Why ride 4 different wheels?

[Liven2diE]

I have noticed that some slalom riders have four different wheels. Is there a reason for riding different duros n sizes? Or is it just prefference?

[gabriel[abc]]

four? ive only seen someone set that up once

usually its 2 different pairs of wheels due to these circumstances
1. different brands have different urethane formulas thus different feels (way it grips, wears down etc.)
2. durometer... which is basically how soft or hard the wheel is. for slalom, harder in the front and soft in the back, this allows for more traction on the rear

[speshlspeclsteak]

mostly because sixers are ilegal and you need 2 trucks worth for a skateboard to work

[Liven2diE]

I know thats the normal thing to do. but i recently saw a few people with a setup of 4 different wheels. I beleive for the front they had bigger wheels and a harder duro toeside. The back had smaller wheels with softer duros that either up front. But a of the 2 the hardest was heelside. Does this make any sense???

Bcuz it doesnt to me.

[motion]

I know thats the normal thing to do. but i recently saw a few people with a setup of 4 different wheels. I beleive for the front they had bigger wheels and a harder duro toeside. The back had smaller wheels with softer duros that either up front. But a of the 2 the hardest was heelside. Does this make any sense???

Bcuz it doesnt to me.

sounds wonky

[speshlspeclsteak]

on a serious note people run taller wheels in the back because they carry better speed but you need smaller wheels up front so that you can move the nose around when your pumping. harder duros on heelside is so you can dig in further on heelside as you have less leverage on heelside turns

[Liven2diE]

Just got an email telling me the wheel sizes.

ZigZags riding regular
86------83 66mm


83------81 70mm
heel toe

How do u think this works?

[gavmck]

Probably due to differing styles for toeside and heelside. The guy might dive into the turns differently on each side so making one side react differently to the other could compensate for uneven cornering skills on both sides. Does that make sense?

I know Dan at seismic talks about using the seismic springs to make one side turn easier than the other to give better slalom performance. Maybe this is based around the same theory.

[Topsider]

I know thats the normal thing to do. but i recently saw a few people with a setup of 4 different wheels. I beleive for the front they had bigger wheels and a harder duro toeside. The back had smaller wheels with softer duros that either up front. But a of the 2 the hardest was heelside. Does this make any sense???

Bcuz it doesnt to me.

Not wonky at all, unusual maybe but there is a reason. I will use larger wheels up front on occasion. It's all about rotation and top speed. Very few riders bomb hills for high-speed using 66mm's right? However 66mm's will keep up with 75mm's if put on the same deck. So why not enjoy top speed roll and put little wheels in back to help move the rear around cones faster?

There is another benefit that you can get by just changing deck height from back to front. No science here but the "feel" is pump and dig-in from the foot at the rear - drive from the back. I think this in some cases makes a difference too.

All 4 corners different? That does sound a bit Wonky... Soft toe side yes it helps I think assuming same wheel vendor, same diameter on all 4 corners just change up duros.

It works for some people and it will work for me in Hood River this year.