Skateboard Setup Calculator

Skateboard setup involves matching deck width, truck axle width, and wheel diameter. When these components are mismatched, the board feels unstable, awkward, or impossible to control.

Deck width selection:

The most important measurement. Deck width is measured in inches across the widest point.

Height is the weakest of the three signals and shoe size is the strongest. A 5'6" skater with US 11 feet should be on 8.25", not 7.875". Past about 8.5" you are choosing width for terrain rather than for your body.

Truck axle width:

Should match deck width within 1/4 inch on each side.

Wheel diameter:

Wheel hardness (durometer):

Bearing ABEC rating, and why it is mostly marketing:

ABEC measures manufacturing tolerance for industrial bearings running at high RPM. It says nothing about how a bearing behaves under the side loads, impacts and grit of skateboarding, and it does not measure speed or durability. A skateboard wheel rarely exceeds a few thousand RPM, well below where ABEC precision starts to matter.

This is why Bones do not print an ABEC number on Reds at all: they publish their own skate-specific rating instead. Reds are the default recommendation for a reason, and they will outlast a boxed set of “ABEC 9” bearings from an unknown brand. Buy on brand and on how well the bearing is sealed against dirt, not on the number.

Hardware bolt length:

Risers exist to stop wheel bite, which is the wheel touching the deck on a hard turn and stopping the board dead underneath you. Anything above about 54 mm on a standard deck wants at least a 1/8" riser, and cruiser wheels in the high 50s or 60s need 1/4".