Everything you need to know about Wheelbite

Every experienced skateboarder knows it: an annoying syndrome called wheelbite.

But what exactly is wheelbite?

Wheelbite occurs when your wheels touch the deck. This can happen either during normal steering or due to the increased force applied when landing a trick imperfectly balanced, resulting in excessive pressure on the toe or heel side of the deck.

What happens next is that the wheels get stuck on the deck and your board suddenly and abruptly stops, even though your body is still moving forward, which in the best case forces you to get off the board, in the worst case and depending on the speed it often results in a fall.

What influences wheelbite?

To put it simply: the greater the distance between your wheels and the deck, the lower the probability of wheelbite.

The higher your axles are, or the smaller your wheels are, the less likely it is that wheelbite will occur.

This is one of the reasons why you should never use low-profile trucks with wheels larger than 52 millimeters in diameter. Standard or high-profile trucks usually reach their limit at 55 millimeters; above that, you should consider using riser pads to increase the wheel spacing.

Another factor is your weight and how stiff or soft your trucks are set. The heavier you are and the softer your trucks are set, the higher the probability of a sharper steering input and therefore wheelbite.

Finally, the likelihood of wheelbite increases with the width of your board. The wider your trucks are, the longer the lever arm of the hanger becomes, and the faster your wheels will hit the deck.

What can I do to avoid wheelbite?

Wheelbite is a phenomenon that's almost impossible to avoid completely. However, if you're plagued by wheelbite more often than you'd like, here are a few tips:

Avoid low-profile trucks.

Adjust the size of your wheels.

Adjust your axles to be a bit stiffer, or use harder bushings.

Use riser pads.

Look for a deck with wheel wells. Wheel wells are milled-out areas on the underside of the deck that create more space, causing your wheels to make contact with the deck further down the deck.

Wax your deck under the trucks. You'll usually find small marks on the underside of the deck indicating exactly where the wheel touched it. Applying regular skate wax here won't prevent wheelbite, but it will help prevent the wheels from getting stuck and avoid a few falls.

And then, of course, there's the ultimate, not entirely serious tip against wheelbite: Land your tricks cleanly ;)