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Last summer I learnt to ride a cruiser board on a £50 D-Street. Recently bought a Penny Nickel an it rolls a whole lot better.
The D Street wheels are a bigger and 65mm x 78A
Nickel wheels are 59mm x 82a (I think its 82a as its not printed on the wheels)
Anyhow swapped the wheels (without bearings) over to the d-street and its rolls much better.
Am I right to day that its not the wheel quality but the hardness that makes a difference? I'm 90kg so the 78a wheels are getting squashed?
I expect it is the hardness, or the bearings. Doubt you will squash the wheels though. By cruiser, do you mean a long board, or a standard deck with bigger wheels? I know what a Penny is. I ran large softish halfpipe wheels on a standard deck as a cruiser and never had any problems on all sorts of surfaces and I am quiet heavy.
If it's a longboard and you are doing serious speeds downhill then it might pay to be more careful with your choice.
Cruiser as in 32" and I'm just riding it around the park and town.
I tested with both the d-street and penny bearings and the Penny/nickel wheels were faster either way.
I'll look for some harder wheels then. I don't want to get the choice wrong as 1) cost, and 2) a set of skateboard wheels is fairly enviro unfriendly to throw in the bin.
not sure if harder wheels affect the ride quality though. I wouldn't have thought that they'd make much difference though. They will last alot longer too.
I have a longboard with quite soft wide wheels on it as I think they grip better than harder wheels, although they are wider than standard wheels. I've never felt the need for faster wheels.
I am no expert although I do have some experience.
A set of old school blue Kryptonics would probably do the trick, 65mm blue 85 durometer would probably be the best compromise.
I’ve still got my old board with a set of those on it.
https://kryptonics.com/wheels/star-trac-blue
Surface has a lot to do with it. My old 70mm 78a kryptonics fly on typical housing estate chip n seal, but are slow on the smooth concrete miniramp.