World of Wheels

Inline Skate Wheels — Before You Buy (Dakota wheels)

Inline skate wheels have the greatest impact on your skating performance. They come in different sizes, shapes, and composition, and are made to suit different styles of skating. Therefore, selecting the right wheels based on the way you skate is of prime importance.

You should buy inline skate wheels based on your:

• Body weight
• Blading ability
• Skating style
• Speed comfort zone

Furthermore, before you head to your local sporting goods store for replacement wheels, it’s best to learn something about the physical properties that are used to describe the typical, inline skate wheel.

Learning about the Physical Properties
The four properties are hardness, size, core, and profile. You need to understand these properties so you’re in the know when it comes time to purchase a new set of wheels.

Hardness
The durometer reading is a measure of the hardness of the material that makes up the wheel’s tire. The higher the hardness is, the harder the wheel. In addition, the harder the wheel, the longer it lasts, but the less it absorbs shock and vibration when skating.

Most wheels on the market range from 74A (softest) to 88A (hardest), where the letter A denotes the durometer scale. However, recreational skaters are normally interested in the narrower range from 78A to 82A. This hardness range provides good control, grip, and a smooth roll for most trail skaters.

A harder wheel with a higher, durometer reading, such as 82A, exhibits the following characteristics:

• Good for skating fast on smoother surfaces
• Lasts longer and is more durable
• Generally used by heavier people
• Better wear properties
• More vibration on rougher surfaces

On the other hand, a softer wheel with a lower durometer reading, such as 78A, provides the following benefits:

• Better traction
• Greater shock absorption
• More cornering grip
• Enhanced rebound
• Less vibration on rougher surfaces
• Good for rougher surfaces

Size
The size of the wheel is the outside diameter measured in millimeters (mm). The larger the wheel, the faster the skate due to reduced rolling resistance. Wheels in the 72-mm to 80-mm range are just right for recreational and fitness skating. They provide good maneuverability and speed for skating longer distances on trails.

However, wheels in the 84-mm to 90-mm range and up are faster wheels that provide the best performance at higher speeds. However, larger wheels are less stable and consequently require more skating ability. Racers and marathoners typically use wheels in this size range.

Check your owner’s manual or with the manufacturer to find out what size range your skates can accommodate. For example, the frames of K2 Exotech skates can hold up to an 82-mm wheel in the larger sizes and down to a 76-mm wheel in the smaller sizes. It’s important that you find out the size range supported by the wheelbase of your skates, especially if you are planning to move up or down in size versus the original wheels that came with your skates.

Core
The core consists of the hub and spokes. The inner hub houses the bearings and spacer, which is where the axle resides. The outer hub and spokes bond to the tire material itself, which is the polyurethane.

The core design and material of construction gives a wheel its stability. A wheel undergoes stress from many different directions. The design and material determine the strength of the wheel. Cores range from a solid construction in aggressive wheels to lightly-spoked in racing wheels. The standard hub is called a 608 hub, which means it houses a 608-type bearing.

Profile
The profile is the cross-section of the wheel where it meets the ground, when viewed head on. The profile or curve determines how much of the wheel is in contact with the surface at any given time.

As an industry standard, all wheels are 24-mm thick, but it’s the variation in a wheel’s footprint that provides different functionality. The larger the footprint, the better the traction and stability.

Selecting new Wheels
The hardness and size have the biggest impact on your skating, so base your choice on these properties. Cores and profiles have significant, but less subtle consequences. Compare cores and profiles after you’ve decided on the correct hardness and diameter for your weight, ability, style, and speed.

Choosing a Hardness
As mentioned previously, the harder the wheel, the longer it lasts, but the lower the grip, and the less it absorbs shock and vibration on the trail. Recreational skaters normally look for wheels in the range of 78A to 82A. This hardness range affords good control and a smooth roll on most trails.

However, that being said, you’re not required to use the same hardness on all your wheels. Some skaters use mixed durometers to achieve a better balance of grip, shock absorption, and durability than is possible with a single hardness.

Wear Patterns: Before you rotate your wheels during your monthly maintenance check, note the wear pattern on your wheels from the front to the back. Do any of your wheels tend to wear a lot more than the others? If so, you might want to put harder wheels in those positions.

Some skaters tend to wear the inside edges of their two front wheels much quicker due to the aggressive way they push off when striding, as well as from the number of rolls they skate during the summer months. If you’re in this category, you may want to experiment and try an 84A in the #1 positions, and a 78A in the #2, #3, and #4 positions on each skate.

Durability and Shock Absorption: You may find your wheels wear down faster then you’d like when you skate on rough surfaces, which can happen on some stretches on certain trails. You could opt to buy all harder wheels, such as an 82A across the board, but you might experience a rougher ride. One alternative is to replace only half of your wheels with a harder durometer. Half of your wheels could be 78As and the other half 82As.

