My daughter has just got her 1st board a Plan B complete, I feel that the wheels are a bit narrow and small they are 52mm and 18mm of contact. She will mainly be skateboarding at skate parks so I was wondering what size and hardness of wheels would be good for her? and would slightly wider ones be better for her
My ten year old is riding big soft spitfires. Canāt remember which ones specifically but theyāre about 56mm and 80D hardness I think. Super fast, super grippy, roll over anything.
What are you worried about particularly? Iād have thought they should be fine on a smooth skatepark.
I was just wondering if something bigger and wider might be better. Just maybe to give her a bit more confidence.
Wider wheels wonāt make a huge difference if weāre talking about a light child whoās not throwing a lot of body weight into things.
Bigger softer wheels run smoother but are more prone to wheelbite if you have loose trucks.
My opinion - Just see how she gets on and let her choose an upgrade set herself when sheās ready.
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Iād also recommend Spitfires. If itās an outdoor skatepark the concrete should be reasonably grippy and most hardnesses would be fine. If itās indoor and wood it can get dusty and slippery and Iād go for less than 100a. Spritfire make Formula Fours in 97a and 99a, both of which are great skatepark wheels. The Conical Full,shape has the widest contact patch. For a kid, 54mm would be a good size. 58mm and 60mm wheels are more for vert, big skaters and big terrain.
If sheās using a full plan b complete wouldnāt it be better to use the current wheels and upgrade when necessary rather then a set of Ā£50 spitfires. Unless you picked up some second hand
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What Jimo said.
I gave my daughter a pre-built, loosened off the trucks as far as possible and let her rip.
Is it wobbly? Yeah! Dad tightens trucks. That feel ok, less wobbly? Yeah! Cool.
Oh yes - thatās a thing. Kids are lighter. Truck bushings are average hardness for average sized riders. Swap the bushings for soft ones - maybe the soft Bones Hardcore
Need to change this thread title to āWheel Talkā
Honestly if itās a kid I donāt think it will matter that much. Softer probably better yes but upgrading a full set of wheels when they will just end up in mud/puddles and they can barely push is a bit of a waste and overthinking it IMO. Just leave them as-is. Wheel profiles/hardnesses didnāt make a jot of difference to me until Iād been skating 5 years
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Thanks guys for all the advice will just see how things go with her
I sell quite a few completes through The Skate Society and have found that some of the wheels are a bit on the slow side. DLX, NHS, CLICHE all have good (harder) wheels that roll well and keep their speed. ALIEN, HABITAT, HEART SUPPLY arenāt as good and tend to have really slow wheels. To some extent itās good to not have a super quick wheel when you are starting out but there comes a point where it becomes an issue. The main challenge is keeping speed. I find that when kids canāt maintain their speed they are spending all the time pushing and not enough time riding, turning, carving, shredding the gnar! etc. Speed is a key part of the process and a good set of wheels makes all the difference.
I generally recommend replacing wheels if they seem slow. A Ā£22 set of Picture Wheels will make a lot of difference. Snot are good (Ā£30). OJ Elites (Ā£40) Obvs Spitfres are top drawer (Ā£50) Durometer wise - 99a are a good all rounder. If youāre after that smooth ride on everything 88a Clouds (The Red Ones) are really fun. #longlivethewheel
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Thank you for that
Now these are wheels!
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Only wheels I would skate are Bones SPFsor STFs, hard as possible. I found Welcome Orbs very similar as well, I think similar formula. I hear Spitfire formula 4s are excellent but not tried them. Same with the OJs. All other urethane I wouldnāt waste money on. Or in other words you get what you pay for.
Last off the cuff purchase was some death wheels (at wholesale cost thank god) and they were incredibly bad. Flat spotted them first session.
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99 Spitfire F4ās here, only wheels Iāve ridden for years. I have a set of 54/101(?) Loopholes on my new 8.25ā Xmas complete, looking forward to trying them.
Iām a big spitfire fan. Iāve ridden 99a for years and now the new 97a. Some people feel the same about Bones - I think the difference is down to how much they slide on smooth surfaces, and whether you like them a little slidier (Bones) or a little grippier (Spitfire).
Bones SPf are brilliant. Fast, good slide and last ages. Last set has lasted a couple of years so far without slowing down or flat spotting- and I do fair amount of powerslides.
Got given a set of Speedlabs recently, which were good, and a bit grippier, but not as good as the Bones.
Do the Bones SPF/STF slide better than formula fours?
