Does Wheelbase Actually Matter?

[Musicaldeath107]

Does wheelbase on a board actually matter all that much?
Now before you tell me to focus my account for asking this question... Up until literal 20 minutes ago I would have said unequivocally yes.  Now I'm not so sure.

I have for the last 2 years, for all intents and purposes, ridden 14 inch WB decks and Ventures.  Some truck madness here and there, but 14 inch WB.  I have had 1 deck in that time frame with that was 14.25WB and I never could get used to it.  Everything always felt off, tried 3 different sets of trucks everything felt terrible.  (In hindsight I think something was actually wrong with that deck)

On skateshop day my local was one of the shops that got their own custom Deluxe boards so I grabbed one.  I wanted to support so I didn't care that the wheelbase was 14.375, figured if I hated it give it to a kid at the park.  I tried it with the set of new Royals, and lo and behold it felt pretty damn good.

This afternoon I got a case of gear madness and was switching up wheels and trucks on everything.  I laid that deck on top of my usual 14wb board and noticed that when the back truck holes lined up with one another, that both tails were almost exactly the same. 

So I decided to throw a set of Venture Lo on that Deluxe board. 

When I lined everything up, very scientifically clearly, 2 sets of ventures they are basically bang on the same to the tail.

Now obviously wheel size and truck height will come into how this will feel.  However the board those lows came off of is identical in shape, drilling etc to the one board in the right.  So my money is on that for almost all of my tricks off the tail this will feel identical to the previous board that had the lows on.

The difference in wheelbase is very different at the nose. So nollie and fakie stuff will feel different but I'm not too concerned about messing with that timing.


I'm going to have a long session later today to test the theory but I'm thinking that it's not wheelbase that is actually the most important measurement for what trucks go with what board.  It's where in relation to the nose/tail the truck holes are drilled... plus you know all the other gear madness inducing measurements. 

What do you all think?

[biggreen]

Wheelbase affects how long the board itself feels as well in terms of stability. Pop feel will also be different because the farther the front wheels are away from the back, it should theoretically contribute to a “heavier” feeling nose - so all things equal, it would take more effort to pop.

I recently switched to a 14WB + venture, and I strategically moved to this combination after really enjoying a 14.25WB + indys. While there is a lot of variables, I feel like the similar distance between the wheels has made a big difference in how comfortable my tricks feel.

[Xen]

I think royals feel perfect on 14.3x wb

[Mean salto]

Everything matters....... A bit.
If you want to get into all the details that's fine but once you get bogged down in the measurement/gear madness it's almost impossible to get back out. Plenty of amazing skaters probably don't even know what sizes they ride. Most of the skateboarding world went from the 90s until very recently without even considering wheelbase when picking a deck

[Hedgehog In Da Fog]

A shorter wheelbase can help some people pop better, some people will skater better on a longer wheelbase depending on their height and build.

Does Bouillabaisse matter?

[fs1/2cab]

Not 100% sure about it, just my experiences.

A longer wb = easier/faster shuvs (varial heel, tre flip, etc)
A shorter wb = easier/faster flips (kickflip, nollie heel, etc)

The overall length of the deck matters, depending on your height and shoulder width (also leg length probably). And what feels comfortable for you.

Most important for me, is the tail length and the angle of the kicks.

Longer, more mellow tail (6.7+) seems to cause a easier pop, but maybe not the highest ollie.

Shorter, steeper tail (6.5-) seems to need a bit more effort to pop but can get your ollies a bit higher.

[rocklobster]

I think royals feel perfect on 14.3x wb

Seconded.

It matters as much as you want it to matter, more art than science. Some swear by 14 WB + Ventures, some do 14.5 WB + Ventures and do just fine. Not the answer you're looking for and Shoes & Gear is a deep rabbit hole if you want to get analysis paralysis. I try and lock it down to 1 variable (WB / truck) and play around with the other. The more time I spend fiddling with my gear the less time I get to skate and acclimate to my setup. But if the setup feels way off from the first push, I'll give it 10 minutes before I swap out to a spare pair of trucks.

[BALARGUE]

some info about wheelbase

[doomstation55]

Short answer: yes
Long answer: no

[roba]

Not 100% sure about it, just my experiences.

A longer wb = easier/faster shuvs (varial heel, tre flip, etc)
A shorter wb = easier/faster flips (kickflip, nollie heel, etc)

you got it backwards, technical flip tricks (shuvit + flip) are definitely easier with a shorter wheelbase. longer wheelbase might be better for straight flips and ollies but i'm not so sure about that because i haven't felt that much of a difference there on boards with longer wheelbases, i just know that my 360 flips sucked on those

[Musicaldeath107]

In my session last night I'll be honest, I didn't notice any difference in the pop weight/feel on the tail at all.

