https://www.spitfirewheels.com/
Spring '22 Drop 2 Catalog is live
I'm a bit shocked to see a lack of
97a Conical Fulls. I think I might grab a backup pair just in case they are phased out. My old board still has those on, and its honestly amazing how much better they handle crusty roads even after they've been reduced to about 49-50mm. My brand new 99a 56mm Radial Fulls are almost unrideable on streets that these small 97a 50mm wheels makes feel pretty normal.
To be honest, it seems like it was a misstep for them to make Classics one of the introductory 97a shapes as its sort of a "worst of both worlds" wheel being soft and so narrow. It doesn't seem like they are selling very well the way places are putting them on clearance unlike every other F4 Spitfire shape. I could be wrong, maybe they're selling great, but personally I haven't seen any buzz about them considering how widely available they are.
If/when they bring 97a back (maybe with a gently retooled formula) they should think about abandoning the Classic 97a and replace it with Radial Full and maybe OG Classic. Wide wheels tackle crust better. If you're already sacrificing that tech, slide, and top speed with the softer wheel, then you might as well make it do its niche as well as possible, right?
I'm glad they are still running with the 56mm/58mm Radial Fulls. That graphic is really cool, especially while rolling. Hopefully (if they're producing more) this batch doesn't have as many defects as the last one.