So you want to know if it’s possible for a longboard wheel setup on your skateboard? It is, but there are some limitations. If cruising around without any discomfort sounds like the best part about riding one then keep reading.
First off all though let me say this – I’ve tried various setups myself and tested them out by swapping component parts here or there (but mostly changing up what goes in front of my trucks). With that said let us get into doing something crazy.
What you need to make this work:
You’ll want four longboard wheels, ideally between 63mm and 66mm in diameter. Make sure there’s no bigger than 70 mm since they’re going on top of each other; either buy pre-existing vintage boards or build your own with these options below.
You should also grab one pair (or more) 1/2″ risers pads for us too- we don’t care what brand it is as long as its size comes close to at least 8 inches tall by 3 wide.
I’m going to try a couple of different wheels and see what works best. Let’s move on with this question, but before we do let me tell you about my latest experiment.
Adding slapping longboard wheels
I had a set of old longboard wheels that used to be part of my mini-cruiser. In theory, they fit but the clearance was an issue – you can see this when looking at pictures because there is barely any room for bearings in some spots.
I got these from somewhere; maybe someone gave them away or something like that and I’m not sure what kind they were originally intended for (although most likely skateboards).
Here is the issue with wheel bite. When you turn and carve, one of these wheels will block at some point when they take a turn because there isn’t enough clearance- not always an problem but in cases like this where it could be costly for me to repair or replace parts on my decking besides just fixing any other issues I might have (and knowing that once again nothing was done right), then finding ways around preventing bitings became top priority.
The most important thing here is noticing how close our boards get near each other; I thought long bolts would help prevent anything from happening worse than before yet clearly something still got through since we ended up getting pricked by pieces of wood into raw sores.
Riser pads
You’ll need to find out and see if the wheel bit is still an issue once you attach riser pads. I’m guessing that 1/2″ should do it, but just in case 8 bolts will be needed for these babies too- shorter ones won’t fit all of your trucks or this stuff can get pricey real quick.
Anyway here they are: eight black iron oxide coated steel rod inserts with a nylon insert between each pair which keeps them from sliding together when tightening up those last few threads before bedding into whatever surface material we want our boards bottomless concrete deck built upon.
The Tensor trucks on this board have never been used and they are pretty tight, which is a good thing. The bushings are still brand new which adds to the resistance so you’ll need to adjust your longboard wheels accordingly or loosen them with skateboard screws before attaching these babies if that’s not too much work for you.
The trucks are covered with cobwebs, but that’s to be expected. The stiff bushings need time to become flexible and you have a limited amount of turning while learning how these work so your board won’t move much when leaning on it in the beginning.
The king pins should also remain tight once set up properly since they’re intended for this type of terrain – don’t do anything else prior or risk ruining your new toy’s performance by breaking-in sick wheels along the way.
Despite their triviality, bushings are vital to this experiment. I found out a couple of facts that surprised even me; check my guide on how they work here.
Anyway let’s see the results: firstly I moved the orange arrow to its left so you can see there is more clearance when adding risers – just compare these images and see for yourself secondly as expected everything is better with increased height except those pesky balances.
Center of gravity vs Risers
In order to ride a skateboard comfortably and have control, you need the parts of your board to be balanced. That means proper weight distribution so that when one part goes wrong or gets out-of-kilter with its counterparts things don’t spin out from underneath us. I’m going back into this until we get something satisfying enough for me (scroll down).
The board is not the best choice if you are just starting out. However, it can be challenging for experienced riders too because of how off balance and low to ground it feels when riding compared with other boards in this price range or higher end models like decks from Powell Peralta which we recommend as well.
But don’t worry; quality gear doesn’t come cheap- so save up some money before buying anything expensive (like skateboarding).
Bearings & performance
Bearings are important. They make your wheels perform better and you can easily break them if they aren’t high-quality ones.
The good news is that with proper maintenance you’ll be able to ride for over a year on 50 bucks worth of parts, but every two months or so it’s recommended that we clean our spinny things using some dishwashing soap mixed in warm water (it helps remove dirt).
After doing this I like to apply silicone lube because then my wheel will glide smoother across any terrain under its power.
Conclusion:
Yes, you can put a couple of longboard wheels on your regular skateboard. But there are limitations-the parts don’t always go well together and riding it feels awkward because the trucks have to rise up higher than they would with just two shorter ones or four standard sized ones for instance; no matter how much padding is installed in them so as not to scratch surfaces too easily when ascending hillsides at high speeds (which we all know makes those rides more fun).
You also need smaller wheel sizes like 63mm+, risers pads which will make knocking off speed easier by absorbing impacts during turns without causing cuts into paint jobs.
If you’re looking for the best wheels, make sure to check out my list of tested components. Don’t settle on mediocre parts like most people do because it will ruin your experience and end up in an emergency room with cracked skulls or even worse – brain damage.
So put on some helmets now before it’s too late; they’re not just there as decoration anymore.
I hope that if you have the parts, building a cheap cruiser is an option. If not I recommend getting something with better features for cruising because it will make your ride more enjoyable and less stressful.
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