Are they like, soft on the outside, hard on the inside? Is the outer layer soft like a cruiser wheel?

it depends on which wheel you get. some models are softer, some are harder. they're really hard plastic on the inside, and regular wheel on the outside.
the ricta cores i had sucked though. they somehow broke my bearings.

the outer layer is damn **** hard. but if you like it - go for it. (:

Ah, ok. I just did some research on Durometers. OK here goes.

Durometer B rating = 85% of Durometer A.

So the Ricta Cores have an outer layer of 83B, which is roughly the equivalent of 98A.

So they're relatively hard wheels.

I'm curious to try out some Bones Ditch Tech wheels. Not really hard, not really cruiser soft... kinda in between. Maybe they're good for crappy roads.