It may have felt marginally more stable on transition and flowing around.  Noticed my nollie and fakie pop was delayed but didn't throw me off.

I will definitely be looking more at overall deck construction vs strictly wheelbase moving forward.

Also to everyone saying the new Royals are perfect on 14.38 wheelbases... they've felt amazing on everything I've had em on so far, never thought I'd say that.

[backside_frontside]

No it doesn't. Caring about wheelbase is a recent phenomenon. The changes to your pop and turning are imperceptible. I think the most important dimensions are length and width. Longer boards tend to have longer WB. I like 31.5"-31.75" length and 8.0"-8.125" width so the boards I buy tend to be 14" WB or sometimes 14.125". An extra 1/8" WB is unnoticeable so both dimensions work for me. If I were to skate something with a 14.5" WB then I'm skating an inherently longer/wider board which I don't like.

You don't need to overthink your setup. Five years ago, the thought of WB never once crossed my mind. Ride what feels good and you'll get used to it

[Frank and Fred]

No it doesn't. Caring about wheelbase is a recent phenomenon.

Wheelbase was a pretty big deal in the 80s (and earlier I'm sure) with doubled-drilled noses. As kids, we always went straight for the long nose/ short wheelbase option as we knew it made more sense for what we were trying to do. We didn't fixate on numbers but understood how WB impacts response/ stability.

For me, these days it only really impacts what I can do when it is a big difference, say 14" to 15". I am unable to get 360 flips on a 15" WB and 14" WB is terrifying on big transition. So I float between 14.25" and 14.75". Ultimately, at 6' and 200lbs, I could make 14.75" suit me for everything I am trying to do.

I don't nerd out too much on how my trucks impact WB but I do like Thunders on 14.25" and smaller and Ace on 14.25" and longer. But again I could easily commit to one truck brand and make it work.

As much as we all might benefit from sticking to consistent equipment, experimentation is fun and sometimes unlocks some progression.

In short it probably doesn't matter as much as we say here in the  S+G forum but there are limits to functional length WB.

[mattchew]

I can’t read this whole thread at the moment, and I’m also eternally grateful that I do not suffer from any type of gear madness, but I know from my personal experience that I cannot do certain tricks the same, most noticeably 360 flip, a trick I’ve been doing for over 2 decades, on a board with a longer (14.25+) wheelbase; I constantly land on the nose unless I lean uncomfortably and comically far back. On a sub 14.25 WB I am flipping that bitch all day tho.

I would also like to take this time to sing the praises of the Girl - Loveseat shape as it is the perfect skatebloard that ever existed: 9”x32” 13.8” WB.

[newspaperparty]

cya

[LebowskisRug]

Only if it’s way too far off or way different. 14.25 to 14.38 with everything else the same is 1/16” at each truck. The generic BBS 8.25 and 8.38 many brands use is the same at the kicks minus this one dimension. The wear on your tail, wheels, etc will likely influence the pop angle way more than this one measurement.

With that said I’ve suffered some serious madness and my most recent way of assessing a deck is to set it on the ground and without looking setup my feet in a few basic kickflip and ollie positions and see how cramped I feel because I am tall. Honestly that has worked way better than focusing on numbers.

[Xen]

Wheelbase, to me, seems most effected by overall board length, specifically the tail length.

E.g., I can ride a 14" WB board, if it's closer to 32" with a long tail whereas a short board and short WB feel too cramped.

A short WB board and a longer tail, say 6.7+ feels fine (Primitive boards are like this @31.9"). Same size board with a longer WB and shorter tail feel fine (PS boards like some PlanB or Quasi).

The only thing I can't do is short boards (31.5-31.75) as the distance between by feet due to a wide stance has me pushing my front foot up onto the front-most bolts near the nose and I feel off balance when trying to scoot back to pop something as my feet are now too close together.

I recently setup a 32.25" with super long kicks and a 14.375 WB it was too long in every aspect (if it was shorter and had a short WB those long kicks would have compensated).

With my trailing foot in ollie position, if my front foot is on or near the first front bolts and if feels good, that's all that matters.

Atleast, that's how I'm feeling lately after trying a bunch of combinations; finding the board that fits your natural shoulder-width/natural stance.

[tzhangdox]

Expand Quote

Not 100% sure about it, just my experiences.

A longer wb = easier/faster shuvs (varial heel, tre flip, etc)
A shorter wb = easier/faster flips (kickflip, nollie heel, etc)

[close]

you got it backwards, technical flip tricks (shuvit + flip) are definitely easier with a shorter wheelbase. longer wheelbase might be better for straight flips and ollies but i'm not so sure about that because i haven't felt that much of a difference there on boards with longer wheelbases, i just know that my 360 flips sucked on those

The general consensus is that a shorter wheelbase spins and scoops much easier.

