Spitfire formula four

[Mbrimson88]

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What's the best way to do this? I've seen some people do dye only (no water), or leave it in for a week up to a month, or vary their temperatures, etc.

Gonna give it a try as long as the heat doesn't degrade the F4s

[close]

idk about the best way, but imo that was way to short for that dye to get in to anything but the outside layer. gonna be riding 50-50 creamcicles at the end of the day.

[close]

Best luck I had was rit synthetic in a quart jar cold soak for as long as you can stand it. Days, weeks, months. Just enough water to cover so shit is max concentration.

[close]

How far in did it penetrate?

Riding surface is what I had in mind, or how long did you skate them?

Thanks.

[close]

Wow. I just cut one in half. Way more than I thought. I’d say it penetrated 6mm or so. Biggest thing I see is that the outer couple mms are the darkest, so the riding surface will show wear, but it’s a long way before getting to natural. From what I remember, that one soaked for several days but less than a week.  Also, it’s surprisingly easy to cut a 95a wheel in half with a sharp knife.

[close]

I would be very interested to see pics...

[close]

Nfg 56mm 95a cold soaked in Rit Synthetic

That's amazing!!!

Thanks for the pic.

[BL0B]

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What's the best way to do this? I've seen some people do dye only (no water), or leave it in for a week up to a month, or vary their temperatures, etc.

Gonna give it a try as long as the heat doesn't degrade the F4s

[close]

idk about the best way, but imo that was way to short for that dye to get in to anything but the outside layer. gonna be riding 50-50 creamcicles at the end of the day.

[close]

Best luck I had was rit synthetic in a quart jar cold soak for as long as you can stand it. Days, weeks, months. Just enough water to cover so shit is max concentration.

[close]

How far in did it penetrate?

Riding surface is what I had in mind, or how long did you skate them?

Thanks.

[close]

Wow. I just cut one in half. Way more than I thought. I’d say it penetrated 6mm or so. Biggest thing I see is that the outer couple mms are the darkest, so the riding surface will show wear, but it’s a long way before getting to natural. From what I remember, that one soaked for several days but less than a week.  Also, it’s surprisingly easy to cut a 95a wheel in half with a sharp knife.

[close]

I would be very interested to see pics...

[close]

Nfg 56mm 95a cold soaked in Rit Synthetic

[close]

That's amazing!!!

Thanks for the pic.

wow, deeper penetration than i woulda thunk.

[Murge]

@beandemon about how long did that wheel soak?

[beandemon]

@beandemon about how long did that wheel soak?

It’s been awhile, but I think it was 5-7 days.

[Jacob DeGrosso]

Anyone have the scoop on when we will see spring drop 2?  Sounds like OG classics will be included and hoping to see classic fulls come back.

[Painted Baby]

Anyone have the scoop on when we will see spring drop 2?  Sounds like OG classics will be included and hoping to see classic fulls come back.

OG Classics aren't back until Summer (54, 58 and 60) and Classic Fulls remain available in special drops only though I didn't see anything in that shape outside of the new 80HD wheels.

Speaking of which, I saw some Spitfire/Gonz branded 80HDs are coming up but they don't seem to have the hexagonal hub. I wonder if that's a product mock up thing or if they are actually the old versions?

[Mbrimson88]

Anyone have the scoop on when we will see spring drop 2?  Sounds like OG classics will be included and hoping to see classic fulls come back.

Classic Full seem like a difficult one to find, the most recent being the Limosine special editions in 54 and 56 mm black / white swirls, shown a couple of pages back via this link, page 164:

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=68020.msg3988684#msg3988684


Seems like they already sold out or Limosine removed their shop access to the public, but the pic is still there in the thread.


* Edit:

 If you were looking for anything 54 mm or under, they are not that different, but 56 mm and 58 mm Classic Full wheels are a lot wider overall, as per the pics from the wheel listings.

I prefer the 56 mm size more as a transition / all rounder, but the smaller ones are good for small street / tech stuff, in the same way normal Classic 54 mm wear down a mm or two and widen out nicely.


Classic Full chart correct to 54mm and measurements just taken again on wheels I have:

52       33       18
53       33.5    18.5
54       34       19
54.5    35       19.5
56       37       22.5
58       38       24


*  The 54.5 were the Cardiel specials, just in case anyone was confused.

[Jacob DeGrosso]

Yeah, I almost grabbed those from limosine. Oh well, plenty of wheels out there and I’ve some 56 classics to ride down. Thanks for the info, both of you.

