Wheels Thread

[FuzzGNU]

Dragons are in stock

https://powell-peralta.com/skateboard-wheels/dragons

Cheers! Grabbed a set of the V6 56mm while there were only a handful left in stock! Thanks a ton.

Wild that it was $45 + shipping for this shape though. I really am kicking myself that I didn't just buy the 5 for $100 of the pre-release ones ones I realized how much I liked them.

My current set is still going strong. They had some slight coning so I rotated them, but besides that they're lasting really well. No flatspots or chunking.

I hope they are still working on improving the other duros!

[sk8_cat]

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had my third short session on the loophole 54 v shapes today. still not really into em, I find them super grippy, especially considering how they are still relatively unforgiving on rough pave.

will give em another shot or two because i really want to like them. getting bored of only looking at f4 when i wheel shop.

[close]

I have been riding some 54s my self for a couple of months now and I am having the exact same experience, coming from f4s the slide seems to be super grippy even though they are fast and seem to grind well, kind of surprised that their team seems to be ripping SF on these wheels doing powerslides all over the place - for me these are really hard to powerslide well on.

[close]

This is exact opposite for me, they slide well for me on crusty spots and the messed up ledge at my park, I’m not a speed demon but I have had some controlled power slides going downhill street skating here in Austin, but I’m also skating the teardrops haven’t messed with the vee shape yet

That's interesting, I got the square shape which is just slightly fuller than the teardrops , I am wondering if it could be that their formula is inconsistent between batches or some shit like that. Even though the wheels I have are still pretty decent overall.

[LebowskisRug]

Am I dense or is each diameter listed twice with no reference to shape?

[toe_knee]

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had my third short session on the loophole 54 v shapes today. still not really into em, I find them super grippy, especially considering how they are still relatively unforgiving on rough pave.

will give em another shot or two because i really want to like them. getting bored of only looking at f4 when i wheel shop.

[close]

I have been riding some 54s my self for a couple of months now and I am having the exact same experience, coming from f4s the slide seems to be super grippy even though they are fast and seem to grind well, kind of surprised that their team seems to be ripping SF on these wheels doing powerslides all over the place - for me these are really hard to powerslide well on.

[close]

This is exact opposite for me, they slide well for me on crusty spots and the messed up ledge at my park, I’m not a speed demon but I have had some controlled power slides going downhill street skating here in Austin, but I’m also skating the teardrops haven’t messed with the vee shape yet

[close]

That's interesting, I got the square shape which is just slightly fuller than the teardrops , I am wondering if it could be that their formula is inconsistent between batches or some shit like that. Even though the wheels I have are still pretty decent overall.

That may be the case, I got one of the first batches and they had bubbles and stuff

[goodatmeth]

Zach testing the 93a and 95a, comparing it to 103a stf.



The 93a powerslide at 6:50 is kinda insane.

Crooked grind tests starting at 9:55
Feeble grinds at 14:12
Bs tails at 16:45

Edit: I'm fully convinced about the 95a

[Xen]

Been set on the 97a but it looks like the 95a when they hit will be my first pick up.

[LebowskisRug]

Ya but what am I gunna do with all my spitfire stickers if I switch?

[FuzzGNU]

Am I dense or is each diameter listed twice with no reference to shape?

They don't list the shapes, but they list the width of the wheel which you can cross reference on this page: https://bones.com/why/shapes/

I think the 54's are V1 and V4... the 52 is V1? I could be wrong about one of them.

Their pre-release page earlier in this thread actually had the shapes listed out... but I can't remember what they were besides the V1 and V4.

[Murge]

Ya but what am I gunna do with all my spitfire stickers if I switch?

Garbage? The flame boy looking as head is wack. I say that as a spitfire fan.

[Joe Davola]

I just want Spitfire to make some orange 52mm 99a Classic F4s.

[FuzzGNU]

Zach testing the 93a and 95a, comparing it to 103a stf.

The 93a powerslide at 6:50 is kinda insane.