The following are two, recommended orders from the #1 position to the #4 position as you move from left to right:

78A-82A-78A-82A
82A-78A-78A-82A

This wheel mix gives you the shock absorption of a 78A wheel and the durability of an 82A wheel, or the best of both worlds!

Picking a Size
Inline skate wheels in the 72-mm to 80-mm diameter range are about right for most recreational and fitness skaters. At the low end, skates with 72-mm wheels are appropriate for the lighter, female, recreational skater.

At the higher end, skates with 80-mm wheels are best for the heavier, male, fitness skater. For the mid-weight, male or female, inline skater, a good compromise is to use 76-mm wheels.

Some recreational skaters, who want to achieve an even better workout while trail skating via longer distances, higher speeds, or short sprints, opt for the largest diameter wheel they can fit on their skates. If your skating ability and style warrant the larger diameter, and you’re comfortable skating at higher speeds, you may want to consider moving up to an 84-mm diameter.

The larger diameter means more speed and the wheels last longer than shorter wheels of the same hardness. However, check with your owner’s manual or the skate manufacturer to find out if your frame or wheelbase can accommodate wheels in this size range.

Summing Up
I hope the above guidelines come in handy the next time you need to buy wheels for your skates. Remember that hardness and size are the most important properties, especially if you’re a recreational skater who plans on doing a lot of trail skating this summer. Check your skates to see if you have a noticeable wear pattern on the front or rear wheels. If so, you may want to refit your skates with harder wheels in these positions.

Add comment August 15th, 2008

Mounting Racing Go Kart Tires On One Piece Wheels (Deals on wheels)

I am asked for advice on removing and mounting racing go kart tires on one piece wheels often. So in this guide I will attempt to explain how to do both. These tips are what has worked best for me. There is a risk of injury when mounting and removing tires and I will not be responsible for any injuries that result from trying any of these techniques.

Let’s start with breaking down a go kart racing tire first. There are several kinds of bead breakers made to accomplish this task such as the RLV bead breaker or the H.D. bead breaker we sell. A RLV bead breaker looks a lot better but a heavy duty bead breaker certainly works better.

This task will be much easier if the tire is hot or at least warm. If you do not have an oven or tire box to heat a tire up, even placing tire in the bright sunshine for a while will help. First, deflate tire and remove valve core completely and place core in a secure place as you will not need it again until you have a new tire mounted on the wheel.

Next, determine which side of wheel is the short side. Most of the time the shorter side will be the inside (side without valve stem) of wheel. Place wheel in bead breaker with the shorter side facing up. Adjust bead breaker to fit the size wheel you have and simply push tire off bead. Flip wheel over and repeat process on the other side.

That was the easy part. Now you need to get tire off wheel. There is a trick to doing this without using tire irons. It just takes some practice to get the hang of it. But once you do get the hang of it you will be able to remove a tire without risking damage to the tire or wheel which you will be risking if you use tire irons. With the inside of the tire, roll the top of the tire inward, making the bottom tire bead extend itself over the rim. Grab the extended bead and slowly work the tire off the rim until the entire bead has been removed over the rim.

Now, flip tire and wheel over and push the rim on to a piece of carpet at about a 45 degree angle. Hold rim with your left hand and use your right palm to slowly work the outside bead over the inside surface of the rim. This method does take some practice to get the hang of it. If you can’t get the tire off using this method then here’s how to do it using tire irons, or, heaven forbid, screwdrivers.

After breaking both beads place the wheel on apiece of carpet with the valve side down. Push one edge of tire to the narrow middle section of wheel Take the tire iron and place it on the other side and pull down. Take the other tire iron and do the same thing. Once you have about half of the bead over the rest of the tire should pull over by hand, Flip tire and wheel over and the other edge can be pulled off by hand. Be very careful not to mess up the edge of rim or the bead of tire if using tire again. If you are tossing tire, you don’t have to worry about that.

Now, on to mounting a racing go kart tire on a one piece go kart racing wheel. To accomplish this task you will need a tire mounting ring or tire band as they are sometimes called. There are two basic types, one is a Ratchet style tire band and the other is a Screw type tire band. I have used both and had no problems with either. You will also need an air compressor, of course. I would suggest using a compressor with at least a 20 gallon tank on it. Before starting to inflate tire release some air until compressor kicks on, that way tank is completely full.

Now is the time to heat tire if you have a way to do so. Heat simply makes the rubber softer, thus easier to stretch. Next make sure valve core is removed from wheel. DO NOT FORGET THIS! Identify the smaller edge of the wheel rim. Most of the time this will be the inside edge of wheel. Most Douglas wheels have equal size lips but if you look closely one lip is thinner than the other and the edge is more rounded. This smaller edge is the edge you will slide tire over first..