[Skatebeard]

Finally tried out some 97a F4 classics (54mm), and they've made my old local park skateable again, the tarmac is absolutely shagged and previous sessions there on 99a 50mm F4s were far from enjoyable.

I can see why everyone raves about the 97a F4s, were deffo worth the punt.

[Mbrimson88]

.

Might be a one off thing, but a local shop here in Australia has some variations on the Lil Smokies, including a 51mm black Radial shape.  Currently two sets in stock.

As others had said before, the Lil Smokies are the wheels made from other larger wheels that for whatever reason seemed to not make the grade, so they shape them down and repackage them as these wheels.

Awesome if you want smaller wheels in familiar shapes, often in very unique options.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/234979874154

[rawbertson.]

i want these ^ i dont see them for sale anywhere in canada though
For us the classic formula wheels ~$50
F4s are about $60-65 CAD
is the price point more in line with what the classic formula wheels are?
The smallest i can easily find in f4s was 52mm actually and i was wanting to go smaller

[kneebone]

i want these ^ i dont see them for sale anywhere in canada though
For us the classic formula wheels ~$50
F4s are about $60-65 CAD
is the price point more in line with what the classic formula wheels are?
The smallest i can easily find in f4s was 52mm actually and i was wanting to go smaller

For whatever reason, I've found that the lil smokies tend to hit australian shops before anywhere else. Chances are in a couple weeks you'll start to see those pop up around north america

[disclosed]

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i want these ^ i dont see them for sale anywhere in canada though
For us the classic formula wheels ~$50
F4s are about $60-65 CAD
is the price point more in line with what the classic formula wheels are?
The smallest i can easily find in f4s was 52mm actually and i was wanting to go smaller

[close]

For whatever reason, I've found that the lil smokies tend to hit australian shops before anywhere else. Chances are in a couple weeks you'll start to see those pop up around north america

those conical lil smokies from a couple months ago never hit europe. only saw them in australia and japan.
i did see a load of 50mm tablets hit EU shops again.

[gsosa]

To the DLX heads reading
Please, please, please, please please Bring back
OG Classics in 55mm. Best wheel ever and it sucks that it was taken away from us that suddenly

[SlapMcKracken]

What difference do you feel when riding f4‘s compared to bones stf or og 100‘s?

[Mbrimson88]

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i want these ^ i dont see them for sale anywhere in canada though
For us the classic formula wheels ~$50
F4s are about $60-65 CAD
is the price point more in line with what the classic formula wheels are?
The smallest i can easily find in f4s was 52mm actually and i was wanting to go smaller

[close]

For whatever reason, I've found that the lil smokies tend to hit australian shops before anywhere else. Chances are in a couple weeks you'll start to see those pop up around north america

[close]

those conical lil smokies from a couple months ago never hit europe. only saw them in australia and japan.
i did see a load of 50mm tablets hit EU shops again.

Re timeframe and releases of whees:

I think everything else takes a few months to arrive down here, so by the time we get anything in Australia, the next drop is already about to come out in US shops, so most likely these Lil Smokies were from the previous DLX stock, that just take a while to get here.  Example, the Evan Smith wheels only just came out here, so all black Lil Smokies in both 99 and 101 duro could have been from the black Radial wheels that came out last drop or so, then retooled and shipped out a month or more ago and only now hitting shops.

The shops that get them most likely have standing orders for anything like that too, so they might not even make it up on to the B2B sites or be on offer for other shops to buy, but that is just pure speculation.  It does seem like only a few shops get those wheels though.


Re price of wheels:

For AU shops, Formula Four wheels have just hit the $90 mark, some even more but most were sitting around $80 for a while, the Classic formula $70, up from $60 and the Lil Smokies about the same at $70 a set, but were more like $50 to $60 for a while.

Wheel prices have stayed fairly consistent for quite a while, just like a lot of other things, some shops keeping the price fairly even at $70 a set for Formula Four and $60 for Classic formula or so, minus whatever discounts, special % off deals or whatever, but I think the shortages and other issues with the pandemic put that price to bed for good, now everything going up and up and up.


I think other places round the world would be in a similar situation, everything taking a while to get to EU or other places besides USA, as well as prices going up considerably since the last two or so drops of stock.  This is just how it is, not a worry there, but as some people have said, you either pay for the quality of the brand and product, or you get something cheaper that will almost always make you regret buying other wheels.

