Airless electric skateboard wheels = less anxiety
Have you ever popped a tire on your all-terrain electric skateboard?
Did this happen in the middle of a long ride?
Were you left stranded and feeling disappointed about the wheels on your board?
If this has happened to you and you’re tired of having to maintain the air-filled (pneumatic) wheels on your board, consider trying out the airless electric skateboard wheels that Shaboardz offers in our wheel kits section.
Shaboardz has two main options for airless electric skateboard wheels. The two-wheel kits are totally different in size & shape and offer different riding experiences.
Airless wheels from Shaboardz
We carry a 6″ wheel kit, that’s pictured above on the right. This is the most popular wheel kit we sell. This wheel kit comes in a variety of colours, with black and red currently in stock and ready to ship and Yellow and Pink just about to be released for the 2023 riding season. These wheels wear down much slower than pneumatic tires!
We have a local customer in West Vancouver, Canada, who has over 1500 km on these wheels and the tread pattern still looks new. This customer bought these wheels after going through a number of tubes and tires on the stock pneumatic wheels on Summit XT. He prefers these airless wheels over the pneumatics because they are require less maintenance and last longer.
We have been asked many times if these wheels fit on other boards – like the Meepo Hurricane – and the answer is yes. More about this later in the blog!
The 115mm AT sport wheel kit we offer is more suitable for road and sidewalk use, due to their smaller size. These wheels can also ride on grass and dirt, but they won’t ride as smooth as the 6” wheels on this type of terrain.
These wheels can be installed on belt-drive boards & direct-drive boards. Smaller wheels like these will give belt-drive boards a higher top speed in comparison to larger wheels – like the 6″ set. A loss in torque comes with the higher top speed on the smaller wheels. The smaller the pulley you use on these wheels, the more top end speed you’ll get, but the acceleration off the line will decrease.
The AT sports are very durable and won’t wear quickly – just like the 6” airless wheels.
Are airless wheels better than pneumatics?
Say good-bye to punctures and having to stop to repair flats during your ride. Instead of worrying about popping a tire in the middle of a long ride or having to prepare for such an event by carrying extra tubes and watching tutorials online, you can easily install airless wheels on your electric skateboard and forget about encountering this problem.
You’ll feel worry-free when riding on airless electric skateboard wheels and have more confidence to explore off-road trails without getting a flat. The fact that you can ride without worrying and focus on honing your riding skills, instead of the maintenance your board requires with pneumatic wheels will make you a better stress-free rider.
The downside of Airless wheels for electric skateboards
The two main drawbacks on these wheels in comparison to the pneumatic wheels are:
- They don’t grip the road as much as the pneumatic tires.
- The rider generally feels more vibration when riding on these wheels.
The fact that these wheels don’t grip the pavement as much as the pneumatic wheels means that they can slide on pavement or dirt when turning at higher speeds. This means that you’ll have to slow down on turns, until you get used to the feel of these words. Another instance where slippage can occur is on damp or wet pavement – these wheels definitely slip – slide more and don’t grip as hard as the pneumatic wheels. Slipping and sliding can be prevented with experience and practice and just being patient to get a good feel for how the wheels ride in certain circumstances.
The other area where the pneumatic wheels outperform these airless electric skateboard wheels is the feel of the ride. There’s no doubt that the pneumatic wheels provide a smoother ride with less vibration, especially if you’re riding off-road. Pneumatic wheels are always going to provide a smooth off-road ride.
A situation where the airless wheels may provide a smoother ride in comparison to the pneumatics is when riding on pavement at high speed – if the pneumatic wheels on your board are not properly balanced, then you’ve likely felt vibration when riding at high speeds before. Airless electric skateboard wheels can take away this vibration at high speeds.
How do I know if a wheel kit from Shaboardz will fit my board?
For the most part, electric skateboard wheels are universal. Most of the wheel kits we sell are easily installed on other electric skateboard brands – especially if you have a belt-drive board or a classic 2-in-1 board that most brands sell! Our wheel kits can fit on other brands because skateboard wheels, belts & pulleys are universally used by brands in the industry.
Street wheels usually use abec or kegel pulleys. These pulleys come in various sizes. The size of the pulley is dependent on how many teeth it has.
A pulley that is marked “40T” means it has 40 teeth – T stands for teeth.
Our 6″ airless AT wheels only have one pulley option, which is 60T.
The 115mm wheels use kegel pulleys have a number of different size options, like 40T & 45T.
In the case you have a mountainboard or another board with trucks that have an axle that is larger in diameter, you’re most likely out of luck when it comes to installing any wheels you want. The larger axel means larger bearings, which is not standard in the industry on 2 in 1 boards.
Most 2-in-1 boards are belt-drive, but direct-drive boards can also accept a wide variety of different wheels to be installed. Our 115mm AT sports can be installed on both belt-drive and direct-drive boards with adapters.
Installing a new wheel kit on your board is easy! If you’re new to electric skateboarding, there’s a step that might not be so obvious – after removing the four wheels, what’s next? You’ll need to loosen the bolts that hold the motors on the motor mounts (don’t take the screws all the way out – just loosen them).
Once they’re loose, you’ll be able to slide the motors back and forth within the slot on the motor mount. This step is for the drive wheels and allows you to install different wheels and adjust the tightness of your belt.
Here’s a video that goes through the step we just explained:
Are airless electric skateboard wheels for you?
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article – just like our boards. Lol!
If you’ve read the whole article then you now understand there’s a number of things to consider before purchasing airless electric skateboard wheels and changing out the pneumatic wheels on your board.
The main benefit to installing and riding on airless wheels is the durability of the wheels and decrease in time spent on maintaining your wheels when it comes to flats or punctures. Airless wheels don’t have these problems. You’ll spend less time worrying and more time focusing on becoming a better rider and pushing yourself past your limits.
The most significant drawback to riding on airless wheels is the change in ride quality. Airless wheels aren’t as smooth when taking on off-road terrain, so the rider will feel more vibration. The rider will also want to keep in mind that airless wheels generally don’t grip pavement as well as the rubber on pneumatic tires.
Boards ride differently with new wheels! If you understand this and are willing to feel it out and get used to the new wheels, then these airless wheels could actually make you a better rider.
Our customer Richard from West Vancouver, who we mentioned earlier in the article, echoed this idea when we went on a ride together. He told me he has become a better rider because he has learned how to use his body weight when taking turns at high speeds to prevent sliding on the airless wheels.
He still rides at the same speed, but has come up with new techniques because of the change in wheels on his board. He prefers these wheels because they don’t require maintenance.
We believe that both airless electric skateboard wheels and pneumatic wheels have their benefits and drawbacks, but so does every product! People have different tastes and like certain things better than others. The only way to truly understand the feel and benefits of these wheels is to try them for yourself!
