How to Choose the Right Skateboard Wheel
 Skateboard wheels come in more shapes, sizes, and colors than we really can fathom. There are wheels built for street skating, cruising, and even wheels that can be good at most everything. How can we be confident in the fact that the wheel we want is the one that will also match the performance we are looking for? The first step is understanding the terms used to describe wheels, and the advantages and disadvantages that go along with them. Wheel Size The wheel size, or the diameter of the wheel, simple tells us how tall the wheel is. This size can typically range from 50mm-60mm, with your occasional outliers. Wheel size can also have an affect on how comfortable you feel on a board and even how fast or slow the board goes. With smaller wheels, you are not as high off the ground, and can make you feel a little more comfortable because you are closer to the ground. In addition, smaller wheels can reach their "top speed" with less pushing but do not hold their speed as well as their counterparts. Bigger wheels on the other hand, sit higher off the ground, so they may feel a little less comfortable for newer skaters, but hold their speed very wheel and will roll over cracks and imperfections with more ease. On top of those factors, not only will the size of the wheel affect how the board rolls, but it can affect how the board moves. Smaller wheels will inherently be lighter weight than bigger wheels. This will make it easier for someone to do technical tricks as the board will weigh less with the smaller wheels. On the flip side, if you are using a bigger wheel you may not be doing technical flat ground tricks and you may be doing more transition or vert riding. If that is the case you will notice that bigger wheels will lock into coping a lot easier.  Wheel Hardness (Durometer) The durometer of a wheel, or simply put, the hardness is a great factor to note when choosing a wheel. The hardness is measured by most companies using the "Durometer A Scale". This means that the number followed by the letter A is referencing the hardness of the wheel. ie. 97a, 99a, 101a... The lower the number the softer the wheel, and the higher the harder. Softer wheels will allow you to have a smoother ride, but will not be as fast. Whereas the harder wheels may have a bumpier ride, but will be faster. The most common durometer for skateboard wheels would probably be 99a. This durometer will give you a balance of both smoothness as well as speed. 97a and lower would be considered soft with the bottom being somewhere around 85a for skateboard wheels. (Longboard wheels are know to go as low as 77a.) 101a would be the first step into hard wheels, and if you are looking for the hardest look for wheels with a "B Scale Durometer". These wheels would be listed as 80b, 82b, 84b.... Another factor that is influenced by the hardness of the wheel would be sliding. Softer wheels will want to grip the wheel and hold on more than hard wheels would. So if you want you wheels to break into a slide easier, stick with a harder wheel, and if you want to keep gripping pavement, stick with the softer wheels.  Wheel Shapes Wheel shapes can be best described as the profile of the wheel. This could be how the wheel is tapered, or how wide the wheel is. These two pieces can factor two main things: How well a wheel locks in to coping or rails and how easily the wheel can be broken into a slide. The tapering will effect how it locks in. If the wheel is very square in nature, it will lock in a lot easier, whereas rounded wheels react more freely and can get out of a grind more easily. In regards to the wheel width, we are focusing in on the contact patch. This is the width of the wheel that is actually touching the ground. The wider this area, the more grip you have on the ground. Or the harder it will be to slide. Now hardness will have a factor in sliding your wheels as well, but this would be a second factor to keep in mind.
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