There does seem to be some ups and downs with specific stock, standard lines which become scarce, other products coming in (especially super wide wheels right now replacing smaller slim profile wheels) that all take time in the production process, but I think most of the favourites will come back at some point, maybe just not when some people would like, if they have not stocked up on them when they were out.

[Nth syd bear]

.

Might be a one off thing, but a local shop here in Australia has some variations on the Lil Smokies, including a 51mm black Radial shape.  Currently two sets in stock.

As others had said before, the Lil Smokies are the wheels made from other larger wheels that for whatever reason seemed to not make the grade, so they shape them down and repackage them as these wheels.

Awesome if you want smaller wheels in familiar shapes, often in very unique options.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/234979874154

If these were 99's I would of bought these

I'm looking for 51mm 99a radials at the moment and don't care what colour

[rikki]

To the DLX heads reading
Please, please, please, please please Bring back
OG Classics in 55mm. Best wheel ever and it sucks that it was taken away from us that suddenly

TOTALLY seconded. One of my all-time favorite wheels.

[Mbrimson88]

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.

Might be a one off thing, but a local shop here in Australia has some variations on the Lil Smokies, including a 51mm black Radial shape.  Currently two sets in stock.

As others had said before, the Lil Smokies are the wheels made from other larger wheels that for whatever reason seemed to not make the grade, so they shape them down and repackage them as these wheels.

Awesome if you want smaller wheels in familiar shapes, often in very unique options.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/234979874154

[close]

If these were 99's I would of bought these

I'm looking for 51mm 99a radials at the moment and don't care what colour

That is the first 51 mm Radial shaped set of wheels I have ever seen, as far as I can recall.

Radial Slim came in smaller sizes like 51 mm, but not normal Radials.

Definitely had or seen the Radial shape in 52 mm as well as 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58 mm through various standard options, pro special editions or colabs, but I guess that is what makes Lil Smokies so unique as well.

Even looking globally, this is the only set that pops up.

There seem to be most other shapes out there in Lil Smokies - Classic, Conical, Conical Full, Tablet, and now Radial.


On the same shop site, either Kick Push or their store on ebay, there are a ton of Lil Smokies, most in 99 duro and 50, 51 mm options in Conical or Conical Full that would be closest in overall size and shape.

Even a few other surprises on ebay or online, but all in other countries, so that doesn't help you at all.

[rocklobster]

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.

Might be a one off thing, but a local shop here in Australia has some variations on the Lil Smokies, including a 51mm black Radial shape.  Currently two sets in stock.

As others had said before, the Lil Smokies are the wheels made from other larger wheels that for whatever reason seemed to not make the grade, so they shape them down and repackage them as these wheels.

Awesome if you want smaller wheels in familiar shapes, often in very unique options.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/234979874154

[close]

If these were 99's I would of bought these

I'm looking for 51mm 99a radials at the moment and don't care what colour

[close]

That is the first 51 mm Radial shaped set of wheels I have ever seen, as far as I can recall.

Radial Slim came in smaller sizes like 51 mm, but not normal Radials.

Definitely had or seen the Radial shape in 52 mm as well as 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58 mm through various standard options, pro special editions or colabs, but I guess that is what makes Lil Smokies so unique as well.

Even looking globally, this is the only set that pops up.

There seem to be most other shapes out there in Lil Smokies - Classic, Conical, Conical Full, Tablet, and now Radial.


On the same shop site, either Kick Push or their store on ebay, there are a ton of Lil Smokies, most in 99 duro and 50, 51 mm options in Conical or Conical Full that would be closest in overall size and shape.

Even a few other surprises on ebay or online, but all in other countries, so that doesn't help you at all.

But.... black wheels.....v

[Nth syd bear]

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.

Might be a one off thing, but a local shop here in Australia has some variations on the Lil Smokies, including a 51mm black Radial shape.  Currently two sets in stock.

As others had said before, the Lil Smokies are the wheels made from other larger wheels that for whatever reason seemed to not make the grade, so they shape them down and repackage them as these wheels.

Awesome if you want smaller wheels in familiar shapes, often in very unique options.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/234979874154

[close]

If these were 99's I would of bought these

I'm looking for 51mm 99a radials at the moment and don't care what colour

[close]

That is the first 51 mm Radial shaped set of wheels I have ever seen, as far as I can recall.

Radial Slim came in smaller sizes like 51 mm, but not normal Radials.

