Wheels Thread

[thanksgiving]

been skating the 99 53 black f4 classic full shape and the urethane feels a bit softer than my buddies 99 54 conical fulls. has anyone had any experience with wheel color changing the feel? he tried my board and said they felt softer without me telling him so it's definitely not a bias.

i dont know... maybe the madness is just driving me insane

[Mbrimson88]

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Has anyone skated Speed Lab wheels?
I’ve been tempted to get a set of the Slappy Hour Collabs.

[close]

Yes and yes I would recommend them for a different option, especially in the slightly lower duro (97 or even 95 range) but all of them work well enough.  Slightly more likely to flatspot, like many wheels, but they come in various sizes, shapes, etc which are often good for people who want something like that 54 and 56 mm conical full looking wheels, as per the Slappy Hours, with the different colours.

Sold out from their own site, but I have seen quite a few around in various places.


https://www.speedlabwheels.com/products/slappy-hour-54mm-99a-jason-adams-guest-model

https://www.speedlabwheels.com/products/slappy-hour-56mm-99a-jason-adams-pro-model



There are even the 58mm with yellow swirls, but they are harder to find:


https://www.speedlabwheels.com/products/slappy-hour-58mm-99a-jason-adams-pro-model

[close]

speedlab/slappyhour has a 97a 54mm wheel?

Not the Slappy Hour wheels, but others in the same size and shape, mainly the Nomad and the Danforth, which also come in coloured options too:

https://www.ocdskateshop.com.au/products/speedlab-nomads-bloodstain-56mm-97a-skateboard-wheels

[manysnakes]

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Yeah, I had a bunch of eBay credit and bought some Bones Swiss from their eBay store. They are listed as a genuine seller of Bones on their website, and the bearings appear to be authentic (and they're like a year old now). I suspect if anyone got scammed, it was maybe TGM, since I doubt a huge retailer like that wants to get in trouble with Spitfire.

[close]

Hmm, yeah, I agree. What I don't understand though is why they came wrapped in several layers of saran wrap without the Spitfire leaflet or sticker. The auction described them as "brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging". Seems like it should have set off red flags.

Well if I ordered something listed as "brand new in original packaging" and it showed up wrapped in saran wrap, I'd immediately contact the seller.

[LebowskisRug]

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I purchased some fraudulent F4 101 Venomous Radial Slims. Typically I purchase everything from the local, but the owner said he can only get Spits in 54mm or bigger. Riding Thunders with 54s is just wheel bite, doesn't feel right.

They arrived without the typical Spitfire accoutrements. The wheels were wrapped in cellophane. After an hour of breaking them in they don't slide anything like the same wheels they replaced and felt like riding on ice. The graphics on the wheels are sloppy to boot. I know several PALs have been saying they're no longer in production, should have listened. They were bought from tgm_skateboards on eBay. Kinda bummed, but oh well. 

[close]

TGM should have known better.

Ebay does have a fake product guarantee, so you could start a claim and have a full refund.

Others I know who got sucked in had the same thing, with a full refund as a result.


Sucks that some shops and places / people who seem legit are selling crap like this.


DLX have not confirmed they are not making any more, but there have not been any Radial Slim wheels for over a year in any catalog or production information.  That is not to say that there are not still some out there - I have a couple of sets still but I don't have them in the shop now because of the limited supply.

[close]

Thank you, you really know what you're talking about, I love reading your posts. I'm not a regular eBayer so I really appreciate your input and have just started a claim. Those 52mm Loopholes are looking tempting now, going to research them further.   

My 52mm Loopholes measured 52.5 and were not that great. Gripped fine, didn't slide super well, lots of cosmetic blems. I'm not a big fan and a few friends have had the same problems. Just get the equivalent F4 shape. My SML were also better.

[dr.prestige]

I've ridden five or more sets of the Loophole/NFG 52mm teardrops over the last few years and I've always been happy with them. I should say that I don't care at all about cosmetic defects (when I'm visiting the NFG facility I try to pick out the sets with the most bubbles on the sidewall, they're less expensive and I feel like the bubbles help with my slappies, but it might just be in my head tbh), and while it's unfortunate that they have had some variations in size they've done a lot to improve and stay consistent. NFG could only get the equipment that they could afford at their start, and it's different equipment than what "The Wizard" was working with when he was the chemist over at Pointec (Spitfire) so he and the whole team have had to progressively adjust their manufacturing methods over time to optimize them with the equipment they have access to. That's why in earlier runs they came out in varying shades of off white/yellow, measured smaller than normal, the graphic came off easier, etc. They've figured out over time how to resolve these issues and with every new batch of wheels they get better at making them.

