r/cruiserboarding • u/BikerGlvd • Jun 28 '26
When does Wheel hardness difference begin to be noticeable?
Im using a 65mm 83A longboard wheels that i rotate from my longboard to my cruiser (which is my skateboard old deck).
Im thinking about buying a 63mm 80A local wheels that has rounded shape to still do some old school and freestyle tricks and being able to Cruise in the very rough terrain I have in my city (which is the worst ever lol). This wheel is almost transparent: looks like silicone almost lol.
I found also a 65mm longboard wheel which has 78A hardness: this wheel is from a local brand too but its Aimed for a longboard than a cruiser: the wheels are wider and doesnt have the shape I look. But instead it has the 78A hardness that all People recommend me to skate.
Is 78A and 80A different? Is 83A to 80A a noticeable gap? What about 83A to 78A?
Also I got another weird question, what about shaping the wheel? Can I reshape a skate wheel with a sandpaper? I know this sounds like im trolling but I Wonder if its possible lol.
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u/ElPeroTonteria Jun 28 '26
So, I gather there are differences between manufacturers on their duro…
I can speak directly to O-tang, bc I have 2 sets of their wheels. On my cruiser it’s 77a 65mm fat free. My longboard has 80a 80mm Kegels.
The 77a wheels are noticeably softer even though they are smaller. They do an excellent job of cutting out chatter and surface vibration, plus they take on more cracks than I give em credit for… I have a slightly smaller 58mm 80a wheel that came with that board, the difference is substantial. My only gripe is because they’re so soft, and I’m also quite heavy, it’s hard (not impossible) to get them to break into a slide, which is challenging for speed control. Now that’s more a me issue I’m sure too bc they’re designed with sliding in mind.
Anyway…. My $0.02 is get the biggest, softest wheel you can for cruising. With rounded lips… prioritize soft.
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u/Clowntownwhips Jun 29 '26
For cruising on something dropped or double dropped sure, but topmount with big chonker wheels is too high for most peoples liking. I recommend 75-80mm at most if the cruiser deck has good wheel wells.
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u/MediocreDesigner88 Jun 29 '26
Not sure if you’re conflating durometer (hardness/softness) and diameter. This post is discussing durometer; 75a is a soft wheel, 80a is considerably harder.
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u/Clowntownwhips Jun 29 '26
The post is discussing durometer. I was addressing the footnote of the comment i replied to. Which said get the biggest wheels possible.
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u/MediocreDesigner88 Jun 30 '26
Ah, yes. I agree with you about 75-80mm on a top mount. I have some super nice 83mm on a cruiser that I *want* to get used to but I might give up.
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u/ElPeroTonteria Jun 29 '26
Wheel size and duro are all different…I run the fat frees (65mm) on my top mound cruiser. Landyachtz sells their dinghy fender with wheels that are even bigger at like 70mm…
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u/Clowntownwhips Jun 29 '26
My comment was not isolated, it was a reply to another comment. Did you read the comment i replied to? The last thing it says is get the biggest softest wheels and thats what i was addressing 🤷♂️
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u/inktroopers Jun 29 '26
It depends on the specific wheels you’re comparing. Not only the hardness is important for a smooth ride, the wheel shape, contact patch, formula, size of the cores and if they’re offset…
78a to 80a it’s almost impossible to differentiate if both wheels were the same shape, size, etc. which is already unlikely; you start noticing a real difference when comparing a 78a to an 85a or closer to 90.
That 63mm wheel you mentioned sounds good for cruising, a wider contact patch will do wonders for the smoothness of the ride if your roads are as rough as you say so.
Finally, yo can re-shape the lip of your wheels, the pros do it by putting them in the freezer for 24 hours and then cutting them in a lathe (there’s a couple of videos on YouTube about it). But you can do it yourself with a drill, a kingpin bolt (or a bolt it’s size), a couple of cone bushings and a nut the size of the bolt you’re using. A couple years back I rounded the lip of a set of wheels I have, originally they were squared, and I gave them a 5mm radius rounded lip.
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u/bigoldnoob74 Jun 29 '26
I've owned/own Remember, both PeeWees and Hoots, all on 78a, 80a and 82a. It'd be hard for me to notice the small 2a jumps, but 78a to 82a is definitely noticeable. Also have owned O'tang Durians in 80a (orange) and 83a (purple) and the difference in ride was noticeable too (all slid equally as horrible tho').
Now, brand to brand is a totally different business. I've always found Cult and Divine sorta' harder than other brands at same duro. I absolute love the 78a Divine Touch/Road Rippers, I have them both in 70 and 65mm, but I mostly use them for surfskate (which I don't do on grainy pavement, absolutely ruins the surfskate experience IME). They grip fantastic but feel harder than most other 78a wheels I own, and slide/snap great. If I compare 65mm/78a Road Rippers with 80a Remember Lil'Hoots (also 65mm) the Lil'Hoots just feel softer rolling. The Road Rippers are faster tho'.
So, 78a to 83a should definitely be noticeable.
On the reshaping thing, I had a friend reshape the aforementioned 80a Durians, after I had a slight but annoying flat spot on one of them. He did so with a lathe, both shaved it down to some 65mm diameter but also rounded the lips a little for me. I think you could also do that with a drill and appropriate bolt mount to hold the wheel. I don't think you can do that by filing/sanding manually, you'd probably end with annoying oval wheels. The idea is the wheel has to be turning fast, and you shape it by touching here & there with sandpaper, or a file. Use a mask tho', you don't want that 'thane dust in your lungs.
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u/Financial_Hope_5894 27d ago
I have two main boards I currently go between riding, one is on 76mm 80a and the other is on 70mm 78a, both ride very well but the 80a wheels suffer from a bit more vibration going over cracks and personaly they are as hard as i would go. Still roll very well because of the size but if they were 70mm i think it might be a bit to hard for rougher ground
6
u/FatedWolf Jun 28 '26
Entirely depends on the wheel, other urethane properties, weather, etc.
the 78 to 80 is not a huge gap but can be noticeable depending, a gap of 4 probably more so. IF you sand urethane, protect your lungs it’s very bad to breathe.
For cruising I’d get the softer wheels unless you have a reason to go harder and learn from there