Cadillac brand DK38 model skateboard wheel
Object Details
- Description (Brief)
- This is a "DK38" model Cadillac skateboard wheel which is a pigmented blue-green color and was introduced in 1975. "Cadillac Wheels [/] DK38" is imprinted into the surface of the wheel which is 2 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches or 38 mm wide. This model was the first production Cadillac wheel made in California. According to the donor, several aspects of this wheel were refined and included two models, the DK38 and the DK 51. these wheels were not the original designs but became the standard for the first high volume skateboard production by the new team of Bahne & Co. and Cadillac Wheels. Both models were offered in blue-green and orange. there is a metal bearing race cone in the center of the wheel. This would receive the loose ball bearings and a screw for securing the wheel to the truck, holding the bearings in, allowing the wheel to spin freely.
- Frank Nasworthy’s introduction of the urethane wheel to skateboarding in the early 1970s, changed the face of the sport allowing riders a more fluid, smooth ride and innovators to create new and improved equipment designed specifically from the use of the urethane wheel on skateboards. Prior to Cadillac wheel’s introduction, skateboarding had dropped from popularity. The equipment did not allow for a safe, enjoyable ride. The wheels, made of steel, plastic, clay or a crushed walnut composite did not provide a smooth ride. One small rock or rise in the road and the board would stop, sending the rider flying. Nasworthy, a recreational skater discovered the urethane wheel, originally used for roller skating, at a friend’s father’s factory in Purcellville, Virginia. He saw the potential for skateboarding and returned to California with 1000 wheels he bought from his friend’s dad. Selling them to skate and surf shops in California, Nasworthy soon realized the business potential and began manufacturing the wheels under the name Cadillac. While skateboarding ebbed again in the late 70s, the wheels were here to stay.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- date made
- 1975
- ID Number
- 2021.0116.08.2
- accession number
- 2021.0116
- catalog number
- 2021.0116.08.2
- Object Name
- wheel, skateboarding
- skateboard wheel
- Physical Description
- urethane (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 1/2 in x 2 in; 3.81 cm x 5.08 cm
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
- Sports & Leisure
- name of sport
- skateboarding
- Record ID
- nmah_2010167
