Polyurethane skateboard wheels

Posted | Categorised in Sports & Leisure, Wheel & Tyre.

Fifty years ago, a skateboarding revolution occurred that exploded the counter-culture movement into the mainstream. And the 360 turn enabling this was the advent of polyurethane skateboard wheels.

It’s hard to figure now that the early skater thrashers of the 1950s and 60s – who had evolved from surfing dudes – were returning to the oceans having concluded that the steel and clay board wheels they were clonking around on weren’t much good. A breakthrough was about to happen though.

From clattering the sidewalk to riding the urban waves

Skateboarding as a pastime had begun to take hold in California and Hawaii in the post-war years before the craze swept the rest of the US.

In the east coast town of Norfolk, Virginia, a young surfing enthusiast and college dropout by the name of Frank Nasworthy had picked up a skateboard as a distraction when the waves weren’t riding so well and for getting to and from the beaches.

At the time, skateboards were rudimentary things fashioned from a 2×4 piece of lumber to create a shorter surfboard with steel wheels without bearings. The ride was heavy, clunky, and lacked grip.

Some experimented with clay composites but they didn’t turn out much better and so the ‘70s kids soon tired of the fad, much to the relief of terrified motorists and pedestrians who had to contend with skateboarders flashing by who could barely control their ride once in full flow.

Meanwhile, the father of Frank’s buddy ran a backyard shop making stuff out of polyurethane.

Nabbing some wheels intended for a customer who was making experimental roller skate wheels from the breakthrough plastic, Frank tried it out on a skateboard to great success. In 1975, Sports Illustrated would describe him as ‘the man who will go down in the annals of skateboarding as inventing the wheel’.

Nasworthy began to peddle his wheels to surf shops up and down the east coast and by 1973 he was in business having formed the Cadillac Wheels Company.

The name was inspired by the smooth-riding auto marque. Buoyed by the possibilities of the polyurethane wheel, board outlets – both surf-side and in the suburbs – jumped aboard quickly and the US skateboarding rush was back on.

Within a year, Nasworthy was pursuing his passion as a full-time career, supplying thousands of wheels and he soon linked up with the Bahne brothers – already manufacturing boards that would become legendary.

Keep reading: Are polyurethane wheels good?

How a shape-shifting plastic changed skateboarding forever

Polyurethane had not proven to be a hit for indoor or outdoor rollerskating wheels as they were deemed too slow for straight-lining boulevards at speed or circling bursts at skating rinks.

But that very traction made them a versatile smooth-riding choice for controlling a board to traverse streetscapes and perform tricks in any suitable, or perhaps unsuitable, urban space.

Kids who had not been old enough during the first skateboard boom, and later teens and early twenties returning to a childhood pastime that was now hip for all, just had to have polyurethane wheels.

Skateboard decks could now be made from thinner composite woods or fibreglass thanks to the softer, more stable polyurethane wheels that grip the surface on which they travel, and a whole new world opened up for performing increasingly daring stunts.

As the 1980s dawned, ‘high rebound’ polyurethane wheels entered the scene.

Tweaks to polyurethane properties created compounds that with more ‘bounce’ or the ability to snap back into shape for performance and durability – especially in skateboard wheels. Now skateboarding was not just a freewheeling mode of transport cemented in street culture, it was also a sport.

Keep reading: Polyurethane Wheels and Roller Repair Re-covering

Polyurethane skateboard wheels today

Today, nearly all skateboard wheels are still made using polyurethane. The reasons that polyurethane remains the performance material of choice for all of the top skateboard manufacturers are multiple and include:

  • Highly durable and resistant to oxygen, sunlight and general weather conditions.
  • Good abrasion resistance for a longer life and for sliding.
  • Great grip with the ground.
  • High resiliency, aka ‘rebound’, makes for solid, fast performance without jarring.
  • The hardness of polyurethane, and so wheels, can be controlled allowing for wheels suitable for different kinds of skateboarding.
  • Easily customisable in shape, size and colour

Keep reading: Polyurethane For The Car Industry

It’s not just skateboards either, polyurethane wheels are used on all manner of vehicles, machines, and everyday items. There are even some unusual uses for polyurethane. For all the reasons listed above and more, you’ll find polyurethane wheels on forklift trucks, conveyor systems, equipment and shopping carts, elevators, gym machines and roller coasters.

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