Best rough asphalt wheel durometer.

[GKK]

I have a 47" maple Pintail Longboard which I use for Cruising and Pumping and right now it has 74mm 78a Nineballs with Pleasure Tool Shielded bearings and bearing spacers.

What makes a wheel go furthest and fastest on Rough street Asphalt? Taller wheel/Softer Durometer or Taller wheel/medium Durometer such as 80A?

I was going to buy the 76mm 75A Abec 11 Gumballs but, was wondering if I should get a taller wheel and slightly harder durometer such as a 78mm 80A wheel.

I did a search but, didn't see the answer to this specific question. Thanks.

[dragonmyntz]

what is more important, speed or comfort?

i personally think gumballs are a good choice

[flex.0s]

i have a pintail as well. If you want to go faster your ganna have to get harder duro such as 80 and above. I personally like the retro lemon 70mm 83a zigzags because their fast, grippy, but they also slide very well. to answer your question the bigger wheel you get the faster and farther you are going to go but it depends what size wheels can your board handle before wheel bite you also have to think about that.

Check out some retro bigzigs or orangatang makes really good wheels such as inheat, 4president

[thebassman]

something between 75mm and 80mm in a low durometer

Lime or Lemon bigzigs would do the trick

[Barf]

72a Grapey Apes from Purple Skunk. (They're really 72a Avilas, just poured in a special purple for the guys at Purple Skunk.) Soooo plush, lots of momentum, and surprisingly fast.

[GKK]

Thanks everyone,

I'll check out the wheels suggested.

[THEBEAST]

something between 75mm and 80mm in a low durometer

Lime or Lemon bigzigs would do the trick

yep cant go wrong with big zigs

[spork27]

For rough pavement you want something soft. As mentioned earlier, the 72a Avilas would be the best bet off the top of my head.

[GKK]

I'm going to try the 76mm Abec 11 Gumballs. I can't decide between the 75A or 81A durometer. Daddies site says to use the 81A durometer for fast cruising but I'm wondering if a softer wheel would be better for the street?

[Bookworm]

I'm worried that the softer wheel could conform to the shape of the road and slow you down a lot. But that's also just speculation. You should be fine with either wheel.

[enemy combatant]

It's the wheel conforming to the shape of the surface that allows you to ride the street at all. Really rough asphalt calls for as soft a wheel as possible. If you are getting good results from 80a reflex thane then you are not riding very rough asphalt. I'm talkin' about the kind of asphalt that has had 3/8" inch of tar eroded away so that the surface is nothing but sharp pieces of aggregate rocks. Or old concrete roads from the 1920's or '30's that are just a maze of crazed cracks going every which direction and are crumbled on the edge of the cracks.

For streets like these only one wheel will do: 72a Avilas!

[Bookworm]

It's the wheel conforming to the shape of the surface that allows you to ride the street at all. Really rough asphalt calls for as soft a wheel as possible. If you are getting good results from 80a reflex thane then you are not riding very rough asphalt. I'm talkin' about the kind of asphalt that has had 3/8" inch of tar eroded away so that the surface is nothing but sharp pieces of aggregate rocks. Or old concrete roads from the 1920's or '30's that are just a maze of crazed cracks going every which direction and are crumbled on the edge of the cracks.

For streets like these only one wheel will do: 72a Avilas!

so the softness causes the wheels to squish and roll smoothly rather than bouncing on all the irregularities?

[enemy combatant]

so the softness causes the wheels to squish and roll smoothly rather than bouncing on all the irregularities?

More or less. There's always a trade off between speed, traction, and the road surface. It's why hard duro wheels are so fast on glass smooth park concrete.

72a Avilas are definitely not the best choice on smooth asphalt on a hot summer day though. They feel greasy loose when you carve hard and it is easy to roll the thin lips and chunk them. They are also real slow and they feel like you are riding on flat tires.

Some slalom guys trim the lips and ride the higher duro (white?) ones for GS.

But if you live out in the sticks with mostly nothing but sh*tty asphalt 72a Avilas can make terrain unrideable on anything else a going proposition.

[Thenowhereman42]

Lime Bigzigs are sweet. Not particularly difficult to slide either.

[Ogre]

Avilas are great rough road wheels.. don't just assume a soft duro on all wheels is the same.. Depth of thane is important too.. small hubs and lotsa thane is key.

[Hot Wheels]

I vote 75A or 78A Gumballs - super plush, lots of urethane depth to
absorb the road ahead.


________

[GKK]

I did an internet search for the 75mm 3DM Avilas and found each wheel weighs 1/2lb! Would that make pushing more tiring after awhile on the street for cruising or does the extra inertia make up for the weight?

[Ogre]

I did an internet search for the 75mm 3DM Avilas and found each wheel weighs 1/2lb! Would that make pushing more tiring after awhile on the street for cruising or does the extra inertia make up for the weight?

It obviously depends on how much start stop pushing you do.. They pumpvery nicely, and unless you are going to be stopping every 100 yds for crosswalks etc.. I'd go for them. There are often barely used sets in the classifieds. They roll over more debris than any wheel I've had (and in 30 years I've had tons)
So in short, yes.. I think the inertia "out weighs" the weight...