It is now lube time. Use something slippery to lube up the edges of wheel and tire. I have used tire snot, dishwashing liquid, Simple Green, WD-40,and Greased Lightning. Avoid getting lube on the inside of tire as much as you can. Place wheel on a mat or pice of carpet between your knees. Hold tire like you would a steering wheel and push it against wheel at about a 45 degree angle so that the bead contacts the wheel at 2 points. Now push the tire on to the wheel. The first few times you do this you will most likely be using brute force to accomplish this step. After you have done this several times you will figure out the trick and you will be able to do this without breaking a sweat. Flip tire and wheel over and repeat process for other side.

Place tire and wheel in th tire mounting ring. Then, either turn knob or use ratchet to secure tire band around tire. Never use band with open end facing up and your face right over it. If tire blows your face is toast. Lay tire band on floor on it’s side with open ends facing left and right instead of up and down. With everything out of in front of the open ends, and both edges of wheel and tire lubed up, connect and begin pumping the air to it. When tire seals on bead you will hear a very loud POP, that will almost make you go in your pants. Do not stop pumping air when you hear the first pop. Keep pumping air to it until you hear the second POP. Release air as soon as you hear the second POP. And since you remembered to remove valve core, all air will release immediately. You probably do not even want know how much air was in tire when second bead pops on.

Put valve cores back in wheels and inflate tires to a middle pressure that you run. Now would be the time to balance your wheel. I have written another guide to explain this process.

As you know, there are several brands of racing go kart tires such as Dunlop, Vega, Maxxis and others. Some brands of racing go kart tires will mount with less effort than others, and a softer tire is much easier to mount than a hard one. There are several types and brands of go kart wheels as well. We stock Douglas polished wheels in 5″ or 6″ diameter, as well as 6″ fully machined Douglas Q + and WMS Tru-Roll wheels. You can find these parts at many kart shops including ours http://smokinjoeracing.com.

Add comment August 12th, 2008

What’s the Hype About Chrome Wheels? (Truck wheels)

Anywhere you seem to look nowadays, there are customized cars and trucks and those pieces of jewelry holding the tires in place are custom rims. Usually dipped in chrome, sometimes in gold. These flashy wheels are probably where “Bling, Bling” originated. With NBA all stars such as Maurice Taylor, Lindsey Hunters and of course Shaquille O’Neal spending thousands to customize the Lincoln Navigators and Cadillac Escalade SUV truck it only seems natural that their fans would follow in the tracks and they have.

The power of celebrities

Not only have NBA stars taken to customizing their vehicles, but Hip Hop superstars like Nelly, Master P and P Diddy have taken to the bling bling world of aftermarket wheels. The hip hop mogul seems to have gone beyond customizing his rides with chrome rims, he now has teamed up with Weld wheels to produce his own line of custom, precision-forged aluminum rims. Weld wheels and P Diddy have a new line car and truck wheels specifically for sports trucks, luxury SUV’s and high-end American- and German-made autos that are called “Sean John Wheels”. Sean John dubs retail between $700 and $3,000 for each wheel.

Will all the publicity from celebrities chrome wheels have taken off in sales as in the last 10 years. With the money to be made in custom rims, more and more companies are springing up offering even more styles of wheels to choose from. Some of the most popular names include Foose wheels, Lexani, Giovanni and American Racing wheels to name only a handful of over 100 manufacturers. With so many manufacturers they try to push the envelope with their wheels designs adding beautiful shapes to their wheels. One company really took it to the next level by introducing spinning rims to the aftermarket world.

Spinning wheels

Latrell Sprewell is the pioneer of spinning wheel or “Spinners” as they have become know as. The rims spin because they use a high speed bearing. The specially sealed bearings are what creates the movement even after the vehicle has stopped moving. As cool as they sound, the price tag might make you look else where. A single Spinner can set you back up to $5,000. Even with the expensive cost these wheels are flying off of car accessory store shelves. And other wheel manufacturers have infiltrated the spinning wheel market. Names such as Dubspin, Oasis, Ultra Hot, Spintek, Spinpro, Davin and Excess all offer their own styles of chrome spinning wheels, ready to be installed on luxury SUV trucks.

How to save money when shopping for your aftermarket rims

If you don’t want to spend a months wages on one chrome wheel but you still want that cool custom look what do you do? An alternative to the $5,000 spinner chrome wheel price tag is Spinweel spinners, which will run you about $300. Spinweel Spinners are add-ons to your custom chrome rims, they are designed to adapt to the wheels on your vehicle. Another way to find cheap prices for you budget minded car addicts is using the internet. You can save hundreds of dollars just by taking some time to compare the discount deals you can find online. Many online automotive merchants offer you wheels balanced and shipping all for free. Something to consider if you want the cool look without the expensive payment.

