Your skateboard or longboard deck is mounted on the trucks, which are in turn mounted on the wheels. All these components are designed to propel you along. Hi guys, I’m delighted to put together this guide on the best skateboard wheels for cruising on the streets or countryside.
Skateboard wheels are made from polyurethane, a durable form of plastic. The wheels are essential skateboard accessories, and you should be well-informed on the type of wheel to get for your skateboard. This is why we put this guide together, to help you cut out the guesswork and mistakes altogether.
Cruising is a popular and fun skateboarding activity, which actually feels like you’re surfing the wind. There are lots of wheels to choose from, just stick around and find out as we present to you the 10 best skateboard wheels for cruising. You should also check out our articles on the best electric skateboards under 500 USD and the fastest electric skateboards.
COMPARISON TABLE FOR 10 BEST SKATEBOARD WHEELS FOR CRUISING
Last update on 2023-07-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Last update on 2023-07-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Powell Peralta Rat Bones Re-Issue Skateboard Wheels
When George Powell and Stacy Peralta partnered over 30 years ago to manufacture skateboards and accessories, little did they know they were starting a revolution that would influence a generation! Rat Bones skate wheels are great for a variety of skating activities including cruising.
The width of this wheel is just ideal; it’s not too wide or too narrow. The contact patch is also quite ideal. You’ll find out as soon as you install this wheel just how buttery smooth your slides are. Really!
You just can’t go wrong with this wheel because of the quality of the material. It also comes in various colors including black and cyan.
It is excellent for cruising and riding on rough terrain. The grip is quite good, and to crown it all, the price is quite affordable.
Features
- Hardness: 90a
- Width: 44mm
- Size: 60mm
- Colors: Blue, Black, Green, White, and Purple
- Warranty
PROS
- Excellent quality
- Grippy and smooth
CONS
- The lettering comes off soon enough
Spitfire Bighead Skateboard Wheels
Spitfire wheels are engineered for the best skateboarding experience. With this wheel, you can slide and cruise easily. It has extra width which makes sliding easy in addition to giving you better balance on sharp bends.
The Bighead is made from high-grade urethane designed to withstand the tear and wear of skateboarding, and it performs quite well for street and park cruising. There’s only one downside though; it doesn’t perform well on bumpy terrain.
The Spitfire Bighead is a decent choice of best skateboard wheels for cruising. You find it available in yellow, white and black colors.
Features
- Hardness: 99a
- Width: 48mm
- Size: 63mm
- Colors: Yellow, White and Black
PROS
- Excellent quality
- Good grip
- Speedy
CONS
- None
Ricta Clouds Skateboard Wheels
Ricta Clouds makes superb wheels, and they have managed to garner a long-lasting reputation among the skateboard community because of the quality of their wheels.
This is a versatile wheel that performs best in rough terrain, thanks to its softer urethane formula. It’s just the right proportion of hardness for cruising, yet still offers a good grip. Not too hard, not too soft. Just the right proportion of hardness.
It is rated at 92a and comes in a set of 4.
Features
- Hardness: 92a
- Width: 48mm
- Size: 54mm
- Colors: Yellow, White and Black
PROS
- Fast wheels
CONS
- A little bigger for the size, might suffer wheel bite
Mini-Logo A-Cut Skateboard Wheels
This wheel is engineered for performance and maneuverability. It is best for advanced riders, because of its narrow width.
In addition, its high rebound formula is geared towards better traction and acceleration while on the ride. It comes in a set of 4, as usual.
This isn’t a wheel for beginners, but you can still go for it if you are just starting out. With time you’ll get used to it though.
Features
- Size: 60mm
- Hardness: 101A
- Set of 4 wheels
PROS
- Fast
CONS
- None
Spitfire Formula 4 Skateboard Wheels
This set of wheels offers you speed and a satisfying skateboarding experience. This is due to its smoothness, as a result, the friction is reduced quite considerably, resulting in more speed.
The Formula 4 is a solid set of wheels from Spitfire, and the popularity of these wheels is quite obvious. The wheels are smooth, kind of slim in width, and speedy.
