Wheel terms


  • Wheel terms

     

    Durometer is the hardness of a wheel.

    The size of the wheel is how tall it is.

    Contact patch is the width of the wheel touching the ground. 

    Cores are the center of a wheel which hold the core to the urethane part of the wheel.

    Skin is the outside of a new wheel that isn’t stone ground.

    Stone ground means the wheel is broken in from the factory.

    Race wheel means any downhill wheel meant for speed. Typically square lipped, with skin and larger then free ride wheels.

    Freeride wheels are wheels meant for sliding. Usually round lipped, stone ground and a little smaller then race wheels.

    Torched means the wheels are done or bad in some way.

    Swirled wheels are wheels with improperly mixed urethane.

    Flat Spotted wheels are wheels that where slid at 90 degrees making them not round.

    Ovaled means the wheels are oval shaped, probably due to being slid a few times after flatspoting.

    Buzzing wheels are wheels that vibrate the board due to either a flatpot or a oval.

    Scrubbed wheels means they have been broken in.

    Scrubs usually means wheels that have been broken in, often with around 80% of there life left.c

    Cored wheels equals wheels that have no life left since they were worn to the core.

    Thane lines are the marks that some wheels leave behind.

    When wheels dump, they leave a lot of thane, often being buttery wheels.

    Icey wheels are wheels that feel like they slide a lot with not a lot of control.

    Buttery wheels are wheels that slide with a more secure feel.

    Grippy wheels are wheels that resist sliding.

     

    This is a copy paste from Chris Ramage in another thread.



  • Definitely very helpful. An interesting note on durometer - a lot of wheels may be marked as a specific durometer, but will be several degrees harder or softer. Adam Ornelles, who helped design the Pantheon Karmas, said that when testing he found that beyond Seismic, many wheels were much, much softer than advertised (at least in the LDP world). So, if you feel like your wheels are harder or softer than advertised, they very likely are!


  • A few more definitions/thoughts:

    Core placement:

    Center set - the core is in the center of the wheel. Usually seen on freeride wheels. Flipping does not change width. 

    Offset - there is more wheel on the outside of the core than the inside. Usually seen on racing wheels. Flipping makes the total width of your trucks and wheels skinnier. 

    Inset- more wheel on inner lip than outer. Powell kevins are the only inset wheel I can think of. Flipping these makes the total width wider. 

    Wheel appearance:

    Clear wheels tend to dump urethane when you slide and leave big lines. 

    An opaque wheel - could feel a lot of different ways, depends on the specific urethane formula. 

     

    Edges:

    Square lip - gives more grip, often seen on offset downhill wheels. 

    Rounded or beveled edges - slides easier. Often seen on centerset freeride wheels. 

    Urethane formula:

    This affects how a wheel slides more than durometer. Powell snakes are a very soft 75a, but the formula makes them very slick. 


  • https://www.longboarderlabs.com/anatomy-of-longboard-wheels/X

    Check out this website, has great graphics to explain the different types of wheel design

     


  • @Zach Maxon Yup, literally have a quick post on this written up and am planning on a vid to go with it. Duro checker comes in today. 


  • Rad, I'm looking forward to seeing some more wheels tested on it beyond LDP! I'll be on the lookout for the video.


  • Cores:

    The hard plastic piece inside the urethane that attaches to the bearings. 

    Large cores: 

    Large cores tend to decrease the overall weight of the wheel. Less urethane in the wheel = less mass = faster acceleration. 

    Supportive cores: 

    Supportive cores tend to support the lips and outside edge of the wheel more, resulting in a more consistent slide. 

     


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