I often see this question come up on Reddit, what is a good cruiser for tricks? Cruisers aren’t great for tricks, but assembling one yourself is incredibly easy.
All you need is a popsicle-shaped deck, medium-hard wheels, and trucks from any brand. As for bearings, it doesn’t matter much.
Choose Zealous Classic bearings for longer rides, and Bronson or Bones Red bearings for quick acceleration. You can even just replace the deck on the cruiser you’re currently riding.
Here’s How You Build a Cruiser for Tricks
Let’s consider deck size. Do you want to cruise comfortably and pop a few ollies? Go with a wider deck and 80A wheels. If you want more cruise and fewer tricks, choose wheels from 60mm to a maximum of 63mm.
If you want more tricks and less cruising, opt for 58mm to 60mm wheels. It’s that simple.
Responsive Cruiser for Tricks:
- 8.25″ maple deck
- 85a to 92A wheels – 56mm to 58mm
- Trucks of any brand
- Bronson G2 bearings (add some spacers as well)
- A shock pad for comfort (optional)
- 1/8″ hardware
- Jessup grip tape
Done. Here’s a nimble cruiser, and when you shop smart, you can get it for around $100 to $120 USD.
A Cruiser Trick Board:
We’re doing the opposite here. A smooth cruiser that allows for ollies and other basic tricks:
- 8.5″ to 9″ maple popsicle deck
- 80a to 85A wheels – 60mm to 63mm
- If you go 60mm, add riser pads!
- Trucks of any brand
- Zealous bearings
- 1/8″ hardware
- Jessup grip tape
Done. You can add angled riser pads to create a more carvy experience or not. It’s up to you.
Larger Wheels Make Tricks Harder But Offer More Cruise
Smaller decks are more nimble and allow for flip tricks, though softer wheels will give you a hard time as they bounce a lot. For flip tricks, go with a regular skateboard deck with 90A wheels if you still want to cruise.
Smaller/Harder Wheels Make Cruising Less Enjoyable, but Offer More Tricks
You need to find the right balance between tricks and cruising. You can’t cruise on buttery smooth wheels and still expect to pop technical tricks. This is extremely difficult if you aren’t an experienced skateboarder.
Experienced skateboarders won’t even bother doing technical tricks on a cruiser because it’s risky and pointless. You need a regular skateboard for that.
Check Out Decks With Wheel Wells
A while ago i got this rad 9″ deck from Madness with wheel wells, super awesome deck for cruising and bowl skateboarding. If you are going to assemble your own cruiser, decks with wheel wells are super rad cause they give you a little more clearance to prevent wheel bite.
Bushings
Experiment with bushings, softer give you a nicer carve where harder make it easier to do tricks. Shapes matter, but this is more advanced stuff I’ll save for another post.
Softer Wheels Bounce, Harder Wheels Don’t
It’s all in the wheels. Tricks on harder wheels are easier because they don’t bounce back up and make correcting mistakes easier.
Bigger, softer wheels require much more precision when doing tricks. If you land a trick slightly at an angle, they will bounce back hard and give you a rough time.
Recommended Wheels For Cruising and Tricks
- Ricta cloud 92A: more tricks, less cruising. Get the biggest for more cruising.
- Bones ATF 80A: More Cruising, less tricks. Still very skateable and cruisable but ollies feel bouncy.
- Any wheel in the size and hardness I just suggested, find your sweet spot.
Last Words
Stop overthinking. A cruiser for tricks is something you need to assemble yourself. It’s not going to be perfect because it’s physically impossible to create wheels that are both soft and hard.
A cruiser trick setup is prety fun though but has its limitations. Enough for doing some basic stuff while still enjoying a smooth ride.
