Skateboard wheels determine smooth rides and quality glides off ramps and rails. Among them, you can find standard, radial, and conical rollers on the market.
So what are conical skateboard wheels then? These are the perfect choices for street skating. Often, some skaters also use them in skate parks. In this article, we’ll share more about this wheel type and how to maximize its features.
Table of Contents
Conical Skateboard Wheels Defined
If we check the side of a conical wheel, we’ll notice the walls cone inwards to the core. And looking at its contact patch, the riding surface that makes contact with the ground, it’s wide enough so the conical skate wheels can firmly lock against a metal coping.
Additionally, these rollers feel lightweight, making jumps lighter for the skater.
What is the difference between conical VS classic skate wheels? When comparing conical VS regular wheels, the latter tend to be narrower, so they’re not ideal for street rides like conical ones are. That said, you can still do tricks with them.
Size and Hardness Levels
Whether they’re Bones conical wheels or other brands, we don’t have a fixed size and hardness level for these wheel types. Nonetheless, we can identify the figures based on where these rollers work best: streets and parks.
Specifically, street skate wheels range from 52mm to 54mm, and park rollers come next with 55mm to 58mm diameters. Also, street and trick skateboard wheels should be as hard as 99a to make the skateboard more responsive and fast on smooth surfaces.
Purpose
As mentioned, conical wheels work best for street and park skating. Where do these wheels fit? See this list below.
Street skating
- Rails
- Ledges
- Stairs
- Other street obstacles
Park skating
- Verts and transitions
- Bowls
- Ramps
- Coping grinds
The Magnificent Seven Spitfire Wheel Shapes
Let’s learn more about skateboard wheel sizes, shapes, and other features through the following skate wheel models taken from a Spitfire wheel chart.
1. Tablets
There are perfect examples of rollers that lock onto copings and edges well.
Spitfire Tablets range from 51mm to 55mm in diameter, have riding surfaces of 19mm to 23mm, and thicknesses of 28mm to 33mm.
2. Lock-Ins
These Spitfire wheels don’t have symmetrical sides. They do have a conical shape though, and a size of 52 to 55mm.
3. OG Classic
Of course, we can’t forget the OG Classic, Spitfire’s top shape worldwide. As said on Reddit, this skateboard wheel shape can yield pretty good results. It is available in a wide range of sizes, from 50 to 60mm.
4. Radial
The Spitfire Radial doesn’t have as much riding surface as the Conical Full. But it has rounded sides that offer excellent performance regarding flexibility, responsiveness, and speed.
5. Radial Slim
Radial Slim wheels are almost the same as the Spitfire Radial variant. However, they have more sizes than the latter (51 to 56mm rather than just 52, 54, and 56mm). And versus the OG Classics, the Slims has more lock and grip.
6. Conical Shape
Spitfire Conical Shape embodies the basic definition of conical wheels skateboard users love. It has a flatter riding surface with sidewalls angled inwards to the core.
7. Conical Full
Conical VS Conical Full? The differences between the Shape variant and the Conical Full are evident in their sizes, widths, and riding surfaces.
Conical Shape rollers have a maximum size of 54mm, while Conical Full wheels can be as big as 58mm. Additionally, the Full variant has a broader max riding surface at 27.3mm compared to the Shape’s 20.2mm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are conical wheels good for street skating?
Yes! In reality, conical wheels are the best rollers to use for street skating. Featuring broad contact patches and lightweight builds, they will help the skater get through rails, ledges, ramps, and master tricks.
What are the different types of skateboard wheels?
There are three basic skateboard wheel types: longboard, cruiser, and street or park.
- Street wheels
Street wheels are light and small but hard. They work best for tricks, skate parks, and obstacles. Common examples of street wheels include the Spitfire rollers we shared above.
Cruiser rollers have diameters ranging from 54mm to 59mm. They are also on the softer side with 78a to 98a durometers. Most skaters who ride on roads love these wheels because they dodge debris and cracks easily.
- Longboard wheels
Longboard rollers are the softest, largest, and grippiest wheels. They suit sliding, carving, and speed racing best.
Conclusion
Sometimes, the small details on a skateboard’s part have the most impact on our rides. Like the wheel’s size, its shape also determines where we can best use the skateboard.
And now that we know what wheels work well for the streets and parks, we finally have the answers to “what are conical skateboard wheels?” So, if you want to grind against ledges and rails, you might as well remember the concepts we shared in this article.
Also, take note of the sizes and other wheel aspects to help you decide on the best street wheels later.
Hi, I am Charles Harris. I opened this site to write as much as I can about my biggest passion – skateboarding!
I started as a clumsy yet passionate rookie 10 years ago to now a still passionate yet much better skateboarder! But I have to tell you, the whole journey has always been fun and rewarding, indeed not without hardship.