth cruising feel of a soft wheel if you wanted any chance of busting out a fat powerslide, however, these theories are now a thing of the past.

Powell Dragon Formula Wheels –
The Powell Dragon wheels were the major catalyst for this new trend in street skateboarding wheels, and the first soft sliders available on the market. Powell sell the Dragon Wheels as 93a and 97a Urethane, usually a compound way to soft for proper slides, however, they’ve made it work. I was skeptical about this at first, but after trying out a few different peoples rides, I can confirm they work, and surprisingly better than expected. The Powell Dragon Wheels start at 52mm and are available all the way into the low 60+mm bracket, and are available in the classic white or vibrant neon green colours. The Dragon wheels are also available in a multitude of shapes to meet your personal skateboarding needs.

Bones X-Formula –
Like the Dragons, the Bones X-Formula soft sliders have been very popular, and general feedback we’ve had is, they work. Different to the Dragons however, Bones specify their soft sliders as an ‘X97’ and ‘X99’ formula, so harder than the Dragons, but still giving you that smooth soft wheel rolling feel, and the slide of the standard Bones STF. The Bones X-Formula is available in a mix of colours, usually the classic white wheel or a solid black wheel. The X-Formula is also available in an array of sizes and shapes. (See Bones STF shape guide earlier in blog for info)

Other Soft Sliders –
Since the boom in popularity and exposure for the soft sliders, other companies have ventured into bring their spin on them. Spitfire and OJ being the main two to come after with a version of the soft slider. Particularly Spitfire, who’s Andrew Reynolds pro range of 93d wheels have become a very popular choice for customers more recently here at Native.

Money Saver Wheels –
The brands we have touched on so far would all be classed as some of the top of the range wheels the Skateboarding market has to offer. However, these aren’t the only wheels available to get you rolling. Money saver wheels however do not mean poor quality, some of the brands that’ll be mentioned will be entry level wheels, perfect for that first skateboard, because as a beginner your requirements won’t necessarily be for the top of the range stuff available, just something that will get you rolling and serve you well. The other brands I’ll mention will be mid-range, the mid-range wheels are great quality, not quite to the standard of the wheels mentioned earlier in this blog, but not far off, and some of them will only set you back half the price. The money savers are perfect for beginners looking for that entry level board, or more experienced standard skaters looking for good quality Skateboard Wheels at budget friendly prices.

Entry Level –
Enuff
Speed Demons
Birdhouse
Mini-Logo

Mid Range –
Ricta
Haze
Pig
Wayward
Sabbath
Orbs
Crupie
Snot
SML

Popular Mid-Range Wheels – 

Orbs – Orbs Wheels are definitely one of our most popular mid-range skateboard wheel brands, with prices starting at the mid 20 pounds range, they’ll cost you less than half of the top of the range brands, without sacrificing all of the quality. Orbs make wheels up to 58mm and also have offerings on the softer side, so they’re a brand with a diverse range of wheels available, and they also offer a great range of graphics and colour choices, from the classic white wheel to more out there multi-coloured offerings, so whether you’re in it for street skating or cruising, and want either a more classic look or something a bit more funky, Welcome Skateboards Orbs are a great option to look at. 

Sabbath – Sabbath Wheels are a UK company and probably the most newly created out of all the brands mentioned in this blog. Sabbath make wheels very much on the harder side, and offer wheels from 48mm (OG street skater vibe) to 60mm for you transition and new age street rippers. Sabbath sponsor a whole host of legacy UK skateboarders, with the likes of Vaughan Baker, Craig Questions and James Bush all having pro wheels. So if supporting home-grown whilst getting a good quality product is your thing, definitely take a look at what Sabbath has to offer.

Cruiser Wheels –
The other type of Skateboard Wheel to a street wheel is what’s known as a cruiser wheel. Cruiser Wheels are historically very much on the softer side, and come in all different kinds of shapes and sizes, and for all kinds of boards.

OJ wheels and Santa Cruz wheels are two of the most popular cruiser wheel brands, and definitely two of our best sellers.

OJ Wheels –
OJ Wheels most popular cruiser wheel range is the Super Juice Wheel. Available in a mix of sizes and colours, the Super Juice range has you covered whether you want smaller cruisers, bigger or somewhere in the middle, and if you want something on the more subtle colour wise or something bright and vibrant. OJ also offer Hot Juice, Thunder Juice and Keyframe ranges, so if you think OJ sounds like they might be the cruiser wheel for you, check them out.

Santa Cruz Wheels –
Santa Cruz’s most popular wheel range is the Slime Ball range, now, even though there is plenty of Slime Balls Wheels available on the harder side of the urethane spectrum, they also make popular soft wheels. Often a 78a, and going to sizes towards the high 60+mm range, Slime Balls are an excellent choice of cruiser wheel and have been going since the 1980’s.

Ricta Clouds –
Ricta Clouds are an interesting one, as they are very much a cruiser wheel, however, like the soft sliders previously mentioned, the Ricta Clouds merge the gap between Street and Cruiser Wheels. Available very much on the softer side (78a, 86a + 92a), what’s interesting about the Clouds is the shape, which is a much more street influenced design than some of it’s cruiser wheel counterparts, with a shape not dissimilar to the Spitfire Conical and Conical fulls, Ricta Clouds are an excellent choice if you want your wheel to be super smooth riding but not feel massively different shape wise to your street wheel setup.

Some of the bigger Street Wheel brands, including Spitfire and Bones also offer soft wheels. Often referred to as filmer wheels, if you want to support your favourite hard wheel companies, but are looking in the soft wheel market, these are a great option.

Wheel Size Guide;

Street Wheels (48-56mm) –
Typically, street wheels will be between 48 and 56mm, with most street skaters opting for wheels within those parameters. However, more recently, we have seen big name street skaters skating bigger wheels like 58mm, with the addition of riser pads, to allow for better smooth rolling over all terrain, good examples of this are Jack O’Grady and Ville Wester, the latter recently having a pro Spitfire wheel releasing at 58mm.

Cruiser/Transition Wheels (56mm+) –
Cruiser and Transition/Ramp wheels are often on the larger side, mainly for a smooth ride, and the ability to deal with whatever terrain is thrown at you. Wheels above 56mm do require a riser pad usually, to avoid wheel bite. Wheel ranges like the Ricta Cloud range do offer smaller wheels on the softer side though, so if you like the street size of wheel, but want something for cruising, you’re still covered.

So, as you can see, The world of Skateboard Wheels is a big one, and often making the choice for which wheels are best for you is not an obvious or easy one, so we hope that you might have picked up some helpful information in this blog post, and whichever wheels you do end up choosing to get you rolling, just keep rolling.