TLDR go and buy different wheels if you feel like it but I bet that if you got another set of those Loopholes you would find yourself liking them more than you remember.

[Mbrimson88]

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My 52mm Loopholes measured 52.5 and were not that great. Gripped fine, didn't slide super well, lots of cosmetic blems. I'm not a big fan and a few friends have had the same problems. Just get the equivalent F4 shape. My SML were also better.

[close]

Awe, that's disappointing, sorry to hear they're meh.  I ended up ordering a set of F4s of Old Skull.

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Well if I ordered something listed as "brand new in original packaging" and it showed up wrapped in saran wrap, I'd immediately contact the seller.

[close]

Yeah, I wasn't being too bright and assumed the chances of a well-established distributor selling counterfeit goods was slim. Lesson learned.

I love you guys, thanks for your feedback and help.

Shoes and Gear almost always help with info and things which is why I like it here.


It always used to bug me when a few shops I know would always take the wheels out of the packaging, put the sticker in the cabinet and the wheels on pegs on the wall.  Sure they display well enough and it takes up a lot less room, but that packaging to some is worth keeping too, as well as the old "Don't even get me started on shops keeping or selling stickers that come with wheels, decks, etc"

At the end of the day, it is the choice of the shop how they present their products, but I stopped buying from them when I knew I could get wheels still in original packaging from someone else for the same price.


Having fake / counterfeit product is a whole new level of low, with increasing numbers of legit shops / people knowingly selling this sort of stuff, or even mixing in some genuine and some counterfeit, but as per customers who know the real product from the fake stuff, it is a sure way to lose customers and get a bad rep for the shop.

I had seen a shop assistant swap over counterfeit for genuine product on one occasion in a place I worked at a while back, which was easy to see as I knew what I was looking for (and the kid got fired as a result), so that was not the fault of the shop in that case and weirder things have happened, but I got the impression that TGM was a super high turnover / low end / cheap / bargain type of place for a while now, but this just makes me sad to think they are actively selling fake wheels.


Counterfeit thread here:

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=115386.0


**  Those radial slim wheels should always have one head and three tails in the wheel packaging.  If they have four heads, then they are much more likely to be fake.

Genuine Radial Slim wheels:

[pops]

Two sessions in with the 55mm super juices. I simply love these. It feels weird not be able to powerslide or revert but on the other hand the feeling of 100% control over your board is so fun. You can blast on carves as fast as you want.

[Sundaynuggets]

Two sessions in with the 55mm super juices. I simply love these. It feels weird not be able to powerslide or revert but on the other hand the feeling of 100% control over your board is so fun. You can blast on carves as fast as you want.

Super juices are great! Them and the Ricta clouds are the only soft wheels I’ve had that don’t chunk on super crusty surfaces

[LebowskisRug]

Big typo above:

My 52 Loophole actually measured 50.5

[dr.prestige]

Big typo above:

My 52 Loophole actually measured 50.5

Yeah those were made with the old molds. They got new ones since then that measure a lot closer

[europa1991]

Wanted to try some Loopholes since there’s going to be a new drop soon but are they all 101a?

[iw0]

Wanted to try some Loopholes since there’s going to be a new drop soon but are they all 101a?

yeah loophole are all the harder wheel, unlike nfg who has the 95 in their lineup. also their new stuff is up on their site/in stores

[rawbertson.]

im over hard wheels honestly. 95a Natas 58mm OJ's now best wheels i have ever had. tearing up the shit ground and also skatepark. not sliding all over the place on QPs anymore. feel so much safer on these. they slide only when you want them to.

[dr.prestige]

Wanted to try some Loopholes since there’s going to be a new drop soon but are they all 101a?

they're 52D which is basically 103A

[europa1991]

[toe_knee]

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I purchased some fraudulent F4 101 Venomous Radial Slims. Typically I purchase everything from the local, but the owner said he can only get Spits in 54mm or bigger. Riding Thunders with 54s is just wheel bite, doesn't feel right.

They arrived without the typical Spitfire accoutrements. The wheels were wrapped in cellophane. After an hour of breaking them in they don't slide anything like the same wheels they replaced and felt like riding on ice. The graphics on the wheels are sloppy to boot. I know several PALs have been saying they're no longer in production, should have listened. They were bought from tgm_skateboards on eBay. Kinda bummed, but oh well. 

[close]

TGM should have known better.

