Longboard Wheels Like Shredding The Wave

Ever since kids nailed roller skate wheels to wooden boards to make scooters, not much had changed until the early to mid 1960's when skateboarding began a new trend. Today, we have a variety of skateboard wheels, and longboard wheels depending on your style and type of ride you want.

As a trendy new toy for kids, skateboarding popularity began around 1955. These boards were basically just a painted wooden board of no specific species of wood with four thin steel wheels; two in the front and two in the back screwed on with two small frames. They were stiff and had a rough ride which resulted in little or no traction. So, you could pretty much only travel in a forward motion with a very small turning radius. Depending on the type of ride you want, now we have choices in size and hardness for traction on street boards, and choices in longboard wheels for distance and coasting.

Soon after metal wheels, came clay wheels which were the pinnacle of this 'stone age technology'. These were wider than the steel wheels, but also had a rough ride, as they were still made from a hard substance and had open bearings exposed to the the elements causing them to wear out faster. These hard wheels couldn't roll over sand, grit or pebbles so, if you came into contact with any of this debris on the road - watch out! A fall would inevitably be in store for you!

Then in the early 70's, East Coast surfer, Frank Naysworthy, came up with the idea of using the newly popular urethane, a product made from oil that had started gaining popularity and was being used for many products. The use of this product in a skateboard wheel made softer wheels that could grip (as in climbing walls) and had a more even ride that made turning smoother, with the added extra benefit of making even the hardest turns not only possible, but much easier. This invention along with his company, Cadillac Wheels, renewed an even bigger interest in skateboarding. However, because of the simple open bearings used, the sand and grit from road debris would again wear them out quickly. Not until the use of precision sealed bearings did wheels get a better, smoother and longer-lasting ride. Since the innovations of using these sealed bearings, wheels have not changed much today, except for the hardness, shape and size depending on what type of skating a rider chooses to do.

Because skateboarding was really an extension of surfing, today you can get the same ride on longboard wheels. When riding on a longboard, the ride is like shredding the waves, coasting and turning like you're on a longboard surfboard. It's an awesome feel, especially when there are no waves at the beach - this is the next best thing.

With longboard wheels mounted on your longboard, you can twist and turn and coast like riding the waves.