Features
- Diameter: 60mm
- Durometer: 101a
- Color: White / Red / Bronze
- Set of 4 wheels
PROS
- Speedy
- Better grip
CONS
- None
Shark Wheel California Roll Skateboard Wheels
Shark Wheel prides itself as a re-invention of the wheel. According to the company, their wheel performs better than most conventional wheels, thanks to its innovative design that gives it an edge on debris, water, and other conditions that degrade wheel performance.
Because of its unique design, the Shark Wheel is able to navigate any rough terrain without difficulty, unlike other wheels. This has been proven by the San Diego State University Mechanical Engineering Department.
Also, it is able to overcome friction by up to 60%, when compared to other wheels, thanks to its design. Furthermore, it also lasts up to 15% longer when cruising and also 15% less rebound. All these translate to more speed.
The only minus for this wheel is the fact that you cannot use them for tricks. Seriously. You’d get serious wheel bite.
The Shark Wheel is one of our best skateboard wheels for cruising, if not the winner already.
Features
- Revolutionary design
- Diameter: 60mm
- Durometer: 78a
- Skateboard Wheels
- Set of 4 wheels
PROS
- More speed due to less friction
- Excellent for rough terrain
- Better grip and better control
- Great for cruising
CONS
- Not good for tricks
Santa Cruz Skateboards Slimeballs Skateboard Wheels
Santa Cruz makes great skateboards and longboards, of course, and their wheels are no different in terms of quality and performance. The Slimeballs are engineered with the same quality standards as their longboards.
It is designed and produced with a classic 80’s shape, yet with a modern finish with a 97a durometer scale. They ride fast and smooth with equally good grip. It is also excellent for cruising, but not as good for sliding.
With this wheel, it’s absolutely no chipping, no conning, no bearing seat stretch, and no speed loss.
Features
- Diameter: 60mm
- Durometer: 97a
- Set of 4 wheels
PROS
- Fast and smooth
- Good grip
- Great for cruising
CONS
- Not hard enough for sliding
MBS All-Terrain Longboard Wheels
All wheels are designed to move you around, but some wheels excel at handling all terrains. This is where the MBS All-terrain Longboard wheels come in.
Performance-wise, this wheel lives up to expectations. It glides smoothly over rocks, dirt, grass, and gravel, thanks to its unique design, featuring 78a super-high-rebound urethane for unparalleled speed.
This board is perfect for longboards, especially electric skateboards. You get top tier performance while cruising or riding the sidewalks, pavements, or dirt tracks. It also performs exceptionally on short grass.
However, one downside of this wheel is susceptibility to wheel bite. You can tackle this by installing a set of rubber risers though.
Features
- Diameter: 100mm
- Width: 65mm
- Durometer: 78a
- Set of 4 wheels
PROS
- Top performance
- All-terrain
CONS
- May suffer from wheel bite
IWONDER Cloud Electric Skateboard Wheels
This is another all-terrain skateboard wheel designed for high performance and maximum durability. It is designed to be used on electric skateboards and longboards.
This wheel features an innovative patented Damping Foam Core Technology, which effectively filters out most of the vibrations than the regular wheel, with its damping foam core. Because of this, you’d experience super-smooth cruising with your electric skateboard.
Furthermore, this wheel is cast with 78a super-high-rebound urethane for maximum speed, fitted with ABEC-7 bearings and 8x10mm bearing spacers. All these features combine to make this wheel a top performer on electric skateboards and longboards.
This is the next best thing to pneumatic tires for your e-skate board, and it doesn’t disappoint.
Features
- Diameter: 120mm
- Durometer: 78a
- Set of 4 wheels
PROS
- Rides smooth
- Great for e-skateboards
CONS
- Pricey
- Not suitable for small boards
Orangatang Caguama 85 mm Longboard Wheels for Cruising
Enter the Orangatang Caguama, by far one of the most popular wheels out there. It’s designed for maximum comfort, speed, and momentum, and can easily be used on a variety of boards including skateboards, longboards and electric skateboards.