Ebay does have a fake product guarantee, so you could start a claim and have a full refund.

Others I know who got sucked in had the same thing, with a full refund as a result.


Sucks that some shops and places / people who seem legit are selling crap like this.


DLX have not confirmed they are not making any more, but there have not been any Radial Slim wheels for over a year in any catalog or production information.  That is not to say that there are not still some out there - I have a couple of sets still but I don't have them in the shop now because of the limited supply.

[close]

Thank you, you really know what you're talking about, I love reading your posts. I'm not a regular eBayer so I really appreciate your input and have just started a claim. Those 52mm Loopholes are looking tempting now, going to research them further.   

[close]

My 52mm Loopholes measured 52.5 and were not that great. Gripped fine, didn't slide super well, lots of cosmetic blems. I'm not a big fan and a few friends have had the same problems. Just get the equivalent F4 shape. My SML were also better.

Hmmmm that’s disappointing, I love my loopholes

[pops]

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Two sessions in with the 55mm super juices. I simply love these. It feels weird not be able to powerslide or revert but on the other hand the feeling of 100% control over your board is so fun. You can blast on carves as fast as you want.

[close]

Super juices are great! Them and the Ricta clouds are the only soft wheels I’ve had that don’t chunk on super crusty surfaces

Haven't had Rictas ever but these Super Juices are so good. My first set of soft wheels too. I definitely noticed my legs didn't get as tired with these.

[Srt32srt]

im over hard wheels honestly. 95a Natas 58mm OJ's now best wheels i have ever had. tearing up the shit ground and also skatepark. not sliding all over the place on QPs anymore. feel so much safer on these. they slide only when you want them to.

join the club! i wont ride anything over 97a anymore! love my spitfires 97a and my oj nomads 95a ive been compiling a list of wheels in that range. ive been messaging wheel companies to start making wheels in these durometers and sml and snot wheels will work on something for their next batch.

[Srt32srt]

Big typo above:

My 52 Loophole actually measured 50.5

alot of my 54mm wheels actually measured 54.5mm

[nekro]

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I purchased some fraudulent F4 101 Venomous Radial Slims. Typically I purchase everything from the local, but the owner said he can only get Spits in 54mm or bigger. Riding Thunders with 54s is just wheel bite, doesn't feel right.

They arrived without the typical Spitfire accoutrements. The wheels were wrapped in cellophane. After an hour of breaking them in they don't slide anything like the same wheels they replaced and felt like riding on ice. The graphics on the wheels are sloppy to boot. I know several PALs have been saying they're no longer in production, should have listened. They were bought from tgm_skateboards on eBay. Kinda bummed, but oh well. 

[close]

TGM should have known better.

Ebay does have a fake product guarantee, so you could start a claim and have a full refund.

Others I know who got sucked in had the same thing, with a full refund as a result.


Sucks that some shops and places / people who seem legit are selling crap like this.


DLX have not confirmed they are not making any more, but there have not been any Radial Slim wheels for over a year in any catalog or production information.  That is not to say that there are not still some out there - I have a couple of sets still but I don't have them in the shop now because of the limited supply.

I recently bought a set of Spitfire F4 OG Classics 54mm 97a from TGM and they feel harder than I expected.  Also, the graphics wore off pretty quick.  Although the packaging looks fine I can't help but suspect something isn't right.
I bought a set of Bones Swiss as well and the packaging looks closer to the fake product than genuine.

[bbk]

Well, they don't make og classics in 97.
Or do you the regular classics?

[nekro]

Well, they don't make og classics in 97.
Or do you the regular classics?

Yeah, I meant regular classics.  These ones:

[Xen]

im over hard wheels honestly. 95a Natas 58mm OJ's now best wheels i have ever had. tearing up the shit ground and also skatepark. not sliding all over the place on QPs anymore. feel so much safer on these. they slide only when you want them to.

I'm the exact opposite now, especially since I'm working on all my blunt tricks again, 99s are just too soft (I need all the help I can get).

So, I'm back on 103 STFs. Lots of bubbles in the bearing seats tho, surprising.



Skate great tho.

[Mbrimson88]

I recently bought a set of Spitfire F4 OG Classics 54mm 97a from TGM and they feel harder than I expected.  Also, the graphics wore off pretty quick.  Although the packaging looks fine I can't help but suspect something isn't right.
I bought a set of Bones Swiss as well and the packaging looks closer to the fake product than genuine.

