DLX has been price gouging (I hope that's the correct term) and sending very little product to my local shop (where I like to do about 90% of my purchases) here in Japan since around last June (way before pandemic). The shop is actually considering dropping them completely since Sml, Bones and even Acid wheels are becoming more popular lately and Indy and Ace are taking over on the trucks side (at least this is the case in my prefecture). DLX brand decks have never been too popular here mostly because of the odd or terrible graphics. I prefer BBS or Crail and occasionally DSM wood so I skate a lot of Hook-Ups, Polar, Alien, Theories, Habitat and occasionally Girl and Enjoi boards. We just got some Hockey/FA in for the first time so I may purchase a couple of those since the shapes look cool. None of the other distributors (NHS/Dwindle/Theories/TumYeto/CrailTap/Hook-Ups (big anime tiddys)/Sovereign Sect for example) are charging them above and beyond the usual slightly higher than US prices we've gotten used to paying. Anyways, I usually ride Thunders but we've had none since last June so I've been riding Indy Titaniums since wearing out my last set of Thunders (they cracked right after I hit axle, sad day). I saw the Venture Titaniums in the shop the other day, and the prices, wow! So I left without buying and decided today that if they're still there (I didn't think they would be) then I'd purchase them. I haven't ridden Venture since the 1990's and all I can say from first observation is wow that baseplate is huge! Oh and wowee do I hate the color gold! Gonna need a very specific deck for these to work out and look good.
The Formula Fours are the shape/size I used to always ride but it's been over a year since I had them. I am completely satisfied with the Sml OG formula wheels but I wanted to try these out once again. I have way too many setups right now! As far as the weird gray color, one moment I think they look cool then the next I feel they may be the ugliest wheels I've ever seen. There's no happy medium. I'll see what they look like after being skated to make the final decision. I think I'm trending toward the latter opinion though...
Price for comparison: Venture 5.6 Titaniums - ¥13,500.00 About $125.00 US *gulp
Indy 144 Titaniums - ¥9,000.00 About $85.00 US
Most Sml/Bones/Ojs - ¥5,500.00 About $50.00 US
Spitfire Formula Fours - ¥8,500.00 About $80.00 US *double gulp with a bit of a puke burp!
So yeah, if DLX prices stay this way they will continue to get less popular here I feel especially since we are also in a recession now. I'm glad I discovered Sml wheels! I just don't know if I'm going to like any trucks more than I did Thunder. Indy are good all purpose trucks but something is missing for me riding them, just a certain feeling or something. I feel very fortunate to be able to choose different gear and not be affected by the recession as of now. I am also still able to eat ramen non-stop and pay for my Ninja School tuition (It's a joke)! I'm only 1/4 Japanese any ways (American Mom • Half Japanese/Belgian Dad), so they'd never accept my application!
I also two weeks ago got a set of Ace trucks to try out (I hope they don't sponsor the evil 1010 still, oh and we don't "all love him in Japan" that's a very small set of older skaters and notoriously racist bikers). I'm having a really hard time breaking in the Ace stock bushings. They're really mushy and stay stuck leaning one way or the other. I ride trucks moderately loose as well (kingpin nut is usually just barely flush with the top of the kingpin). They were so inexpensive though! Only ¥6,000.00 (About $55.00 US) so I'm hoping I will eventually like them since they seem to always be in stock and have a recession proof cost!
I hope I made the photos with the right dimensions!
I'm sorry I keep writing so much, I have too much free time right now being quarantined, yes many of us in most prefectures are still voluntarily staying home as much as possible. American news about Japan is always so far off from reality I've noticed. Imagine everyone assuming the entire US is just like NYC. That's what happens here except it's with Tokyo. I hope to get better at posting here in time. Please forgive me if I've wasted your time.
Topic: Skate Shit you've Bought Recently (Read 988833 times)