WHEEL BITE

Wheel bite is very common in most of the skateboards when the wheel scraps against the deck while carving/ taking turns or while landing a trick down the stairs. Experienced skaters already know about the issue and know how to tackle it. This article is for the newbie's who have just started skateboarding and have no clue how to tackle it.

Wheel bite is not something which you have to worry about, it's not a big issue as such unless you are jumping huge stairs set. Every skateboard needs to be calibrated based on the rider preference and physique. There are various factors like some riders are kids, some are skinny, some weigh a bit more, some like cruising and carving around, some like ramp skating, some like street skating and the list goes on..

If a wheel bite is affecting your ride you can do one of the following things.
1 - Tighten the trucks:
You can tighten the trucks of your board by rotating the kingpin nut(the center nut on a truck) in clockwise direction using the T tool. This will tighten the truck and reduce the freedom of movement of the axle. This is the most easiest way to reduce the wheel bite and also a reference to calibrate your board as per your physique.

2 - Truck profile:
You can go for a high trucks which will have more gap between the axle of the truck and the deck. This will give more room for the wheel to move around. Piso trucks are mid profile trucks, we don’t have high trucks yet. Similarly there are low trucks which are great for stability and control. As the center of gravity reduces, tricks are more easier to execute.

3 - Wheel size:
You can go for a small size wheel to avoid wheel bite(like 52mm). It'll give more room for the wheel to move but on the downside you will need real smooth surface to skate with small wheels. Even a small pebble can throw you off the board if you are riding small wheels. If you have skate park/ or a real smooth flooring where you skate then small wheel size is a very good option to consider.

4 - Riser Pads:
This is my personal favorite to get the ride you want. Riser pads sit between truck and the deck. So by installing riser pads, you can increase the gap between the wheel and the deck just enough so that there is enough room for the movement of the wheel  while carving/taking turns. For example our filmer/Cruiser board comes with a set of riser pads to give enough room for the 58mm 83A cruiser wheel . Keep in mind if for riser pads you need to have 1.25in hardware set to allow the risers to fit in. Note: adding riser pads changes the geometry of your board, it might feel different to execute tricks at start.

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