What kind of wheels/bearings/spacers for my Longboard?
I just recently bought a longboard of a random customer at my local Wal*Mart! I had it retaped, but didn’t think to ask about my wheels!
Now im wondering what i should go for(wheel/bearing/spacer wise)! I bought the board mainly for city commuting, so i would really like to be able to take as tight of turns as possible…
my longboard specs are:
Sector 9(model unknown) with Camber & Kickflip
3′ 3″ long
Trucks/with wheels are 8 1/2″ wide
Current wheels are 2 1/2″ diameter
It seems like a good commuter setup. To turn sharper, try loosening up the trucks or get some softer bushings. You will need to experiment a bit. Looser trucks will cause speed wobble at lower speeds. You will need to find the right match between turns and speed. You should also learn to do a kickturn on a longboard. It’s a bit more difficult than on a regular board. Powerslides can also be used to to turn, but you will chew up wheels quickly. Your only other option is get different trucks that will allow for a greater turning radius.
I’m trying some 66mm Ricta Clouds. Haven’t had a chance to try them with any sort of speed or turns (garage bombs), but they have done well for commuting.
If you choose to go with different wheels, I would recommend not going any larger than 75mm with 8mm axles. If you want to go bigger, you should go with 10mm axles, but that limits you to truck and bearing choices.
If your bearings are good, keep them, but give them a good cleaning and re-lube first. If you go new, I use Pig Swiss.
Don’t worry about spacers unless you get wheels that have no bearing stops.
The World’s Greatest Commute
