Alright. Radial Fulls F4 56mm 99a.
After skating them for a couple weeks now, I'm realizing they are just a bit too bulky and heavy. I think the wheel would fill a better niche if they were 97a instead of 99a. As it is, its a huge bulky wheel that still struggles with crusty streets, which is my main gripe. Not quite the ATV wheels I was hoping for.
I thought the pure massiveness would help overcome its hardness on crusty streets, but I was wrong. The streets my F4 97a and STF 99a can handle, these things can't. Its more a complaint about F4 99a (and my neighborhood) than anything, but I just wanted to give a heads up. Its just frustrating how often I find myself walking board in hand because they can't handle the streets my other wheels can.
I do love the confidence they give me for riding up/over things. They've done a great job in regards to cracks, riding up curbs, and skating weirdly shaped shit... any "obstacles" aside from bumpy streets. It feels like I've got monster truck wheels at times which definitely instills confidence to just go for shit.
They're really nice on smooth terrain. I think my favorite thing about them is I'm rarely afraid of them slipping out, but they still have a controllable slide for practical purposes. I feel confident they won't slip out on me while hill bombing, yet they're not too grippy to revert and speed check.
Not a bad wheel at all but compared to the excitement I had, I'm feeling a bit let down. On top of this, one of the wheels has a bit of a lateral wobble, which I've heard other people complain about with this batch. Maybe the bearing holes aren't sized properly or something, I'm not sure. I've also had a couple chunks come out of the wheel just from pebbles, which I didn't know happened to 99a+ wheels? One of them is a small/medium chunk that is fairly deep on the riding surface. Definitely the biggest chunk I've had in a wheel. Not even my softer F4 97a Conical Full ever chunked like this.
+ Can skate confidently due to shape and riding patch width. Feels like monster truck wheels in a good way
+ Good grip but still slide
+/- These things are massive, definitely the largest street wheel I've skated (or seen in person)
+/- Can extend the width of your trucks by a bit if you throw on an extra washer or two on the inside of the wheels.
- Bulky and heavy
- Despite size, aren't going to handle shitty streets very well
- QC issues and chunking?
8/10. I'd probably rate them higher if I wasn't living somewhere with such shitty streets. Good wheel, but they are definitely wider and heavier than Conical Fulls. Keep in mind these are not only wider, but also have a convex side slightly adding weight rather than a concave conical cut side slightly reducing weight. The radial shape has many benefits, but its worth keeping in mind that slight weight difference since we're talking about a wheel that is so wide and tall.
I have my eyes on some OG Classics next time around. I'm going to push my luck with wheelbite and try the 58mm. Definitely seems like it will be a more manageable wheel shape without the diminishing returns of bulk and weight that a Radial wheel gives you.