The hard skateboard wheels are great for doing tricks like ollies, flip tricks, power slides, and other technical tricks. Because of their lightweight and less grip, hard wheels roll faster on smooth surfaces like a skatepark, street, bowl, pool, and ramps.
If you’re looking for the best hard skateboard wheels, this article will guide you all about it and make a review of expert recommended wheels. Keep reading.
The skateboard wheels having a durometer between 96A to 104A (84B) are hard wheels. The hardest wheels are used by pro and experienced skaters only, as it is tough to run by beginners. To be on the safe side, don’t go beyond 100A durometer wheels.
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Best Hard Skateboard Wheels
Before you dig into reviews, let’s guide you about some essential points to keep in mind.
If you choose the hard wheels, you can do all types of skatepark tricks and street skating. However, for cruising and commuting, hard wheels are not suited. So make sure you know what your need is.
Furthermore, to identify hard wheels, make sure it has a durometer between 96A to 100A. However hardest durometer is 104A, but it’s quite difficult to handle, so we recommend going up to 100A wheels only if you’re a beginner or intermediate.
Along with the durometer, also check the diameter of the wheel. The type of skating you’ll do on hard wheels requires a wheel size of 50 to 60mm. For tricks and street skating, 50-55mm wheels are recommended, whereas for parks, 55-58mm. You can choose any of these sizes for your hard wheels according to your riding style.
If you’re buying the wheels for cruising or transportation on rough surfaces, hard wheels are not for you. If you try to ride on rough surfaces with hard wheels, it requires more effort in pushing, and also it starts making terrible noise and vibration. Instead, go with the best soft wheels for skateboard to get into such riding.
Let’s deep dive into the reviews of the best hard wheels for a skateboard that our expert team has researched for you.
1. CCS Skateboard Wheels – 100A
CCS has been a trusted brand since 1985; hence they have mastered the art of making perfect skateboard wheels at a reliable cost.
The best part is CCS also offers high quality professional grade hard wheels, having a durometer of 100A with different diameter options. They offer 52mm to 56mm diameter wheels; you can choose any of these wheel sizes because they are the best sizes for doing tricks, skatepark, and street skateboarding.
Along with the different sizes, they also have various attractive color options like white, red, blue, and black.
We recommend these wheels at the top because, with various features, it’s made of long-lasting material called Urethane. This is rarely found in affordable wheels. This makes it a perfect balance of rebound and gives a better grip on the ground.
If you’re looking for hard skateboard wheels for the skatepark, street skating, fast riding on smooth surfaces like ramps and pools, you can’t afford to lose these wheels.
Update: We regularly used the wheels for three months and believe this is the real gem for tricks, street skating, and smooth surfaces. We’ve not seen any flat spots until now, and it’s because of the quality material, Urethane.
2. Spitfire Bighead Skateboard Wheels – 99A
If you’ve ever googled anything related to skateboard wheels, you may have heard about Spitfire. Spitfire is a well-known brand for making high quality skateboard wheels since 1987.
Spitfire bighead skateboard wheels have a 99A durometer which is good enough for performing various tricks and riding on smooth surfaces such as streets, skatepark, and ramp.
Same as the CCS wheels, Spitfire also offers various wheel size options. Spitfire has 48mm to 63mm diameter wheels, but as you are looking for hard wheels, go with anything between 50mm to 60mm. Because the smaller wheels make landing easier compared to bigger wheels. Hence, to perform tricks, the wheels tend to be hard and small.
At last, the spitfire wheels are best for street or park skateboarding and to perform various tricks, like powerslides, Ollie, Kickflip, and more. But if your purpose with the wheels is to travel a longer distance or ride on rough/bumpy roads, drop it; this will not work for you.
3. Spitfire Formula Four Classic Skateboard Wheels
In our list of best hard skateboard wheels spot, three is also owned by Spitfire.
Spitfire formula four wheels come in a set of four wheels with the hardness of 101A, and for diameter, they offer various sizes from 50mm to 56mm. This is the perfect size and hardness for the street, skatepark, and smooth surfaces like ramps.
Spitfire formula four Urethane made wheels are the most demanding and high quality wheels because they have many benefits like it will last longer without getting flat spots and provide excellent performance. But don’t make mistakes by choosing other Spitfire wheels by thinking they will also not get flat spots. Most of the wheels from Spitfire get flat spots, but these are the Urethane-made wheels though it’s not easy to have flat spots in these wheels.
