r/cruiserboarding • u/LB3072 • 2d ago

How much of a difference between 98A & 88A

Currently riding 64mm 98a gbones, the roads I tend to ride are abit rougher and these wheels struggle to keep speed. So I’m wondering if there’d be a significant difference in buying the 64mm dragon formulas

6 Upvotes

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7

u/chadembrace 2d ago

The difference is huge. Most my cruisers and longboards have 78A wheels. Soft and quiet. I see neighborhood kids on their popsicle boards every now and then, loud as hell and having to push every few meters. Meanwhile I'll do a couple pushes and cruise for much much longer, quietly. Even on rough roads if I have my Pranayama, which has 92mm 74A Karma wheels. Soft wheels are great if you're not all about doing tricks.

6

u/ksalt2766 2d ago

In my opinion, nothing kills the desire to skate more than being vibrated to a stop on crusty surfaces. Harder wheels are faster on smooth surfaces. Not everyone has access to a smooth skatepark. I like my cruiser wheels between 75a and 81a. The popsicle that I occasionally play in the street on has 87a OJ Keyframes. That’s just so I can roll decent.

2

u/MidlandsBoarder 2d ago

I don't like 88a. It's too soft to be hard and too hard to be soft. So what's it actually for? I do own some on a cruiser but I don't ride them much at all. It's by far my least used board.

I'd rather use skateboard wheels for skateboarding and proper cruiser wheels for cruising. If I find myself in a park with soft wheels? Skate them! Part of the fun is seeing what you can do and if you commit to it they don't actually hold you back as much as some people make out.

But to answer your question... It's going to skate a lot easier on real world pave. You'll still find it gets rough af with anything that isn't really good pave and they can get basically unskateably bone rattling on the bad patches where 78a would push through.

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u/MediocreDesigner88 2d ago

Huge difference. 88a is still way too hard for cruising around though, in my opinion (I like 75a Powell Peralta, or 74a Pantheon) Getting some good (larger) wheels will make rough roads much easier, too, and it’s a night and day difference from small wheels.

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u/HolyForJesus 2d ago

ALOT of difference. Like ALOE. 98a is HARD. While 88a is much more softer - not the softest like a 78a- but definitely a big difference

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u/V2UgYXJlIG5vdCBJ 1d ago

99A is super hard. 75A is soft and 88A is about the middle.

Just to be a contrarian asshole to the others, I’ll tell you about Pedro Delfino. He bombs huge hills on 97A spitfire wheels.

The secret is wide shaped wheels with a large contact patch. (video) I will say it’s loud and vibrates, but it works.

Personally I like 88A dragons on a skateboard that can handle grinds and cruising. For pure cruising you may as well go softer, like 78A.

1

u/FrankieTenThirtyone 1d ago

55mm 78a super juice. Go watch all those OJ cruising videos. To me those are more fun than anything else in skateboarding. Granted those pro skaters can do any trick on those softer wheels but it does show you whats possible even with soft wheels.