“Hand Made” Series Skateboard Wheels
April 5th, 2009
Design: Todd Falkowsky
Client: Rues Skateboarden, The Netherlands
Date: 1997
European skateboarders faced a unique obstacle that the well known North American manufacturers didn’t cater to, downtown’s filled with cobblestones and irregular brick streets. Market gaps like this, created a way for European skate brands to compete in a crowed marketplace with specific products, produced in small runs, that addressed local conditions.
This small batch, skateboard wheel was designed with a better shape/tread and hardness, helping them to roll better on the rougher surfaces that make up much of the European streetscape. Instead of sticking and locking on the irregular bumps, these bounced along, with the confidence of a hard wheel and the comfort of a soft wheel. The multi-layered, mixed urethane mixture was custom spec’ed through an English company that creates bushings for Formula 1 cars (read stupidly expensive and over the top tolerances) and brought high technology to the street. To increase the value for riders, the wheels came with a custom orange (the official colour of Holland) coloured ABEC bearing set, installed at the factory where the wheels were cast and machined, which increased the tolerances and overall performance and durability.
The end product was expensive and forced to become a limited edition (50 sets), with every wheel having it’s size/shape hand written on the sidewall by the designer, which gave the sets a handmade value that production wheels lack. Additionally the wheels were stripped of the usual Rues blue wooden shoe logo, relying instead on “word of mouth” to advance the story instead of slick marketing.
Two years in development, these were the most expensive, and exclusive wheels available at the time, and worked perfectly for their intended for the emerging European skateboard community.
- filed under “Not Canadian” –
Entry Filed under: Best of the CDR,Brand,Not Canadian,Sport
9 Comments Add your own
1. Arno | April 6th, 2009 at 04:38
Disclaimer? That sounds a little too much like shameless self-promotion / ego trippin’.
2. btw | April 6th, 2009 at 07:34
What happened to Rues? So much interesting work came out of this skateboard lab, but it also disapperaed. I have a set of these signed wheels that i never used, still in the box. Does anyone know if they are valuable?
3. motherbrand | April 6th, 2009 at 07:57
Thanks for the comment BTW. The Rues company was around in Holland for four busy years and then was sold. Glad that you still have some of the products (they are rare). Rues was a cool thing, specializing in the Euro skate market, they were one of the first to experiment with carbon fiber/wood laminates, titanium hardware, new types of grip tape, and new wheel designs. The whole skateboard thing was examined with new eyes and no traditions.
Best,
Todd Falkowsky
Oh yeah, I would love to see your work Arno, you have used these CDR comment forms to air out many of your thoughts, and I would love the same opportunity. Feel free to email me with a post.
4. Lyle Gammon | April 6th, 2009 at 09:18
Your guys do not need my help defending or articulating your practice. I am a big fan and do not like the little mindedness of the first comment….here goes my defense of the CDR authors!
The guys that started the CDR are designers, and barely any of their work is on here. Obviously they have been careful about the perception on how they use their own site, and to avoid the temptation to make it their own portfolios. Promotion? Ego Tripping? Wow, do your homework kid, we want to see more of their stuff, not less. I had the pleasure of working with Falkowsky in New York at Karim Rashid’s Studio, and have followed his freelance work for many years. He has done past projects with Jack Kevorkian (yes, that guy!), IKEA, and Ferrari, none of which are on here yet! And his recent work, like Penny Smash and Souvenir Shop are really amazing!!
Comments like the above from Arno should be considered SPAM.
Keep up the hard work guys!
5. Elaine | April 6th, 2009 at 11:13
It’s always nice to see some heated debate – I love that about the CDR! I can see how there could be some sensitivity about the founders of the site using it as their own personal portfolio.
However, as you can see in the thousands of posts since its inception, there are but a handful of posts on Erdmann and Falkowsky’s work. If you’re familiar with Motherbrand, you’d know that their whole M.O. is to promote and support Canadian designers of all stripes and their work. Their projects have been a launchpad for a lot of work you see in shows, magazines and stores, and the CDR has been an amazing place for designers, enthusiasts and collectors to meet. I’ve even heard of a designer being approached to do work in South America after being found on the CDR.
What we don’t see a lot of, is exactly what Arno is critizing them for: self-promotion. Hmm…maybe this is why it’s usually curators like Rachel Gotleib or retailers like MADE who are usually the promoters; it looks like a conflict of interest for a couple of designers to establish the most comprehensive (online) collection of this country’s material culture if they include their own work. But unlike many (more shallow, self-interested) designers, these guys have been humble almost to a fault about their own work. They’ve given the world the CDR, but why should they be 100% completely altruistic? Who is promoting and supporting Motherbrand? Motherbrand has been credited as having started a movement. Why would we insist they forever live in the background?
Love the wheels, Todd. Let’s see some more!
6. Todd Falkowsky | April 6th, 2009 at 11:21
Thanks for the comments and thoughts…now lets get back to the work.
xo
TF
7. Cynthia Hathaway | April 6th, 2009 at 13:23
Hey Todd,
What a great insight into a gap found in the European market of skateboarding. Dutch kids are still getting to the Bowls with teeth chattering from the cobblestones until the concrete. Your work would bring them Nirvana if it went into larger production.We miss Rues over here.
8. Roan B | April 10th, 2009 at 18:12
Todd,
Let’s hit up the Plaza next time you are in the ‘Peg.
R
9. lil native | February 9th, 2010 at 09:17
Oh man guys. Im so awesome! Im not as awesome as chuck norris, though.
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