Big wheels for street?
Understandable CJ. The snow season ended almost a month ago and I’ve only been for one skate. I have been trying to surf too but that hardly compares to having a kid to look after.
I have no excuse 
Just remember to take some time to roll for yourself. A hard working Dad deserves some board time more than any of us. Gotta keep yourself sane bro.
Not that I’m a Skater in any way, shape or form!!!!!
But I always ran by the general rule the Steet - Bigger Dia & Softer Duro, and Park - Smaller Dia & Harder Duro?????
Main reason for the Larger/Softer Setup for Street bein that they can cope with uneven/grit/rocks/etc and have a better grip for constantly changin features you find!!!!!
Oh Mizu you are so not street 
I believe the street your thinking of is cruising, not street skating.
Street/Trick skating tends to be smaller and harder, as it gives a lower centre of gravity and the wheels stay out the way and don’t grip when doing sliding tricks.
Transition Parks/Bowl/Ramps skating lend themselves to bigger and slightly softer wheels as these help with rolling for longer and providing grip.
Thanks CJ and everyone else, the help is much appreciated.
Formula fours were my first choice but i can’t find any over 52mm. seems they are in pretty high demand, might mean there good. Probably pick up some type s in 55mm as the pi and spf wheels seem a bit too hard for my liking.
How loud will the 98a type-s be, as it is now my setups pretty loud it’s not too big of a problem but it gets annoying. It could also be the bearings though because they are just whatever came with my complete and don’t have removable shields to lube them.
No probs mate, that’s what we are here for. 
Alright i’m finding it hard to find one wheel that can do it all so i was thinking of getting two sets.
My main question is is this a waste of money? Will i see better performance if i get say a set of STF’s and then a grippy park wheel or should i save some money and get one set?
What are your opinions, anyone else run two sets of wheels?
I have two setups and 3 sets of wheels between them. That just came about by trying different setups until I found what works for me.
If you just have the one board, I would just have the one set of wheels. It would be a pain in the ass having to change wheels every time you want to change terrain.
Also you don’t need grippy wheels at all unless you skate indoor parks, cause the wood ramps can be slippery. Most guys I know that skate outdoor skate a harder wheel because it is faster (supposedly, I feel very little difference, it’s the diameter that makes the most difference) and also so they can slide it, also they last longer.
With that said, I skate indoor sometimes so I use soft wheels, but also I just prefer the feel of soft wheels. Some of the parks I skate are not that smooth, and the vibrations from hard wheels just annoy me after a while.
I have a set of hard 55mm wheels and I rarely use them. Everyone says that 55mm wheels are a great all round size, but I find them still too slow for transition.
I would say 57-60mm soft wheels would be what I would buy if I needed new wheels for transition. If you want to do street too… I don’t know, maybe 57 max and get soft wheels so they wear down.
Maybe don’t buy 2 sets now, buy one set, learn from them and find what you like best, and when they wear down you will know exactly what you want for the next set. Rather than buying 2 sets and you might hate them both.
Sounds like a good idea thanks Andy.
Really all i was worried about was slipping out at the park but i don’t skate any indoor ones so maybe just one set of type-s in 57mm and the 98a ones, i like to slide so the 96a might be a tad too soft.
Oh and CJ mentioned modus bearings. Any know where they are made? Is it in Australia or are they just mass produced in china with all the other cheap bearings and branded as modus i can’t find anything on them.
After reading a post on another forum by rockin ron nasa bearing engineer and long time skater it seems all bearings; ones that i could find any way are mass produced in china with no real quality at all and cost just a few cents a bearing.
I would rather pay $70 for quality than $40 for a few cents worth of bearing.
Well most but not all. The thing is that China produces things so cheap these days it’s hard for brands to say no. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be produced to a standard and special design set by the company.
Bones is a swiss company. Bones Swiss bearings are swiss made. Bones China Reds are made in China. They don’t hide it. Basically the Reds are made to the same specs but cost half the price.
I use Bones Super Reds. They are Reds with higher quality balls and cases. They are dope. And they are pretty well priced. Probably the best thing you can get without going to Bones or Modus ceramics. Also I should tell you, they are literally way faster than the ceramic bearings that I have of a different brand.
