That is the sound of weight being applied to a broken wheel as it turns around its bearing. I was making that sound until early last week, when I swapped out a #3 for an old wheel of roughly the same size. That was the sound that the very same wheel was making this morning, and also the sound that my #2 on the other foot was making by this afternoon.

Apparently, I am hard on my wheels. I don’t know what exactly is happening, but I am starting to suspect my rocker. At a guess, if I drop off a curb, the bulk of my weight is spread across two wheels instead of four. Trying to decide how to deal with this, I see two options: going with a flat rocker, which will kill my turning radius, and finding a wheel that handles stress better.

I would assume that a solid hub would be a good approach, assuming it can evenly distribute any sort of force across the whole of the hub, rather than cracking at a weak point. Alternatively, a softer wheel may spread the impact through the urethane before the shock hits the hub. Of course, the softer wheel would wear down faster. While I was down at Cheapskates, I noticed that the bulk of the aggressive wheels were solid pieces. There might be good reasons for that. Looking at the on-line retailers, I noticed that several race wheels are also solid core, citing lower drag. Sure, but I am not going to worry about that. Just give me something that I am not going to break.

It might be a good idea to contact some of the companies that make these wheels. I would like to know if there is anything I can do to stop the problem outright. I cannot guarantee that I will never drop off a curb again, so another solution needs to be found.