Some update on what’s happening to the wheel shields we featured 2 months ago from inventor Chase Kaczmarek.

Hello Longboardism! My name is Chase Kaczmarek and I am the inventor of Wheel Shields. My patented device stops wheel bite and keeps you dry while skating in wet environments. It even allows you to stand directly on top of your wheels, opening up a whole world of new tricks. Wheel Shields are mounted on the end of your trucks and are held in place by a keyed mount design that fits around the nut. You may have seen a post on Longboardism about Wheel Shields over the summer. In just 3 days, over 700 skaters took a survey telling me what they wanted out of Wheel Shields. The feedback you provided was incredibly valuable and has helped me create exactly what the community needs. I thank you all for your support and wanted to give you an update on the progress of Wheel Shields.

Product development is almost complete and many of your suggestions have made it into the final product. We’ve implemented a system that keeps rocks from getting stuck in the device. We’ve also modified the mount to make installation and alignment simpler. The biggest concern we received was that Wheel Shields would bend when pressed against the bottom of the deck during a hard turn. If the device bends, it could come in contact with the wheel and cause wheel bite itself. Wheel Shields have been completely redesigned to enhance strength. We have added ribbing to the device to increase dynamic load-bearing capability. The result? You can now apply over 400 pounds of force to an individual Wheel Shield without any possibility of wheel bite. Not only does this make longboarding safer, but it allows new tricks by letting you stand directly on top of your wheels. Instead of covering just the top half of the wheel, Wheel Shields now extend further down on both sides (220 degrees of coverage). This change has drastically improved the mud-flap capabilities of Wheel Shields; skating in wet conditions has never felt better. Typically when you ride through a puddle, your wheels fling dirty water all over your clothes and person. Wheel Shields stop water from ruining your mojo.

We can change how people view longboarders. The general public writes us off as reckless hooligans. Skating has always been a risky activity, but that is one of the reasons it’s so fun. The better we can control factors that injure us (such as wheel bite), the less negative stigma longboarding will carry. As someone who has been seriously injured from wheel bite, I can tell you that I am passionate about the safety enhancing potential of Wheel Shields. I love the chance to keep people safe and spread stoak.

We have decided to use glass-injected polypropylene for Wheel Shields. This material offers a great strength to weight ratio; it is very strong and very light. Getting Wheel Shields off the ground has already cost several thousand dollars and the mold needed to make Wheel Shields will cost many more. We are going to be doing preorders and possibly a Kickstarter campaign in the near future. Please help us make Wheel Shields a reality by preordering and telling all your longboarding buddies!

Wheel Shields are still a few months away from hitting shelves, but you can sign up for our mailing list at shieldboards.com.

You will be kept up to date on the status of the product and preorders. Your email address will not be given to any third parties because that’s not how we roll.

We would love your feedback/comments and can be reached at shieldboards@gmail.com.

Keep updated www.facebook.com/WheelShields

ridewheelshields.com