Crooked grind tests starting at 9:55
Feeble grinds at 14:12
Bs tails at 16:45

Edit: I'm fully convinced about the 95a

As I said earlier in the thread, the 95a and 97a were really hard feeling. Keep in mind that he is skating a skatepark. Even though its a "rough" skatepark, he said its smoother than the street. And like most of the people in these test videos, he is used to STF 103a.

This video is long so I'll summarize.

He said...
The 95a crooks on ledge as well as the STF 103a, but the 93a gave a little bit of resistance.
The 95a and 93a feeble on a square rail as well as the STF 103a.
The 95a and 93a tailslide on a square rail as well as the STF 103a.

Then he did a test on a cruuuuuuuusty/rocky path where he did a bigspin switch hillbomb test...
93a "felt fine"
95a "definitely noticeably" worse. "didn't feel as good."
103a "almost ran out of speed" before doing the bigspin. Bumpy ride. "would not want to do that on purpose". And was suggesting his feet were vibrating.

He basically said he is switching to 95a, and there is no reason for him to skate his favorite wheel (STF 103a) anymore.

In terms of my personal observations... I still have yet to get ejected from my board by a rock on the 93a... they are pretty insane in that regard. The 95a (and especially the 97a) WITH a core/hub got ejected by rocks more than a F4 99a. Hopefully without the core they are more forgiving in that regard. It looked like that path he was skating was rocky, so they must be somewhat better without the core/hub, which is nice to know. Again though, there was a pretty huge chasm between 93a and 95a in my tests.

I'm curious if the 97a are going to be released? Here is a 103a skater saying he is going to switch to the 95a. The 97a would just tackle stuff worse than the 95a? The 97a seems like it would be a bit of a Catch 22 wheel? The 97a was sliiightly faster than the 95a (which was fast in its own regard) but that speed probably isn't worth the trade-off.

My two cents...
If you normally skate F4 99a, go with the 93a. These things basically make F4 97a obsolete for trick skating. I've never skated NFG 95s, but I can't imagine a world where those skate better than these 93a.
If you normally skate STF 103a (or another 101+ wheel), probably go with the 95a to start. But I would still recommend checking out the 93a because they are pretty mind-blowing and will unlock previously untennable spots (and make troublesome spots feel normal). I feel like even really hard wheel skaters should have the 93a in their quiver. If you are able to make 103a work where you live, you probably don't *need* the 93a.

[tzhangdox]

Tempted to try the production 93as with no cores, but after buying and testing the prototype cored 93as, coreless 95as and being disappointed by them both, not sure if dropping 45 bucks on a wheel is a wise decision.

Disappointed is probably a bit harsh, they're very very good for some things, but neither of them could replace even a 97 f4 in my experience.

Not sure that the tests in the video are nearly comprehensive enough. Probably should have done some sort of lipslide/bluntslide test. And even if they slide comparably on concrete/rails, that might not be the case for other materials like wood or granite

[fs1/2cab]

I agree, the graphics on wheels, especially when most ride them in, seems like a marketing blunder most of the time. Sure, there is a small contingent that feel wheels graphics are cool...but I can't for the life of me figure out why both Spit and Bones did gremlins/gizmo wheels. WTAF?

Gremlins are cool.

So, I want to cruise around with my girlfriend and her daughter on their bikes. A long time ago I tried some Ricta Clouds 78a. Does it make sense to get these in 52mm? Anything bigger as 54mm feels weird to me.

[FuzzGNU]

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I agree, the graphics on wheels, especially when most ride them in, seems like a marketing blunder most of the time. Sure, there is a small contingent that feel wheels graphics are cool...but I can't for the life of me figure out why both Spit and Bones did gremlins/gizmo wheels. WTAF?

[close]

Gremlins are cool.

So, I want to cruise around with my girlfriend and her daughter on their bikes. A long time ago I tried some Ricta Clouds 78a. Does it make sense to get these in 52mm? Anything bigger as 54mm feels weird to me.

I actually have used them for exactly that on a bikepath with my friend! They worked great. I didn't have to worry about all the little twigs and other bits of nature scattered about. Obviously you're still going to be slower than them because you're on a skateboard, but in terms of terrain tackling they will be great. I also really trust them to grip way better than other wheels, so I was able to do a weird turning hillbomb on the path without dying.