Add comment August 1st, 2008

All About Wheels: Guide In Buying Replacement Auto (Wheels ebay motors) Wheels

As cars became more advanced, auto users likewise continuously increased their consciousness on how their cars should look and perform. There’s simply no particular vehicle that can suffice all of a users’ ever-changing needs and wants; thus, one does a lot of things to improve his car and make it more enjoyable to drive and ride. One of the things auto users frequently do to improve their vehicle’s looks and performance is to change the wheels of the car.

The wheel or the rim particularly refers to the metal ring on which the tire is attached but it also refers to both the rim and the tire as a whole. The wheels are among the most essential parts in the car since they are the ones that make your vehicle move. They “interact” with the road and thus greatly affect your car’s handling and ride quality.

Replacing the wheels is easier now and your choices are much greater as well. Stores like Auto Parts Corner provide great variety of OEM-quality auto parts including Ford wheels, GMC wheels, Mazda wheels, and BMW wheels. What’s more exciting is that you can purchase these products online. Aside from getting excellent choices, you get to save time, money and your efforts as well in purchasing replacement wheels for your car. You can expect amazing Auto Parts Wholesale deals from stores like this as well since more and more auto parts stores online are offering different kinds of replacement and aftermarket parts for almost all makes and models at great discount prices.

Purchasing replacement wheels and other auto parts may be a lot easier now however you still have to be wise and meticulous enough in selecting the sources of the parts you’re going to install on your vehicle. Thousands of stores online may be offering the same deals on numerous kinds of Ford parts, BMW parts, Chevrolet parts, Toyota parts and other most sought after replacement automotive parts but you can never be so sure of their products’ quality. It’s better to get auto parts from trusted sources like Auto Parts Corner.

Likewise, you must be particular about the dimensions of the wheels you are purchasing. You must be very careful in choosing the right replacement wheels for your car so as not to compromise safety and your riding comfort. Although you want to enhance your car’s appearance, the way the wheel looks should not be your basis in choosing it over a more durable and high quality wheel.

Here are some auto terms related to auto wheels. Understanding these can be of great help in making the right choices on the kind of wheels you need to purchase in lieu of the original equipment.

Wheel Diameter. This refers to diameter of the metal ring, on which the bead of the tire rests. This is usually indicated on the wheels itself in inches. If you don’t find it on the wheel, know the size of the tires mounted on it. To achieve more athletic look, wheels with larger diameter matched with low profile tires are usually used as replacement for the stock wheels. Wheel width. This is the distance between the vertical edges of the rim where the tire bead seats. Ideally, the wheel width must be the same as the width of the tread of the tire (circumference of the outside surface of the tire).Wheel balancing. This procedure is done with the wheels off the car. This ensures that the weight of the wheels is distributed evenly around the axle.Wheel offset. This refers to the distance between the mounting surface of the wheel to the car (particularly the attachment surface of the disc at the wheel hub) and the center of the rim. This is crucial to the proper positioning of the tires.

Add comment July 28th, 2008

Black Custom Wheels (Beadlock wheels)

What’s Hot in custom wheels? Wheel diameters keep getting bigger and bigger, SUV’s in particular are now running 28 to 30 inches. Even Honda owners are asking for 19s these days. However, have you noticed all the Black Wheels that manufacturers are offering today? Have you noticed how many black wheels are now seen on cars, trucks and SUV’s. Especially on Trucks and SUV’s. Call it redefining beauty or what ever you like, black rims are hot!

Manufacturers often describe black wheels in the following manner: painted black, chrome and black, gloss black, matte black, flat black, powder coated black, satin black, charcoal, hyper black, iridium black, black with a machine lip, black paint with polished stainless lip, black with a diamond cut face, chrome with black spoke caps, chrome with black inserts, carbon, graphite, anthracite, and black chrome. However, black and hyper black are the most popular descriptions used by manufacturers.

Black wheels are usually painted black and clear coated. Hyper black is a powder coated process that adds much more depth to a custom wheel. The powder coated process is usually done in several steps until the face of the wheel has a bright black luster. Anthracite is a form of coal that has a high luster and custom wheels with this finish resembles a chunk of this type of coal. Black chrome has both a shiny and reflective finish and is very similar to chrome

The number of wheel choices available these days can be mind boggling! If you are looking for something different for your car, truck or SUV then take a little time to look at all the different black custom wheels on the market today. Especially wheels that are chrome and black or black wheels with a machined face.

Add comment May 22nd, 2008