Abstract: A heat dissipating skateboard wheel assembly on which an elongate cylindrical tire formed from an elastomeric material is so supported that when the tire is subjected to axially directed forces of substantial magnitude, the end portions of the tire will not tend to cold flow, but will instead temporarily deform into circular confined spaces defined on the assembly. The external surface of the tire preferably has circumferentially and axially spaced grooves extending thereinto, with the grooves cooperating to define a number of independently deformable islands therebetween. The islands, as they sequentially roll into pressure contact with a flat supporting surface deform three-dimensionally due to the combined weight of the skateboard and user to which they are subjected. The islands, as they so deform, are forced into maximum surface frictional contact with the supporting surface, and the skateboard is accordingly less inclined to slip laterally when the user of the skateboard is negotiating a sharp curve.