Skateboard Wheelbase Guide

Deck vs. Actual Wheelbase

What can I say about a skateboard’s wheelbase, except that the commonly used measurement is NOT the actual wheelbase of your skateboard.

Deck manufactures take the center-to-center measurement of the inside holes as the wheelbase. This is not the actual wheelbase, because that distance is measured between the front and back axles, center-to-center.

Trucks & Wheelbase

Because this distance is influenced by truck geometry it doesn’t make sense for deck manufactures to measure the wheelbase any other way. Freedomskateshop has compiled a list of distances that your deck’s wheelbase increases by based on your trucks. I’ve reprinted the list for ACE, Independant, and Thunder below.

The distance added to the deck wheelbase by the trucks is measured from the inside holes to the axel, center-to-center. Remembering that each truck adds a distance, the values in the table are twice the Truck Distance pictured below.

Let’s now calculate the Actual Wheelbase taking a 14″ deck wheelbase and a set of Indy Standards which add a distance of 3.15″:

Deck Wheelbase + 2x Truck Distance = Actual Wheelbase

14″ + 3.15″ = 17.15″

Truck distance’s influence on the actual wheelbase is handy to know if your changing out your deck wheelbase and your trucks at the same time.

For example, if we’re changing our deck wheelbase from 14 1/4″ (14.25″) to 14″ while swapping out Indy Standards for ACE Classics, we’re changing our actual wheelbase by 0.65″, approxiamtely 5/8″ or 16mm. The supporting maths is shown below.

The difference between the two setups is large enough to be felt immediately. And this change maybe unexpected if we never considered the influence of truck distance on acutal wheelbase.

Wheelbase Essentials

SO WHAT! Isn’t skateboarding supposed to be about what feels right?

Yes it is, so here are some essentials on wheelbases to help tweak that feeling. Shorter wheelbases of 13.5″ to 14.5″ inches are more agile, while longer wheelbases of 14.5″ to 16″ are more stable. This is likely why we consider shorter wheelbase boards as “street boards” and longer wheelbase boards as “transistion boards”.

Each have their advantages and by knowing them we can troubleshoot our setups to get them feeling right. The cause of these adavantages is the pyhsical property of Inertia which is dependant on an object’s mass and geometery.

Shorter wheelbase boards have a shorter geometery with the trucks closer together, therefore less Inertia, offering more responsiveness and easier spins. On the contrary, longer wheelbase boards have more Interia, offering more stability and space for your stance and feet.

Wheelbase Adjustments

A great thing about your deck’s wheelbase is that your not locked into it, and adjusments are more cost effective than replacing your deck or trucks.

We have all see a board with an adjusted wheelbase, as pictured below, and thought about attempting it our selves.

But what if you botch it and end up with misaligned holes? We can redrill with a larger drill, but if that dosen’t fix it, it’s game over man!

This is when a drill jig comes in handy. I designed the ones shown below, with 3/8″ and 1/4″ spacings.

They work by having a pair of nubs on the underside that pickup on the original inner holes. When located correctly the arrows on the topside should point towards the closest kick. Standard skateboard hardware can be used to secure jigs before redrilling with a 13/64″ (0.203″) or 5.2mm diameter drill.

For the deck shown, I wanted to DECREASE the deck’s wheelbase by 3/8″. So with the jig secured I redrilled four holes that aligned with the two -3/8″ increments.

With the aid of the drill jig, I now have a new set of aligned holes that give me a 14″ deck wheelbase. I adjusted the wheelbase on this board to resurrect it as a cruiser, and my goal is to capitalise on the comfort provided by its 9″ width by granting it the responsive of a shorter wheelbase.

If you’re wanting the comfort a wider board but the responviseness of shorter wheelbase, head over to the shop and grab a drill jig set!

Something still not feeling right about your setup? Check out the Riser Pads & Hardware Guide.