They're not the fastest wheel in the world (they're on par with F4 99a in terms of speed, which definitely aren't as fast as STF 103a, for example), but they maintain speed over bumpy/rough ground great so its a lot less pushing. Essentially they will have a lower top speed than STF 103a, but a much higher average speed since they won't be decelerating as rapidly or as easily.

The guy in that video posted on the previous page is skating 52mm. I can't speak to the 52mm specifically, but they also have some 54mm wheels. I'm sure these would work great as a 52mm trick wheel, but if you're specifically looking for something for a wheel for cruising, might as well grab some 54mm, right? They'll wear down to 52mm eventually, more bang for your buck is how I see it.

[Musicaldeath107]

Tempted to try the production 93as with no cores, but after buying and testing the prototype cored 93as, coreless 95as and being disappointed by them both, not sure if dropping 45 bucks on a wheel is a wise decision.

Disappointed is probably a bit harsh, they're very very good for some things, but neither of them could replace even a 97 f4 in my experience.

Not sure that the tests in the video are nearly comprehensive enough. Probably should have done some sort of lipslide/bluntslide test. And even if they slide comparably on concrete/rails, that might not be the case for other materials like wood or granite

In that video he says in the comments he has been riding the 95a for a few months and "they rule" FWIW

[backinaction]

95s will be called "Bones X Formula", which is better than the 93 "Powell Dragons"

[FuzzGNU]

Tempted to try the production 93as with no cores, but after buying and testing the prototype cored 93as, coreless 95as and being disappointed by them both, not sure if dropping 45 bucks on a wheel is a wise decision.

Disappointed is probably a bit harsh, they're very very good for some things, but neither of them could replace even a 97 f4 in my experience.

Not sure that the tests in the video are nearly comprehensive enough. Probably should have done some sort of lipslide/bluntslide test. And even if they slide comparably on concrete/rails, that might not be the case for other materials like wood or granite

Agreed. I'm sure they lip/boardslide just fine because its essentially powersliding... but I am still curious about bluntslides.

I'm still genuinely shocked you like F4 97a more than these 93a (as we've beaten the dead horse on, cores, etc.). I skated F4 97a for almost a whole year. They were a solid utilitarian workhorse wheel, but they weren't "fun". They felt slightly muted/cruisery, bouncy, slow, and didn't powerslide well. They were beasts in terms of tackling rough street, but there were major trade-offs to get that utility.

The 93a tackle stuff a bit worse than the F4 97a? But it feels like there isn't any trade-off to get that crust tackling ability. And they still kick the shit out of pebbles like F4 97a (maybe even a bit more effectively than F4) which is a godsend.

How bad is the terrain that you skate?

[PolarJames]

I think I'm definitely going to skate the 93a when they make it to skateshops in the UK. Probably the 56mm V6 ones. I skate quite a few crusty spots so these should be ideal. What's put me off soft wheels is the lack of slide so am stoked these have come along. That Zach Doelling powerslide on the 93a wheels sold them to me along with a lot of the reviews here.

[tzhangdox]

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Tempted to try the production 93as with no cores, but after buying and testing the prototype cored 93as, coreless 95as and being disappointed by them both, not sure if dropping 45 bucks on a wheel is a wise decision.

Disappointed is probably a bit harsh, they're very very good for some things, but neither of them could replace even a 97 f4 in my experience.

Not sure that the tests in the video are nearly comprehensive enough. Probably should have done some sort of lipslide/bluntslide test. And even if they slide comparably on concrete/rails, that might not be the case for other materials like wood or granite

[close]

Agreed. I'm sure they lip/boardslide just fine because its essentially powersliding... but I am still curious about bluntslides.

I'm still genuinely shocked you like F4 97a more than these 93a (as we've beaten the dead horse on, cores, etc.). I skated F4 97a for almost a whole year. They were a solid utilitarian workhorse wheel, but they weren't "fun". They felt slightly muted/cruisery, bouncy, slow, and didn't powerslide well. They were beasts in terms of tackling rough street, but there were major trade-offs to get that utility.

