Not sure why there trend is wider wheels these days...more urethane for the same cost as a thinner wheel for no real added benefit (companies are losing out!
? I suppose wider wheels are smoother and possibly faster when dealing with shitty terrain and cracks but that's about...
Spitfire's marketing:
RADIAL SHAPE
Round edge design for
control, speed, and a responsive slideRADIAL SLIM SHAPE
Thinner, lighter hand cut round edge design for
more control, speed and
ultra responsive slide.
CONICAL FULL
Wider riding surface and cutaway design for
unmatched control and
lasting speed everywhereCLASSIC SHAPE
The #1 Shape in skateboarding worldwide - proven for
speed and control.
It's all hyperbole but by the language, the radial slims would be the best followed by the conical full
Bones:
V3: reduced friction easier slides
V4: For skaters that like a wider wheel
(oddly the V4 and v5 are tagged as having a higher resistance to flat spots than the other wheels).
Rounded roll over [pool] coping better
Straight cuts lock into ledges better
thinner = less weight
wider = heavier
Taller = faster
Smaller = accelerate quickly, slower top seed
Harder = quicker on smooth concrete, but slower on shitty terrain
Softer = higher top speed on shitty terrain
Narrow contact patch = quicker (because there is less friction on the rolling surface, think road bike tires) not DRAG on slides
Wider = more stable at high speeds? Maybe?
Sooooooo
Longboarders = speed, stability and smoothness soft big wheels
Tech = light, speed, small, narrow, hard wheels
The hesh crowd seems to go wide and 99a
Bowls/vert = speed so bigger and harder wheels (tho many ogs, live Alva go soft)