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On asphalt it was no contest, but for slappies I still found that they would grip a lot. On slappy crooks they slide fine for the first 1/2, but then rapidly slow and grab. So I was torn because I skate a lot of asphalt but I mostly skate ledges, curbs, manual pads and low impact stuff where they just couldn't hold their own. Id rather do another push then grind 1/3 less on a ledge.
I will say I wasn't grinding as well on the dragons board this morning, but I had been blaming it more on the trucks. On the F4 board I had a recent slappy session on a curb that was so waxed that it deposited about 1/2 lb of it in the trucks.
There is no question that the dragons noticeably drag on grinds if you compare side by side with f4s
In general when it comes to grinds, it's also worth thinking about wheel shape because that will compound any issues with drag that the formula might have.
V1 and V4 should theoretically drag less than V6 I think. Not sure which would be better between V1 or V4 though. Maybe V4??? Maybe depends on the grind?
Why would the V6 drag more? The whole point of the sidecut design is less drag and at least on V5 99a wheels I ride that seems to work really well.
From my understanding (I could be wrong, personally I disagree with Bones descriptions) that sharp cut can kind of dig in on certain grinds or surfaces (coping?) while a radial edge minimizes the contract point and how much it digs in.
As I understand it, the main point of the sidecut is to minimize weight and give a stable surface with the defined riding surface edge. If you compare a radial wide (V4) and a widecut (V6) wheel side by side, the weight reduction becomes apparent.
I'm sure the V5/V6 have less drag than a lock-in/tablet... But I would bet money a radial shapes would have equal or less drag compared to a sidecut.
This is coming from someone who's favorite wheel is V6, not really a fan of Radial wheels.
I'd love to hear if others have had a different experience.