The 93a tackle stuff a bit worse than the F4 97a? But it feels like there isn't any trade-off to get that crust tackling ability. And they still kick the shit out of pebbles like F4 97a (maybe even a bit more effectively than F4) which is a godsend.

How bad is the terrain that you skate?

Its not that bad honestly. Spitfire 97a is more than enough, and 99a f4 does the job just fine for the most part. But the cored 93a and coreless 95a both felt significantly softer, definitely cruiser/hybrid style wheel, whereas I would describe the 97a as a hard wheel, just a tad softer and more forgiving than 99a.

I feel like the way you describe the f4 97s is how I would describe the cored 93a and coreless 95as, except that they powerslide well still, but don't lip/bluntslide well on certain surfaces like wood or granite/marble albeit being fine on waxed concrete ledges

[FuzzGNU]

I just checked the SkateOne forums, and Kam said the 95a should be in "by the beginning of next month" (August). They're "in the final stages of setting up production."

I'm very curious what type of feedback they got on the 90a and 97a and if they will modify those before release. I bet the 90a would be worthwhile as a big 58-60mm cruiser wheel. At only 54mm, mine felt like they had a bit of an identity crisis... haven't yet tried these 90a 52mm cored in my possession, but even more so I can't imagine a usecase for these personally. Seems like if you're skating little 52mm trick wheels, you should be going up to the 93a.

[backinaction]

haven't yet tried these 90a 52mm cored in my possession, but even more so I can't imagine a usecase for these personally. Seems like if you're skating little 52mm trick wheels, you should be going up to the 93a.

10 year olds who weigh 75 lbs. 

My kids have two setups each.   One with park wheels (99a+) and another with the Mini Logo 90a to be able to skate in the neighborhood.  The Mini Logo 90a are garbage when it comes to anyone probably over 100lbs, and they are a bit slow in the park for my kids.   The 52mm 90a Dragons or whatever may actually be useful in this tiny group of people.

[Frank and Fred]

Just here to say I am very old and getting increasingly stuck in my ways, and won't likely try these new Powell wheels. So for all of you that get tempted into the Dragon's Lair, feel free to send me your unused Spitfires (and Stickers).

Now if Spitfire can improve their soft wheel game... that's another story...

[tzhangdox]

Probably going to give the no hub 95as another try, Kam said that they should be the exact same as the production formula. Maybe needs some break in time to really work in all scenarios

[Boog]

Just here to say I am very old and getting increasingly stuck in my ways, and won't likely try these new Powell wheels. So for all of you that get tempted into the Dragon's Lair, feel free to send me your unused Spitfires (and Stickers).

Now if Spitfire can improve their soft wheel game... that's another story...

[jakeumms]

The 56s and the V4 54s are up at SoCal so I would assume stock should be in shops in a few days at most. I grabbed a set of 56s for a cruiser I was about to set up. Hopefully my skate to the burrito truck just got more fun.

[chinotto]

I tried v4 93a dragon formula today. Hands down, the best wheels I’ve ever had. They do feel a bit harder than the pre-production coreless 95a i had and they have a nice bark when powersliding which is super buttery and controlled. They feel completely different from the cored 93a that i have.

[tzhangdox]

Wow this is fucking my head up, what did your preproduction coreless 95 look like? Mine are quite white, v1 shape. Kam said the pre production coreless 95a should be the same as the production ones... which should be harder than the production 93a in that video zach doelling posted.

I gave my pre-production coreless 95as another go. As per before, they are sooooooo much better riding over imperfect ground. Sometimes there's a bit of a bark when you slide or skrtt, sometimes there isn't. On concrete ledges, they bluntslide basically the same as an f4, and powersliding on most surfaces feels pretty good. But again, they don't work in all scenarios. Definitely a little gummy feeling still and grip on slappies, and even crooked grinds or just 5050s if you don't lock in correctly.

Powell claims that these soft wheels that require some sort of vibration to slide. My guess (and I'm absolutely talking out of my ass here and will likely have egg on my face), is that when this vibration can be initiated, they slide basically just as good as a hard wheel. Powersliding on flatground, landing in a slide on a concrete ledge etc, but maybe in some scenarios like slappies, or slides on other surfaces or even just user error, the vibration doesn't initiate properly and so they still behave like a softer wheel.

