Seismic and 3dm wheels are poured at the world’s leading wheel factory, using the world’s finest urethane. We’ve conducted extensive lab tests that subject wheels to extreme stresses as they roll on a smooth drum simulating a uniform road. Our wheels never tear or chunk under these lab conditions.
But chunks and tears are an ever-present risk as flexible urethane wheels roll, turn, slide, and impact on imperfect surfaces in the real world.
Even the best auto and bike tires can go flat if they roll over nails or glass. Likewise, even the best skateboard wheels can tear on nails, glass, gravel, pebbles, and small sharp residue on roads that otherwise seem smooth. In both cases, the damage is almost always a matter of physics and bad luck, not product defect. Probably only wheels made of steel would be 100% resistant to tears and chunks!
Seismic follows the basic protocol of the auto and bike industries. We evaluate each report on its own merit, and we occasionally replace torn wheels on a courtesy basis. But we don’t otherwise warranty wheels damaged by sharp surface elements without very clear evidence of product defect.
The most common causes of tearing and chunking include:
– sliding and hard cornering at higher speeds on rough surfaces
– drifting onto road shoulders and rolling / sliding over gravel, rocks, glass, and dirt
– rolling over sharp breaks in the riding surface, such as sidewalk edges – especially when most of the wheel loses contact and the lip bears all the load as it rolls over the sharp edge
– kick-turning on rough surfaces, which can shred the edges of longboard wheels in a single afternoon
– hard impacts – such as rolling over big bumps or cracks without unweighting; losing control and shooting the board into a curb; landing a board flip on the wheel edges; and missing a high board toss
A tear that runs along a significant portion of a wheel’s circumference (see photos above) is clear evidence that damage occurred as the wheel rolled or slid over a sharp surface element.
Harder wheels, and wheels with rounded edges, don’t catch as easily on jagged surface features. Softer wheels, and wheels with sharper edges, are more vulnerable to damage – especially in extreme heat; or under heavier, faster, more aggressive riders.
Soft urethane can even totally absorb bits of glass, jagged pebbles, and beer-can tabs. These objects can then work their way deep into a wheel and later split it open from the inside. (Think of the “Aliens” films!)
High-rebound race formulas – like Seismic Defcon™ – are somewhat more vulnerable to tearing. Their faster rate of energy return is only possible because they have an inherently “looser” molecular structure. But experienced racers generally agree that the added speed is worth it. Before doing any slides, we recommend breaking in all Defcon race wheels by riding them on a very smooth surface for 5 or 10 minutes – until the glossy outermost “skin” is gone.
Very tall, narrow race wheels (like the Seismic 85mm Speed Vent) may be more vulnerable to tearing and chunking, for at least two reasons: 1) The longer “lever arm” between the axle and lips amplifies forces acting on the edges; and 2) Those forces are not distributed across a wide contact patch.
On very rare occasions, an air bubble trapped in a wheel lip can break open under normal riding stresses on good surfaces. Remnants of burst bubbles are fairly easy to see, and we replace such wheels. But the riding surface is definitely the culprit if more than one wheel in a set of four has torn or chunked. (It is incredibly unlikely that one set would include multiple wheels with large air bubbles on the lip.)
Jake –
Just wanted to let you guys know that the 60mm 101a Booster wheels are AMAZING! They’re the bomb for modern 10″ pool boards. You can run 169’s perfectly without having to go to the extra wide 215′ and most importantly the 101a are hard, fast and grippy. Plus they just look right on a wide board. Keep making them and I’ll keep buying them!
Paul –
Running a set of 97a Boosters with PP Flyte deck / Hollow Indys for a light stable setup on wood, the ramp and my old legs love them thanks.
Adam Shub –
Bought these from SoCal Skateshop but their website didn’t give me the option to write my positive review. I went with the 58mm size and 102 duro and they completely changed the game for me, I nailed my first carve grinds in the bowl by the end of my 1st session with them and was consistently nailing them too. This was after I had been trying for two weeks almost every day to get them down and failing. Thanks guys! Side note I was also able to maintain my runs for longer periods of time without getting tired and having to stop because the wheels helped me maintain my speed twice as well.
Tom –
Bought both the 99 and 102a’s for my shaped board bowl/pool setup. Really fast wheels and holds speed excellently, moreso than other wheel brands I have tried like OJ. Wears evenly and nicely (if it even wears, I haven’t gotten it to go down in size yet) from aggressive sliding tricks, with no signs of flatspotting. They did get unusually slippery when there was a lot of dust/pollen on them (which is expected from any wheel), but washing/wiping them down made them really grippy again. Sliding is very quiet for a wheel of this durometer, which may be a good or bad thing, depending on your preference.
I really like the offset core on the wheels as well. It adds a little more than 1/4 inch to your truck width, so that allows you to get away with a narrower truck on big pool boards. The presence of a hard core also makes it really easy for bearing installation.