A Look At Skateboard Wheels
Skateboard Wheels are something that should be the most important part of your skateboard. The wheels determine the ride, how easy you can do tricks and how far you will go. Without Skateboard Wheels you won't really go too far. The skateboard was invented in the 50's and started out to be a wooden box that had roller skate wheels that were strapped to the bottom of the box. The problems that occurred from this invention was too pretty and there were a lot of injuries. The new sport was trying to arise and basically any thing could happen. There were a lot of trial and errors of course and some good ideas and some bad.
In the 60's skateboarding became very popular and a lot of people were catching on. The main stunts that were big were freestyle or downhill slalom. The Skateboard Wheels were still going through a lot of changes and attempts of improving them were continuous. Some of the Skateboard Wheels were made of clay and was very difficult to ride on. It wasn't until 1965 that finally the skateboard fad crashed and everyone lost interest in the sport all together.
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In 1970 a man named Frank Nasworthy invented the polyurethane wheel and called it the Cadillac. This wheel was so popular that by 1975 the skateboarding came back to life and started a much more aggressive sport than before. Companies were going crazy over the production of these wheels and Skateboard Wheels took on a whole new meaning. Once the whole concept caught on the Skateboard Wheels took on a whole new look. They were made in bright colors with cool designs and graphics. They were made in all different sizes depending on what you were using your skateboard for. Most of the designers at this time were pro skaters that had a real good eye for what the public needed and would design Skateboard Wheels to meet the competitions.
By the 80's and 90's Skateboard Wheels were flooding the market with so many different kinds to choose from that no one really knew what wheel was for what. This is the era that all the big competitions started where the skaters performed the Ollie, Ollie kickflip, the heelflip and the 360 flip and that is just to name a few. Looking at Skateboard Wheels in the fourth generation and the current generations things are still changing all the time. Most Skateboard Wheels are made of extremely hard polyurethane durometer. The durometers are great for the hard skaters and offer less drag when on hard surfaces and give a lot faster ride. Most of the Skateboard Wheels today are larger and run from 48mm to 60mm and are much lighter than the old Skateboard Wheels. So before you decide you want to join a sport that has been continuously growing and changing for over 60 years, you may want to do some reading and find out what it is you're getting yourself into. This is not a cheap sport to get into and you need a lot of different Skateboard Wheels for different riding. So brush up on your history and see what you where you want to start. But remember one thing; the Skateboard Wheels are going to be your biggest concern, without them you will need to take your board and head to the ocean.
Skateboard Wheel Reviews
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