I’m sure many people here would know better if this is even a good idea but I have been thinking for a while that I would really like rubber “tires” for my board for street use. I’m not talking about those huge inflatable wheels. I mean tires that keep roughly the same form factor as longboard wheels, maybe 90 - 100mm. I think the potential advantages would include:
- better traction. (especially when wet)
- smoother ride on rough roads ( Not totally sure about this.
I think what I have in mind would just like wheels for remote controlled cars. Like these wheels I found on hobbyking for example. I’m sure these actual wheels would probably not be suitable but just as an example
Maybe it would be possible to 3d print a hub that would allow tires like this to attach to longboard trucks and have the gear integrated or include holes to attach the hardware.
Any thoughts on this? I’m sure someone has thought of alternatives before. I just think its lame that nobody has come out with better options for wheels for street.
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Solid rubber doesn’t work well for various reasons. It offers no dampening. It’s heavy and and it’s slow. There have been many attempts. Google. You’ll find many pics of failed rubber wheels or even urethane on dubz. Junk.
There has also been alot of trial and error. Lots of money spent along the way and solutions found.
I made 6" pneumatics because it is better than 8" on longboards. Less rolling resistance. Spin up is faster. Less wash out than larger pneumatics and easier to employ on a longboard with limited wheel clearance.
I also made my wheels to fit standard skateboard trucks and all longboard trucks. They have standard skateboard wheel bearing spacing and standoffs for the wheel pulleys. The wheel hub was made wider as well and offset to allow the tire profile to flatten out providing a bigger contact patch as well as more room on the trucks for motor mounts. Effectively lowering the riders PSI. (LOWER ROLLING RESISTANCE)
The time and energy HAS been put in to designing longboard specific tires. The innovation is there. As lame as you think it is that nobody has tried to make wheels that look the way you want, it’s equally as lame to place form over function.
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Great information. I think you were the perfect person to answer this. Looks like you have put some good work into it too.
My main complaint is about the size of the wheels not that they don’t look fancy. Granted I have not seen a board with pneumatics in person. Do they weigh more or less than 90mm skateboard wheels? Would it be feasible to go smaller like 4-5 inches?
A couple of 5" tires will fit on my new SixShooters. And they will flatten out even more. However, I don’t like the tread or construction of those tires. They are pretty light in comparison to most pneumatics, but a little heavier than larger urethane wheels. As far as I know, other than rc/toy tires. 4" doesn’t exist.
Lot’s of pics on the forum recently of pneumatic builds using my wheels. @mccloed, @caustin, @treenutter, @mmaner, @Crushkrew, @flywithgriff, @shwill, @carvon…
Good luck with your build!!
Also, If you’re near somebody with a pneumy build I’m sure they’d let you try it!!! Where are you located?
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I’m in the bay area so I’m sure there are people with them around here. I think people have been meeting up to ride in San Francisco so I might try to make it out there soon.
Took my boards on vacation recently and was disappointed when the path around the lake we visited was just horribly bumpy and covered with dirt and gravel made pneumatics look really attractive.
Yeah, we’ve started actually seeking those types of places to ride! haha
I need a marty mcfly skateboard. Ye, one of Those wheel-less flying beauties
Sadly they are out of stock T_T
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