Though I also agree with fs1/2 cab that in my experience, most tricks involving a scoop is much much easier on a longer wheelbase. I can tre on any setup, but they feel so much loftier and more satisfying on a bigger longer board. Same with fakie tres, and nollie/sw when I do them on occasion. Pop shuvs and bigspins dont overspin and feel a lot more stable and lofty too.

Shorter wheelbases are better for most straight flip tricks imo (except sw/nollie heels for some reason), and almost every 180 flip is easier on a short wb too, and easier to fold tricks like half cab flips, bs flips, nollie fs flips.

Then again, I'm 6ft5 and usually skate like a 14.2ish wheelbase so its definitely too short for me on paper which is probably why most scoopy tricks overspin if I don't try to control it.

[Bunk Moreland]

No.

[freidnly guy]

The left looks like it has a steeper/less fingers of flat tail, I predict it will feel hard to hit your tail. Not my cup of tea. I have a 8.62/14.75 wb krooked with a long steep tail that is awful, hard to pop and clunky, and a 9.0/15wb bbs shop deck with nice mellow kicks that is very fun and manageable, so I try to pay attention to kicks. What is the board on the right?

[Musicaldeath107]

Expand Quote

[close]

The left looks like it has a steeper/less fingers of flat tail, I predict it will feel hard to hit your tail. Not my cup of tea. I have a 8.62/14.75 wb krooked with a long steep tail that is awful, hard to pop and clunky, and a 9.0/15wb bbs shop deck with nice mellow kicks that is very fun and manageable, so I try to pay attention to kicks. What is the board on the right?

Board on the right ends up with an ever so slightly steeper tail but more fingers of flat.  But it's very close, neither board gives me an ghost pop issues.

That board on the right is a ScumCo deck, no idea the series but it's a Pennswood pressed board.

[munchbox]

i care about wb. makes my preferred board sizes managable
9.0/15wb turns my legs to mush after an hour skating street
8.75/14wb combo has me outside feeling good for 4-6 hours
mind you setup #2 has bigger wheels and heavier trucks

i kinda agree with @Xen on the length thing
an 8.8/31.4/14wb setup felt ridiculously cramped
but a 10.0/31.5/14.5wb also felt ridiculously cramped
if a board is too short, its just too short. wb wont help imo

we all agree length and width matter
why wouldnt the third major measurement?
every setup ever has had at least two wheelbases
definitely overlooked in the past by skaters
but its simply impossible for woodshops/truck devs to ignore
they dont just drill mounting holes without any thought
or slap axles on a baseplate any which way
wheelbase matters. whether or not you care is the difference

[ish_wav]

My madness started when I couldn’t hardflip. It is my go to trick and I landed one out of maybe twenty I tried. I was riding a 14.5 WB deck on some thunders I believe. I set up a board with a 14.25 WB and landed maybe 10 in a row. It could’ve been just my mind the whole time but I haven’t touched a 14.5 since. Both decks were Clutch samples I was sent when I was toying around with having some decks made.

[HugeBodBoyle]

I tre better on a longer wheelbase. I am sure there is math involved, but that's the fact I know. Shorter wheelbase feels cramped and the board flips weird.

I'm also 6'1" and have a size 11.5 foot, so again...math and whatnot.

[in love w/ fs shuvs]

Yes but actually no. Just get boards similar to alien shapes and you're good.

[roba]

I tre better on a longer wheelbase. I am sure there is math involved, but that's the fact I know. Shorter wheelbase feels cramped and the board flips weird.

I'm also 6'1" and have a size 11.5 foot, so again...math and whatnot.

i'm 6'2" and i wear size 9 shoes, 14.25 with ventures and 14.375 on aces is the longest wheelbase i can tre flip fairly easily.

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

It does once you get above 14.5, I had a 14.75 once and it felt like a boat…

[HugeBodBoyle]

Expand Quote

I tre better on a longer wheelbase. I am sure there is math involved, but that's the fact I know. Shorter wheelbase feels cramped and the board flips weird.

I'm also 6'1" and have a size 11.5 foot, so again...math and whatnot.

[close]

i'm 6'2" and i wear size 9 shoes, 14.25 with ventures and 14.375 on aces is the longest wheelbase i can tre flip fairly easily.

I'm on dlx 8.38 dreamer shape (14.5 wheelbase) with Ventures and it works.

[Uncle Flea]

Wb is more about 360 board rotation for me.

I wanna get it around as fast as possible because I’m so close to the ground these days.

So yeah I can skate a 15” wb no problem but my impossible will come around hot and heavy. I prefer quick and light

[frontfootimpossible]

I won't speak for all short folk, but I need a short wheelbase. If I step on a 14.5 it feels like a longboard. It probably matters less for tall people with long legs.