This is a car part. Not a bearing designed for skating. I’m a mechanic by trade, we used these for pulleys, they are designed to take rotational force and slight lateral force from the belts. It is in no way designed to take impact from landing tricks. Buy bearings from a skate bearing company! If you buy a bearing from a skate brand that doesn’t primarily make bearings. You are likely buying car engine bearings with a brand slapped on it.
I don’t know who makes Modus or where they are produced. But I know lots of skaters who use them. Similar or maybe slightly cheaper than China Bones. But for me, Bones are the only bearing I know enough about that I would recommend them.
Hey Riley,
The Type-S wheels will give you grip at 98a. If you are still not sure try the Bones SPF wheels as they will give you grip and slide when you want them too. Definitely aim for the 55mm mark to start with then see how you feel with them. If you have to many set ups or options you will start to confuse yourself when you just want to go for a roll.
I use to skate with a guy that used SPF for Bondi Skate park as well as Waterloo and all the street in between.
I am not sure where Modus are produced I can try and find out. In the Modus range though Titaniums are great and half the price of the Ceramics.
The Bones Reds series is the engineering of the Bones range done in China to have a cheaper bearing that rolls dope. Reds, Super Reds and Ceramic Reds are those bearings and are great bearings. They have done the same with the Mini Logo decks having the Red Dot series for China made.
In terms of the Rockin Rons bearings they seem good, be interested in testing some of them myself. See where I end up with bearings in the future.
Andy there was one brand of car bearings that was awesome for skating. NACHI 608zz bearings were amazing. I know they weren’t designed for skating, but dam they rolled good and lasted.
Bones swiss might be the go then, there only $5 more than i could find modus titaniums any way and at least i know i’m getting quality.
How well do spfs go on the street? They are very hard, the hardest wheels iv’e seen any where at 104a.
The thing with the cheaper skateboard bearings according to Rockin Ron who worked at a manufacturing facility in china. Most of the cheap bearings are made under one roof and re branded.
I had no intentions of using car parts for as you said they are not designed for skateboarding and they would be a hassle for me to get.
They will be fine on street. Most street wheels are actually harder than park wheels. The STF are harder and more slidey. Harder means faster because it has more rebound.
With street are you wanting it for street style skating? ledges, rails, flat ground etc, or just cruising.
All the bold options are better with a hard slippy wheel so you dont grip and hang up while doing those tricks. Also allows you to powerslide to manage speed.
If you want a smoother, quite wheel for crusing around then get cruiser board. If you want to be able to go straight from riding trany in the park to go down the street and pop some tricks on the way to Maccas, SPF will be fine
The STF’s according to the bones site are actually softer 83b rather than 84b so wont matter.
Mostly flat ground for street as i have no ledges or rails at all to skate at home. So basically just some flat ground stuff around my street and then some trips to the park a few blocks away.
For cruising i have found an old board of my Dad’s lying around in the garage with bigger wheel that would be perfect for cruising. I don’t think he’s really skated in 20 or so years so it’s pretty old but still works.
Andy there was one brand of car bearings that was awesome for skating. NACHI 608zz bearings were amazing. I know they weren’t designed for skating, but dam they rolled good and lasted.
Haha yeah I remember as kids everyone wanted NACHI Abec 1s or OMG he has Abec 3s lol.
I think originally all bearings were car bearings. And rating bearings by Abec is fine if you are a long boarder or something, where only rotational force is important.
But Bones builds their bearings to take impact force for street/park/vert. And I assume modus does too.
I saw something cool recently too. I occasionally Freebord (http://freebord.com/ for those who haven’t seen em) and I noticed I have smashed in the sides of the bearing cases from sliding the board (again not what car bearing are made for).
So Freebord have come up with their own bearings called SpeedBalls. Designed with stronger cases and can take side forces against the bearing. Only good for Freeborders and Longboarders, but still kinda cool.
I know, I’m a tech nerd 
I just like stuff like that.
Those guys on the freebord’s are insane, i’m too afraid to drop in and these guys are flying down massive hills like its nothing. pretty cool though.
Oh and if you like those bearings have a look at Zealous bearings, very tempted to buy them for $23.
Have a look http://www.concretelines.com.au/estore/Zealous-Abec-7-Bearings-pr-1573.html