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wheels for street skating.

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can anyone help me choose what wheels are good for street skating?sorry i don’t know the word for it.  I’m skating for 1 month i don’t know much about the parts.please help me.  downer

 
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No worries Louie, welcome to BW and we are here to help no matter how you word it.
Budget is going to play a role in what you can get, but here is a guideline to picking wheels.
The size of the wheels to start with you want to look for 50-52mm.
Width of the wheels and the contact area you want to have something that is narrower. This can be determined by looking at the wheel straight on, like in the way that it would roll. Reason for this that you will have a lighter wheel that has less drag.
Hardness for the wheels will determine whether or not the wheels will flat spot easier, allow you to slide and how long they will last. General durometer will be from 99-101A, 83-84B and 53-55D.
Don’t go too cheap on wheels. What is your price range by the way?
What bearings do you have?

 
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thank you sir.

i bought a complete element skateboard cause i don’t have a clue how to make one,
they gave me a board 7.5 width 31inches long and the wheels are element durathane 52mm 101A and its says guaranteed to never flatspot. whats a flapspot anyways? hehe. :D

and the wheel price range. I dont have any clue about the prices of the wheels.but i think i can afford a good wheel. smile

I dont have any clue on bearings too.the bearings attached to my wheels has something written on it. “abec-3 607”

thats it.please help me.i’m a newbie..

 
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Welcome to Boardworld, Louie. cool smile

A flatspot is when your wheel is no longer perfectly round. There will be a section of the wheel that is flat. Imagine sliding a wheel on concrete in the exact same spot without the wheel turning. Eventually the friction is going to flatten that part of the wheel.

The abec rating refers to the speed of the wheel (although there is some debate about this). Abec 3 is usually the lowest rating you will see in most skate bearings. That’s not to say they aren’t good. From there they go up to abec 5, then abec 7 etc. Then you can get into swiss and ceramic bearings but they are more costly.

Let us know if you have any questions.

 
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thank you rider,

Now I know something,thanks.haha.


So my current wheels 52mm 101A is good for street skating?
What bearing can you recommend for me? smile

thanks for the help. smile

 
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Those wheels should be fine. You might as well use them until they’re worn.

Same with the bearings. I would use them until you feel you need new bearings. Form there, you could step up to abec 5s, if you want more speed. I would recommend trying Bones Reds bearings (Bones don’t use an abec rating). They are probably the most widely used bearings worldwide. Good quality and excellent value (they sell for $30 in Australia).

Where do you live by the way?

I’m about to hit the road for a few days, so apologies if I don’t get back to you until next week. Happy skating!

 
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ok.i’m good with the wheels.thanks guys

how about the bones swiss bearing?

i live in halifax nova scotia canada,hehe

 
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Hey Louie as Rider mentioned stick to the wheels that your got at the moment. The element setups are good to begin with then you can branch out from there. If you are planning on replacing something start with bearings or trucks. Reason I say this is because I have seen my fair share of element bearings just die and the trucks don’t have the best turnability. Thing is hold off on the trucks though till you are sure you want to stick to the size board that you have now. (width of board I can explain why if you would like)

Bones swiss bearings are amazing bearings, thing is seeing that you are new to skating I would bother with them yet. It be like learning to drive in a Ferrai or the likes. They are fast and roll amazing, but you need to also up keep them as well. Rider mentioned the Bones Reds, they are great bearings for the price. Other options that are good as well are the Modus Abec 5’s, they also come with bearing spacers and Pig bearings. The abec 5’s and speed stars are good bearings.

 
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yeah i will stick with that wheels and bearing for now.it’s still on good condition.

please explain the width?hehe.and how to choose a trucks if its ok..

yeah bone swiss is expensive.haha.i’ll go for the abec 5’s for now.but i dont need any replacements at this time.i just want to know the proper things to buy just in case.hehe]

CJ, I’ll be waiting for the width and trucks. Thank you.. smile

 
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Ok Louie,
Width. This is the measurement across the top of the board from side to side. As you said your board is 7.5. This is the narrower size in your standard double kick deck. The trucks that you have on there at the moment are designed to match the size 7.5 through to 7.75. As people start buying different things for the boards some will find that skating with a wider board is more comfortable. When you start going up in board width, you will need to go up in truck width to accomondate the wider deck.
Why?
This helps with the stability of the board and also gives a wider grinding area to help lock on to grinds better. So you maybe wondering what size trucks to go for if you are going up in deck size? Here is a quick guide. Deck sizes on the left and trucks on the right.
7.5-7.75 deck, 5.0, 145 and 129 trucks
7.75-8.125 deck, 5.25, 147 and 139 trucks
8.25-8.5 deck, 5.5, and 149 trucks.
Any decks bigger than that it gets more limited on the trucks you can get.
I hope this has helped Loiue and anymore questions just shout. Keep an eye out for more articles to come on things like trucks and wheels as well.

 
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for street skateboarding what width is the best?how can i know the best with for me?

 
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Continue with the setup you have now and see how you go with that. The advantage of your setup now is the fact that you step up to a 7.75 without an issue and see how that goes. Finding the setup that is right for you will take a little bit of time but once you have had a few you will start to understand boards more.

 
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ok. so i guess that’s all I need to know for now?hehe.thanks a lot CJ and rider.

i’m having a rest cause I fell on my skateboard yesterday and have a few injuries.my body hurts.hehe.

 
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Yeah injuries are loads of fun, NOT? Sometimes after a skate my ankles get nice and swollen so then I need to keep them up and cool them down. The joys I would not change for the world.

 
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one more thing? what can I use to clean my bearings and maintain to maintain it?

 
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To clean bearings you want to get some degreaser and white spirit. A spray degreaser is good because it will push the dirt and old built up grease out. Soak the bearings in the white spirit after because it will remove the excess grease and it also evaporates as well.

After that to lubricate them use Bones speed cream it is amazing stuff to use. You will only need 2 drops per a bearing, spin them to spread the lubricate so then you have an even spread.

Check the below video from around the 1:27 it shows the basics of cleaning them out.

https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/4933/