How Tight Should Skateboard Wheels Be (Beginner’s Guide)

Without skateboard wheels adjustment, you can’t get the required skateboarding. And the skateboard wheels can be the deciding point, it directly affects your riding. How tight should skateboard wheels be? it depends on modifying the skateboard vehicles according to your skating level and style as well. You may have needed to look at your riding style and then make some changes to your board vehicles.

Some beginner riders make mistakes by tightening the vehicles strongly or loosely. Because they are not aware of such things. And tightening the wheels has some benefits and drawbacks too.

For example, the benefits you get are the skateboard speed more than your expectations after tightening the vehicle. Also, compact vehicles reward you the higher stability while riding. And the individuals trying to enter this field, they’ll be looking for stable and controlled riding. And one of the drawbacks is that it’s always been difficult to perform tricks with tight vehicles.

To make everything more clear than you’ve read above. Let’s dig into the detailed guide on how tight should skateboard wheels be. Also, what are the benefits and drawbacks you get while dancing on tight skateboard vehicles? In the end, you’ll get to know how to tighten skateboard vehicles.

How Tight Should The Skateboard Wheel Be?

Let me give you the answer how tight should the skateboard wheels be? First of all talk about the riding style, If you are a skater that wants to perform technical tricks at enough speed. Then it would be difficult to maneuver the board with the tight wheels. And you have to lose your skateboard wheels as much as it demands tricks.

But when you think about the speed of skateboarding, dense wheels would be the best decision to go with. If you are a beginner, you might be confused about whether these are loose or tight. You can analyze this by riding the board.

When riding, observe and feel the difference in rides. If you are getting resistance while skating, you can adjust the vehicles by losing them with a wrench or T-tool. Now again start riding and analyze whether have you got the required difference in your riding. If yes, then keep enjoying the ride.

As a beginner, you can be confused about any condition. Either the board is whistling because of a component’s fault or damaging the board. So if you are still facing trouble while adjusting your skateboard wheels, no problem. Because we adjusted the vehicles with the tool in a few easy steps. But before going there, the pros and cons of clinching vehicles are essential to discuss. So every style rider can adjust their board vehicles accordingly.

Skateboard Tightening Wheels Benefits

There are three benefits of having the tight fix skateboard wheels

1- Superlative speed

2- Extraordinary stability

3- Very fewer chances of wheel bite

1- Superlative Speed

One of the surprising facts about tightening vehicles is you have control over the speed of the board. Yes, when riding at a higher speed, the board can hold sway easily. So you don’t need to worry about balancing and controlling the skateboard. But the higher speed can be dangerous for beginners as they can fall when stopping the board. You should how to use your feet flawlessly to stop your board.

2- Extraordinary Stability

The most demanded feature is stability when riding the board, particularly for the newbies. As they have poor knowledge of balancing the board and stable their ride. Some of the components are made for beginners to let them learn and pursue their skating journey.

The tighter vehicles keep the rider’s weight distributed. Because when you have loosened wheels, the extra vehicle rotation causes riders to fall. As a consequence, they get injured.

Doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or a pro skater. Wearing safety accessories is more important even than skateboarding. Make your riding speedy but safe as well.

3- Extraordinary Stability

Tight skateboard vehicles are fixed with trucks and skateboards, they can’t make any movements. It’ll protect them from wheel bites. The wheel bite is when the deck makes a contact with the skateboard wheels.

 It damages both the parts of the skateboard either its deck is made with even the best material or wheels. When you have more loose skateboard wheels, the chances of wheel bite gets increase. The loosened wheels contact the skateboard deck, especially when carving the board. So these two parts get protected via tight wheels.

4- Durable Ability

The life span of tight wheels gets increases because of equipped with trucks to roll rightly. Just use common sense, when you have loose vehicles. Automatically they will come in contact with the deck while carving.

 And continuously wheel bite will damage the vehicles as well as the skateboard deck. So you’ll have to buy them for riding. So tightening vehicles are best. If you don’t want to tighten them for any reason, do not lose them extra to avoid any damage.

Drawbacks of Tight wheels

1- Difficult to perform tricks

2- Tighter weals damage the bearings

1- Difficult To Perform Tricks And Landing

The extreme tightness of the wheels makes it difficult for the riders to perform tricks. As it takes more effort to pull off the skateboard for tricks. Because these are more resistant.

Importantly, it creates difficulty while pushing via feet and rolling the vehicle. But once it gets the momentum, it runs swiftly. And because of tight vehicles, the landing has always been difficult. As you need to put some extra force on a skateboard.

2- Bearing Restitution

The bearings assist the skateboard wheels to roll more smoothly and fastly. As the bearings come in different ABEC rating ranks as 1 to 9 (odd number). The 1 is the smallest and the 9 is the highest.

The better the ABEC rating, the higher the speed of vehicles will be. When the vehicles are tight, the possibility of wear and tear on bearings gets expands. But it happens when you overtight them.

How To Tighten Skateboard Wheels

Before moving forward to the main topic of how to adjust skateboard wheels. You must have the skate tool or 1/2-inch wrench to start the process.

First of just lay the skateboard down and make sure that the vehicles are facing up to adjust them. You can’t make changes in wheels when the skateboard is standing on the vehicle. Because it keeps moving when adjusting.

Secondly fix the skate tool to the axle nut and make some adjustments by gripping one of the vehicles. Once the adjustment gets done accordingly, check the vehicles by shaking them. It’ll determine how much you have tightened the wheels. If there’s a need for some more tightening, rotate the tool and tight it more.

Just take the board outside and start riding your favorite style. If still, you are hearing some squeaking or unbearable noise, your wheels are loose. Do tighten the wheels more. Now check the behavior of the vehicles, I hope the vehicles will rotate smoothly and freely.

How Long Should Skateboard Wheels Spin?

Yes, this is one of the most confusing questions I’ve come across how you can analyze the tightness and the closeness of skateboard wheels? Let me tell you that just get the board and rotate the vehicles once. If it lasts for only 10 or below 10 seconds, vehicles are very tight. Take the tool and tighten them more.

But if it lasts between 15 to 20 seconds, wheel fixing is good. Make sure it doesn’t cross the limit of 25 or 30 seconds. Otherwise, these will get lost and it would be difficult to ride the board smoothly and freely.

Conclusion

Lastly, tightening the board wheels should be made to your style and level of demand. If the tricks are your preference, you can’t skate with the tightened vehicles. You’ll have to lose them a bit. But by getting higher speed and stability, tight vehicles can get this job done for you.

 As far as how tight should skateboard wheels be, you can analyze this when riding your required style. If not having as you expected, take a skate tool and make adjustments to have the desired riding.