Which Wheels?

  A long time reader sent in a request for a primer on wheels. When do you use pneumatics? When do you use hard wheels? The answers are fairly simple and I won't belabor the point here. P.neumatics or air filled tires are used pretty much for dance floor. The softer, more forgiving surface of the wheel tends to soften out the seams in dance floor. Pneumatics also tend to help out on soft grassy surfaces as the hard tires dig in more and make for harder pushing. Years ago, when I was pushing a Hybrid, we put on the pneumatics at the beginning of a show and just left them on. For the Hustler 4 we mix and match and leave them for the run of the show. I once had a DP who shall remain nameless who insisted that I install soft compound tires (the solid, very soft tires from Chapman). I told him that either he would have to wait for me to change them out for exteriors or they would get chewed up and he didn't care. The show bought a new set of soft compound tires at the end because ours were a mess. This DP was a half wit. If you ask me by email I will tell you his name. Soft compound tires are virtually never necessary. A good set of medium hard and a set of Pneumatics will get you through pretty much any show. The bottom line- On a Hybrid, put on the pneumatics and leave them on. On a Hustler, mix and match. On a Fisher, use what came with them and use skate wheels on track. The Fisher round track wheels are a pain in the ass to keep changing out. I've used these wheel combinations on literally over fifty movies, including some very high profile ones and they've worked fine.
The Captain has spoken.
D