The Spitfire F4 97 duro are still a hard wheel, so from skating mine on a slippery wooden ramp, they definitely still slipped out a lot more than my older 95 duro Soft D Spitfires or other softer wheels, but they worked well on a new slick feeling concrete park (which was more what I was thinking they would be good for) so I am happy.

Re Swiss from there - yeah I would definitely be suspicious of the origin of those bearings, but going by the packaging, I still have some old genuine ones from back before the fakes were out and Bones changed things to make it harder to replicate / easier to spot fake bearings.

Did you check the very detailed comparisons from the Counterfeit thread?

This post:

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=115386.msg3589712#msg3589712

[nekro]

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I recently bought a set of Spitfire F4 OG Classics 54mm 97a from TGM and they feel harder than I expected.  Also, the graphics wore off pretty quick.  Although the packaging looks fine I can't help but suspect something isn't right.
I bought a set of Bones Swiss as well and the packaging looks closer to the fake product than genuine.

[close]

The Spitfire F4 97 duro are still a hard wheel, so from skating mine on a slippery wooden ramp, they definitely still slipped out a lot more than my older 95 duro Soft D Spitfires or other softer wheels, but they worked well on a new slick feeling concrete park (which was more what I was thinking they would be good for) so I am happy.

Re Swiss from there - yeah I would definitely be suspicious of the origin of those bearings, but going by the packaging, I still have some old genuine ones from back before the fakes were out and Bones changed things to make it harder to replicate / easier to spot fake bearings.

Did you check the very detailed comparisons from the Counterfeit thread?

This post:

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=115386.msg3589712#msg3589712

For context on the wheels, I just started skating again after 24 years.  My last wheels were Rat Bones 97a (1996) which feel way softer.  So, perhaps some inconsistency in the durometer ratings over the years?

I did check the pics of the actual bearings when I first got them and tbh it's so close between the real and fakes in the pics it's difficult to tell.  I thought the bearings themselves looked ok but then recently I saw the pic of the packaging which made me question them again.

[MaXX_I-D]

Any companies make sub 50s in at least a 101?

[Xen]

Any companies make sub 50s in at least a 101?

https://www.boardycakes.com/

Snot Wheel Co. Lil'Boogers (if you can find them)
https://www.paradeworld.com/products/snot-lil-boogers-skateboard-wheels-or-glow-in-the-dark-or-45mm-246-6831398912153/

[MaXX_I-D]

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Any companies make sub 50s in at least a 101?

[close]

https://www.boardycakes.com/

Whoa…….

*nut*.

[mj23]

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im over hard wheels honestly. 95a Natas 58mm OJ's now best wheels i have ever had. tearing up the shit ground and also skatepark. not sliding all over the place on QPs anymore. feel so much safer on these. they slide only when you want them to.

[close]

join the club! i wont ride anything over 97a anymore! love my spitfires 97a and my oj nomads 95a ive been compiling a list of wheels in that range. ive been messaging wheel companies to start making wheels in these durometers and sml and snot wheels will work on something for their next batch.

either of you care to share more details on your experiences with the 95a OJs? been thinking about trying em for a while; currently hyped on my 97a conical f4s but there are definitely some spots around me where the asphalt is so crusty even 97s can't make em tolerable

[Mbrimson88]

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I recently bought a set of Spitfire F4 OG Classics 54mm 97a from TGM and they feel harder than I expected.  Also, the graphics wore off pretty quick.  Although the packaging looks fine I can't help but suspect something isn't right.
I bought a set of Bones Swiss as well and the packaging looks closer to the fake product than genuine.

[close]

The Spitfire F4 97 duro are still a hard wheel, so from skating mine on a slippery wooden ramp, they definitely still slipped out a lot more than my older 95 duro Soft D Spitfires or other softer wheels, but they worked well on a new slick feeling concrete park (which was more what I was thinking they would be good for) so I am happy.

Re Swiss from there - yeah I would definitely be suspicious of the origin of those bearings, but going by the packaging, I still have some old genuine ones from back before the fakes were out and Bones changed things to make it harder to replicate / easier to spot fake bearings.

Did you check the very detailed comparisons from the Counterfeit thread?

This post:

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=115386.msg3589712#msg3589712

[close]

For context on the wheels, I just started skating again after 24 years.  My last wheels were Rat Bones 97a (1996) which feel way softer.  So, perhaps some inconsistency in the durometer ratings over the years?

I have quite a few sets of Bones wheels (Powell actually) but yeah the 97 duro of those feel way more grippy than the Spitfire F4 97 duro wheels.

Same as the Santa Cruz / Slimeballs in 97 duro = way more grippy than Spitfires.