The Caguama rolls easily over cracks, rocks, twigs and rough roads, thanks to its large diameter – 85mm. With its 56mm contact patch, it also has a good grip with the road surface, while the rounded edges help the wheels pass smoothly across cracks and obstacles.
Whatever is your flavor, whether commuting, carving, long-distance pushing, or pumping, the Caguama provides maximum roll speed for all sorts of skateboards and electric longboards.
Features
- Diameter: 85mm
- Width: 58.5mm
- Contact Patch: 56mm
- Durometer: 77a (blue), 80a (orange), and 83a (purple)
- Bearing Seat: Offset
- Formula: Happy Thane
- Core: high-strength, high-stiffness, heat-resistant urethane
PROS
- Very Fast
- Versatile
CONS
- Color wears off quickly
Buying Guide for Best Skateboard Wheels for Cruising
Your wheels can make the difference in your skateboarding experience. It is imperative that you get the best wheel for the best riding experience. Here are a few factors to consider.
Wheel Size
The wheel size is measured in millimeters and goes a long way to determine your speed, handling, and acceleration. It is better to strike a balance when deciding on the size of wheels to get. Smaller wheels allow for more maneuverability, whereas big wheels allow for more stability. Beware of wheel bite, which can happen if your wheels are too big. Also, take into consideration your truck height.
(Wheel bite happens when your wheels contact the deck when turning, which can degrade performance and damage the wheels ultimately).
Recommendations for wheel size with respect to truck clearance
- Low trucks – 55mm wheel and below
- Medium trucks – 52-57mm
- High trucks – 54mm and above
Form vs Function
Here are some general guidelines to consider, with respect to the purpose you intend to use the skateboard wheels for.
Street Skating
Go for anything between 50-54mm
Park Skating
The ideal size is between 54-58mm. However, if you don’t know exactly which one to go for, then use a 56mm wheel.
Cruising
If you are going to be cruising, go for a longboard instead of a skateboard. Also, the ideal wheel size for cruising is between 58 – 60mm.
Popular Skateboard Wheel Brands
Spitfire
Probably one of the most popular brands. Spitfire wheels are great for street riding and park skating. Their hardness ranges from 99a to 101a.
Bones
This is one of the top wheels in the market. Variants of this wheel include STF (street tech formular) which is best for street riding, SPF (skate park formular), best for park riding.
Minilogo
This brand makes wheels that are great for beginners, though this is not exclusive to them. This is probably because of the low prices of their wheels.
Wheel Shape
The shape of the wheel plays an active role in skateboard handling. Wider based wheels offer better stability, while thinner based wheels offer better handling and executing skating tricks. There are 3 main wheel shapes – Conical, Regular, and Funnel.
Regular wheels are all-round wheels best for street skating. Conical wheels are best for bowl skating. They are also good for cruising, though not good for street riding. Funnel wheels are best for cruising and are typically used on longboards because of their large contact patches. Funnel wheels are strictly for cruising only.
Hardness
Wheels are made from polyurethane, with varying levels of hardness, or durometer. Wheel hardness scales include “oo”, “a” and “d”.
Classification of Hardness
Soft
Wheels: 78a – 87a
Soft
wheels are good for rough surfaces. They are designed for smooth rides,
longboards, hills, rough surfaces and cruising.
Slightly
hard: 88a-95a
Wheels
in this range of hardness offer better speed with less grip than softer wheels.
All
round wheel: 96a-99a
Wheels
in this range are ideal for beginners doing street, parks, ramps, pools and
rough surfaces. They offer better grip for precise handling and turning.
Hardest
and fastest: 101a
Wheels
in this category offer the least grip. They perform poorly on rough surfaces
and are usually preferred by pro and experienced riders.
Wheel Rotation
Once in a while, rotate the position of the wheels. This is to prevent the wheels from wearing out quickly because of uneven load distribution during rides.
Conclusion
Thanks for hanging around. Your skateboard wheel is one of the most important components of your skateboard. We have taken the time to provide useful recommendations for the best skateboard wheels for cruising you can get. You may also check out other Skateboard articles.
Drop your comments below if you like this article. What are your favorite wheels? Did we mention it?