We have given the spitfire formula four wheels spot 3 in our list because of the shiny coating, which feels grippy in first use. But it wears away rapidly with regular use.
At last, will say these wheels stick enough for vert slide enough for powerslides.
4. Freedare Skateboard Wheels with Bearings and Spacers Installed
If you have a tight budget for skateboard wheels, these Freedare wheels are for you. The wheels come with installed bearings and spacers, which are not found even in the expensive wheels.
The wheels have a 52mm diameter and 95A durometer, and the material used to make the wheels is polyurethane. Its built quality makes it durable, stable, and quiet. The installed ABEC 7 super hard steel bearings are 22mm * 8mm. Along with the hardness of wheels, the bearings also play a significant role in making a faster and smoother ride. Furthermore, the wheels also have a grippy edge that helps going downhill.
The wheels are perfect for street skating and performing tricks on smooth surfaces like ramps and skateparks. Freestyle skaters also prefer these wheels because of their lightweight features.
If you plan to gift hard wheels to your family or friend, the Freedare wheels come with a complete gift pack that makes your work easy.
The other best part of Freedare wheels is they offer a 6-month warranty on a complete wheels package of 4 wheels and 8 bearings.
5. Rollerex Phaser 92A 54mm Wheels
At last, we have Rollerex Phaser skateboard wheels that come with 54mm diameter and 92A durometer. These are the cheapest hard skateboard wheels available in the present market.
As you know we suggest 96A to 100A durometer wheels for hard wheels, but these are neither hard nor soft, it comes in both categories. The wheels are also used for multiple ridings like cruising, tricks and works on both the smooth and rough surfaces.
Although the wheels are low cost, still it’s made of high quality abrasion-resistant, high density urethane material. Hence the wheels are durable and glide easily.
The complete package includes 4 wheels with pre-installed bearings, spacers, and washers with attractive color options.
The high point of these wheels is the brand offers a 30 days money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied for any reason.
At last, will say the wheels are perfect for street and park use. If you’re choosing a wheel for kids or beginners, these wheels are good to go at a cheap rate, but the wheels are hopeless for advanced riders.
We’ve seen many people looking for hard wheels only for power sliding, if you’re also one of them, check our latest article on the best skateboard wheels for powerslides.
Advantages Of Hard Skateboard Wheels
There are several advantages to using hard skateboard wheels:
- Hard wheels offer more speed and stability, making them ideal for experienced riders.
- They also provide better grip on rough surfaces, making them ideal for skateboarding in street and Vert skating.
- Hard wheels are also less likely to flat spot, which can occur when softer wheels slide on rough surfaces.
- For tricks like Ollies, Powerslides, Flip tricks, and grinding, hard wheels are often the preferred choice of experienced riders.
Disadvantages Of Hard Skateboard Wheels
- There are a few disadvantages to using hard skateboard wheels:
- Hard wheels can be more difficult to control for beginner riders.
- It’s not suited for cruising or commuting.
- In comparison to soft wheels, hard wheels require more effort to push.
FAQs
The hardest skateboard wheels are those having a durometer between 96A to 104A (84B). The hard wheels are used for street skating and smooth surfaces like the ramp, pool, and skatepark. They are best for performing tricks because of their lightweight and small size.
Actually, it depends on your needs. If you’re looking for wheels for tricks, street skating, and riding on smooth surfaces like skateparks and ramps, anything between 96A to 104A is good for you. But for cruising and rough road riding, soft wheels are for you with the durometer of 78A to 90A.
Yes, harder wheels are faster in comparison to softer wheels. Soft wheels have a better grip on the ground, which makes them slow. To achieve the highest speed of hard wheels, ride on smooth surfaces like skateparks, ramps, and pools.
Conclusion
So far, you have been clear that hard wheels are best for tricks, street, and smooth surfaces.
Hence, if you’re looking for hard wheels for such riding, order the best hard skateboard wheels from our expert recommended and reviewed wheels from this article. All the listed wheels here are well researched and tested by our team members. So, to avoid further headaches, go with these top-rated wheels.
We hope this article ends your research to hunt the best hard wheels and guides you to make the right choice. If you have any doubts or query feel free to comment down to get answered as soon as possible.
I am James Buckridge, the founder of skateboardidea.com. Skateboarding is my passion, and I have years of teaching experience in this field. Our vision and mission is to provide you with accurate information on everything related to skateboarding. Catch me on Twitter & Pinterest.