Rubber vs Polyurethane Wheels?

ESK8 Mechanics
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#1

What are the pros and cons between rubber wheels and urethane? It seems that almost all longboard wheels are polyurethane and I imagine it’s for better durability but how significant is the difference in durability (especially since car wheels are rubber)?

Right now, I have the 100mm MBS wheels, but I was looking to change to the honeycomb Boundmotor wheels. The advantages I can see is that the wheels are softer and since the roads here are pretty rough, that would make for a more comfortable ride. Also if the roads are slightly damp, I’ve heard rubber gets better grip on roads than urethane.

The board is just for commuting. I won’t be going off road or doing anything fancy. Are there any reasons to not get the Boundmotor wheels? What are the tradeoffs?

#2

This is actually a very technical question, many people will have many kinds of response.

There is already some technical discussion about it hidden deep in the corners of this forum.

But i get the feeling you are asking specifically about this product, i cant personally help because i have never tested it, but there are some people on here who have discussed similar products sold by this company. From my understanding the china company behind this brand BOUNDMOTOR is called elofty. So you can do some research about them directly.

look here:

https://electric-skateboard.builders/search?q=elofty

From my experience over the years; the general consensus is you can’t beat good quality urethane on good quality streets for general cruising. But, If you have really bad roads, you generally can’t beat tires with tubes. Search 8 Inch Pneumatic

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#3

I’m not too picky about the brand but I haven’t been able to find another company that sells ~100mm rubber wheels with an ABEC or Kegel mounting system. I say 100mm over the larger pneumatic tires since it’s very hilly where I live so I need the torque from the smaller wheels. Thanks though, I’ll try and look around for more information.

#4

there might be a good reason its not common. Making really good skateboard wheels is extremely complex,.

#5

Yeah, I was wondering if anyone knew why they’re not that common. My guess was that it’s just how it’s always been and the durability thing but a more detailed pros and cons would have been nice. If it’s just manufacturing complexity, is Boundmotor just the company that managed to pull it off?

#6

Also, another angle to think about… When you cannot find a clear answer about a product, its possible because nobody has bothered to “test” and “review” the product.

Lots of new stuff on the market and not much user data, so this might be your opportunity to add to the community, give them a go and let everyone know your thoughts in a review.

#7

I think I’ll do that if I can’t find an answer from someone else. I didn’t realize it was so new. Almost everything I’ve come across before has had some kind of review or thread on here about it.

#8

But you still want more information it seems?

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#9

I also use my board for mostly commuting and live in an area with a lot of hills and bad roads everywhere. I more or less was looking at this same question for main commuting board. Basically I have learned that if your riding priority is safety in rough conditions, many street style PU wheels are not an option.

One simple trade off to consider between soft vs hard wheels is the range difference you will see. While I like the idea of greater comfort and safety the rubber brings, the range loss is not as attractive for commuting, but preferred over most street style PU wheels.

Folks have some mix feelings about Sharkeweels, but I mention it here given the trade offs mentioned by the thread poster. Basically you could have some of the features pertaining to handling rougher roads conditions, while still having PU and avoiding the downsides of the softer rubber. I ordered the Miles Phantom back in Jan to replace my main commuting board and have decided to go with the 95mm Sharkwheels

I ride with 72mm Sharkwheels on my normal longboards and find it deals with rough and wet conditions much better than Abec Superfly 107mm PU wheels. I can even bomb grass and dirt hills with them no problem, but they really shine for commuting when going over things like tile walk ways, gravelly streets, big side walk spaces, and those bumps on the cross walks. With other wheels I get stopped or loose control and drift unintentionally more easily. Looking forward to seeing how they handle on an eskate

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#10

The cores on the Shark wheels are not kind for pulley mounting, and they seem to have canceled the kegel-cored 97mm sharkwheels.

It seems they’ll really only work well for analog push boards.

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#11

Can you explain more about what you mean about them not being kind for pulley mounting?

Aside from that, I received a set of the wheels a couple weeks ago and can confirm they have the kegel style core not covered over with urethane like some people have been speculating.

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