Though now that I hear that production coreless 93as are harder than these, and if production coreless 95as are harder than those... they could be really good...

[FuzzGNU]

I tried v4 93a dragon formula today. Hands down, the best wheels I’ve ever had. They do feel a bit harder than the pre-production coreless 95a i had and they have a nice bark when powersliding which is super buttery and controlled. They feel completely different from the cored 93a that i have.

Yeah, that is the thing I love about the slide of the 93a... its super controllable. Its crazy how its both a really good slide AND controllable. I figured that wasn't a thing until I tried these.

You get this slight trade off of the slide being slightly harder to initiate than F4 (actually blessing in disguise, because it gives your wheels WAY more grip when you don't want them to slide). BUT then once they start sliding, it slides better than F4 with more "control". Like I can control the rotation of my board while sliding better than F4. Its hard to describe. Its like you're snowboarding on some nice snow with a bit of friction to work with, compared to snowboarding on icey snow... if that makes sense?

And I can do these sorta lazy backside powerslide 180s because I know its never going to slip out on me. I've always heard people rightfully praise F4 for "grips when you want them to, and slides when you don't". These things are even truer to that phrase. I've yet to slip out on these things even when skating slick blacktop. Even F4 97a I had my fair share of slip outs while doing things like lazy powerslides or taking sharp turns.

And yeah, I'm not sure where people are getting the lack of bark from. The 90a were nearly silent, but the 93a sound like a slightly quieter F4 99a to me personally. Its plenty loud enough to give me proper auditory feedback. Definitely doesn't sound "quiet" to me when I'm skating places I don't want to get busted at lol. Maybe more subtle speed checks and such are quieter, but if you're putting your weight into a slide, no one is going to mistake them for a "quiet" wheel.

[chinotto]

Preproduction coreless 95a I had were dead silent when sliding on any surface, same were cored 93a when broken in. 95a were a tiny bit less sticky when boardsliding a ledge BUT 93a are still less sticky than my f4 tablets 99a. I didn't notice any difference on crooked/feeble grinds or 50-50. I can't blunt slide so can't say how well they work for them. Also, no issues with slappies on a curb I tried them on which is usually kinda sticky. Actually now I think coreless 95a and 93a feel similar when riding but the sound feedback I get from 93a makes them feel a little harder which I prefer. Slide initiation is definitely easier than my f4 99a tablets and the feel of the slide is better.

Its like you're snowboarding on some nice snow with a bit of friction to work with, compared to snowboarding on icey snow... if that makes sense?

This is exactly how it felt lol

[FuzzGNU]

Preproduction coreless 95a I had were dead silent when sliding on any surface, same were cored 93a when broken in. 95a were a tiny bit less sticky when boardsliding a ledge BUT 93a are still less sticky than my f4 tablets 99a. I didn't notice any difference on crooked/feeble grinds or 50-50. I can't blunt slide so can't say how well they work for them. Also, no issues with slappies on a curb I tried them on which is usually kinda sticky. Actually now I think coreless 95a and 93a feel similar when riding but the sound feedback I get from 93a makes them feel a little harder which I prefer. Slide initiation is definitely easier than my f4 99a tablets and the feel of the slide is better.

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Its like you're snowboarding on some nice snow with a bit of friction to work with, compared to snowboarding on icey snow... if that makes sense?

[close]

This is exactly how it felt lol

I think for a lot of grinds, the stickiness can often be attributed to the shape as much as the formula. Those pre-production hub wheels for example were like a Tablet on the inside, and a very strangely shaped Radial on the outside. Tablets are notoriously great at locking in but create way more friction/drag while grinding than any other shape.

I'm guessing the V1 and V4 would be better for reducing grind drag than the pre-production hubs, cored V2, and V6. General wisdom is: the various degrees of Conical vs. Radial seem to boil down to lock/security/control vs. easy grind exits/fluidity/less drag.

There were two different pre-productions cores. The smaller cored wheels were V2 Lock-Ins (like Tablets), and the wider ones were their ATF Hub shape. Both are probably pretty bad for grind drag, so that is also worth considering for anyone who had the cored wheels.