Can You Put Longboard Wheels on a Skateboard?

Being good at both skateboarding and longboarding is a gift. And knowing you’re proficient at both board types, there is always a chance of experimenting with their parts by altering the designs or swapping parts.

On the topic of modifications, can you put longboard wheels on a skateboard? Yes! But only under a few circumstances. Keep reading as we discuss this configuration, its advantages, drawbacks, and overall impact on your skateboard’s performance.

Is a Skateboard With Longboard Wheels Possible? How?

We know that longboard wheels serve us the benefit of cruising more smoothly, but do they work the same way with skateboard decks and trucks?

Yes! But not all longboard wheels can work on skateboards. Here are two restrictions to consider.

The largest longboard wheel size viable for a skateboard is only 70mm. You don’t necessarily have to hit the size ceiling, though. Some longboard wheels come at 63mm to 69mm and work the same as the biggest longboard wheels.

Suppose you use 70mm wheels on skateboard. What would it be like? A bigger wheel set on a skateboard means more distance between the deck and the ground. However, the same wheel setup will reduce the distance between the roller and the bottom side of the board.

So, when choosing longboard wheels for your skateboard, ensure there’s enough clearance when turning or carving.

What Are Longboard Wheels, and How Do They Suit a Normal Skateboard?

If we look at a wheel chart, indicated are the wheels’ size, hardness level, preferred setup, and other aspects.

In terms of size, longboard wheels have a minimum diameter of 60mm. This size also works for dirt boards and classic skateboards.

One factor distinguishing a skater’s experience with longboard wheels is the overall smoothness. And such an aspect rests on the rollers.

Longboard wheels have a hardness range of 78a to 87a, the plushiest ones. Yes! Longboard rollers are soft because they tend to roll over cracks and rough pavements, which are frequent skating spots for this board type.

Contact patches are the parts of the wheels that touch the ground directly. This feature dictates the weight distribution on your rollers, thus reducing resistance that slows the skateboard down.

This area is advantageous for longboard wheels because they have a broader contact patch. And with a wider rolling surface, your weight gets distributed more evenly.

Overall, riding smoothness and stability are the most prominent reasons skaters use longboard wheels on a skateboard.

With these characteristics, can you already identify the closest skateboard with this configuration?

It’s cruiser skateboards. But can we use a skateboard as a cruiser?

Yes, you may also install cruiser wheels on regular skateboard, as long as they serve your intended purpose and you do it within restrictions.

How to Use Longboard Wheels on Skateboards?

Given that we have picked the longboard rollers of the suggested size and hardness, the next best thing to do to complement a regular skateboard with longboard wheels is to add more pads or risers.

What are riser pads? They are rubber pieces that prevent wheel bites by increasing your skateboard’s height. Here are a few benefits we get from a pair of these.

Now that we know some advantages of riser pads, how do we incorporate them into the skateboard? Follow the steps below. Note that we’re using a pad thickness of 1/2″, which riser pads skateboard users prefer.

Step 1: Remove skateboard trucks

Take your skate tool and loosen the truck bolt nuts on the bottom of the deck. Remove each nut and set it aside.

Next, grab your screwdriver and unscrew the bolts from the grip tape side of the skateboard. You may keep them, but they will no longer be necessary because we’ll use a new hardware set in the next step.

Step 2: Change skateboard hardware

Increasing the skateboard deck’s height through a riser pad means your bolts should have enough length to hold the board, the pads, and the trucks. Thus, we’ll use 1 1/2″ hardware to complement our choice of risers.

All we must do is drill the new hardware through the deck.

Step 3: Slide the riser pads in

We already have the 1 1/2″ bolts sticking out at the bottom side of the deck. Let’s align the riser pad holes to the newly installed hardware.

Step 4: Put the trucks back

Like the previous step, we shall align the baseplate’s holes to the hardware. Slide the trucks in and grab the bolt nuts.

Lock each truck using the nut hardware. Hold the bolt’s head on the other side of the skateboard with your screwdriver as you tighten the nuts.

Step 5: Install your longboard wheels.

Let’s say you have prepared a wheel set with bearings. It’s time to install them on the trucks.

Begin by sliding a washer on the axle pin. Next, put bearings on the longboard wheel. Put another washer outside the newly installed roller. Lock the wheels using the axle nuts.

Pros and Cons of Putting Longboard Wheels on a Skateboard

Of course, there are a couple of things we might not like about a longboard wheel on a skateboard. Let’s get into each one.

Pros

We tackled the characteristics of longboard rollers and how they are soft enough to dodge road debris and cracks. Additionally, these wheels are superior in speed compared to sizes in the lower range.

Besides the size, the broad contact patches of longboard wheels also help improve your skateboard’s overall speed. This is because these areas absorb some pressure from the skater’s weight, thus reducing rolling resistance.

Note that contact patches also differ based on longboard wheel shapes.

Cons

As mentioned, a thinner gap between the longboard roller and skateboard deck could expose the deck to more frequent wheel bites, unless you use a riser pad.

It’s not a direct disadvantage for the skateboard, but installing riser pads could impose an added cost. You may need new bolts to fit risers as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are skateboard wheels and longboards the same?

Skateboard and longboard wheels excel in their respective areas. With some wheel sizes and hardness shared by both, the better way to differentiate them is by their hardness and riding style.

In a general sense, most skateboards have hard, small skate wheels. And these rollers enable users to ride on rails, parks, ramps, and perform more technical tricks. Contrastingly, longboard wheels are for smoother and faster skating.

What do you call a skateboard with long wheels?

If by “long wheels” you mean “big wheels,” then the answer is a cruiser or a longboard. The latter has bigger rollers than the former (up to 80mm vs up to 65mm).

Similar to longboard wheels, you can use a regular skateboard with cruiser wheels and riser pads.

Why are different types of wheels important?

The differences among various skateboard wheel types determine our speed, riding smoothness, and ideal skating locations. As many say on Reddit, failing to identify aspects such as the size and hardness level could impose drawbacks for the rider and the skateboard or longboard.

The most suitable longboard wheels to put on a regular skateboard.

Consider these longboard wheels for your skateboard:

1. Freedare 70mm 83a
2. Landyachtz Chubby 60mm/63mm 78a
3. Cloud Ride 65mm 78a

And if you want to put cruiser wheels on a skateboard. Here are a few products you may want to try.

1. Orangatang Fat Free 65mm 77a
2. Powell Peralta Snakes 69mm 75a
3. Fireball Tinder 60mm 81a
4. FREEDARE 60mm wheels 83a
5. Powell Peralta G-Bones 64mm 97a

Conclusion

Our ultimate goal for skateboarding or longboarding is a seamless, quality ride. But, during the process, we can’t ignore ideas about mixing up parts and trying new configurations.

So, can you put longboard wheels on a skateboard? If you read this article, you have already answered your inquiry about installing longboard wheels on regular deck. As long as the longboard wheels fall within the specified size and hardness range, expect your skateboard to work smoothly and fast.

Still curious about how this setup performs? It’s time to try longboard rollers on your skateboards.