Definitely had or seen the Radial shape in 52 mm as well as 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58 mm through various standard options, pro special editions or colabs, but I guess that is what makes Lil Smokies so unique as well.

Even looking globally, this is the only set that pops up.

There seem to be most other shapes out there in Lil Smokies - Classic, Conical, Conical Full, Tablet, and now Radial.


On the same shop site, either Kick Push or their store on ebay, there are a ton of Lil Smokies, most in 99 duro and 50, 51 mm options in Conical or Conical Full that would be closest in overall size and shape.

Even a few other surprises on ebay or online, but all in other countries, so that doesn't help you at all.

[close]

But.... black wheels.....v

I was fooled by the spitfire size and shape guide they have Radials listed at 51
All good I ended up getting the last set of classic lil smokies 51mm from Kickpush

[Mbrimson88]

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But.... black wheels.....v

[close]

I was fooled by the spitfire size and shape guide they have Radials listed at 51
All good I ended up getting the last set of classic lil smokies 51mm from Kickpush

Ha yeah, not a worry.

Any other option besides white / natural can sometimes lead to wheel crisis / madness, but they all have their place and I think someone somewhere would be stoked on them.


To be fair re Radials in 51 mm, I think any wheel in that size would almost be a slim option anyway, when compared to other larger wheels of the same style, given Spitfire wheel dimensions get more narrow as they go down in diameter.

Guessing the Lil Smokies version of normal Radials would be around 51 x 31 with an 18.5 mm riding surface.

The Radial Slims in that size are 51 x 29.5 with an 18 mm riding surface, as per the chart.

[Nth syd bear]

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But.... black wheels.....v

[close]

I was fooled by the spitfire size and shape guide they have Radials listed at 51
All good I ended up getting the last set of classic lil smokies 51mm from Kickpush

[close]

Ha yeah, not a worry.

Any other option besides white / natural can sometimes lead to wheel crisis / madness, but they all have their place and I think someone somewhere would be stoked on them.


To be fair re Radials in 51 mm, I think any wheel in that size would almost be a slim option anyway, when compared to other larger wheels of the same style, given Spitfire wheel dimensions get more narrow as they go down in diameter.

Guessing the Lil Smokies version of normal Radials would be around 51 x 31 with an 18.5 mm riding surface.

The Radial Slims in that size are 51 x 29.5 with an 18 mm riding surface, as per the chart.

I actually started skating those 51 conical full swirls the last two days I'm starting to like them
Trying to skate through my stack of decks in 7.875-8.125 range
at the moment and some different wheel choices is nice

Those indy lows you know i got recently has sent me back down to the small popsicle rabbit hole i like to visit

[rocklobster]

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But.... black wheels.....v

[close]

I was fooled by the spitfire size and shape guide they have Radials listed at 51
All good I ended up getting the last set of classic lil smokies 51mm from Kickpush

[close]

Ha yeah, not a worry.

Any other option besides white / natural can sometimes lead to wheel crisis / madness, but they all have their place and I think someone somewhere would be stoked on them.


To be fair re Radials in 51 mm, I think any wheel in that size would almost be a slim option anyway, when compared to other larger wheels of the same style, given Spitfire wheel dimensions get more narrow as they go down in diameter.

Guessing the Lil Smokies version of normal Radials would be around 51 x 31 with an 18.5 mm riding surface.

The Radial Slims in that size are 51 x 29.5 with an 18 mm riding surface, as per the chart.

This may be the closest thing we get to 99a Radial Slims, I may have to bite the bullet and go black wheels (shudders)

[Mbrimson88]

This may be the closest thing we get to 99a Radial Slims, I may have to bite the bullet and go black wheels (shudders)

I still think the Conical shape is closest.

They were the ones I took a little bit off each side, to make them as close to Radial Slim as I could.


How much would a cheap, battery recharge type of angle grinder cost?

Might cost less than your sanity with no more Radial Slims...

[Murge]

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This may be the closest thing we get to 99a Radial Slims, I may have to bite the bullet and go black wheels (shudders)

[close]

I still think the Conical shape is closest.

They were the ones I took a little bit off each side, to make them as close to Radial Slim as I could.


How much would a cheap, battery recharge type of angle grinder cost?

Might cost less than your sanity with no more Radial Slims...

I want to do this to my conicals. I keep talking about it. I’m just afraid I’m gonna mess up. Like have 4 different radiuses or something.

[Mbrimson88]

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This may be the closest thing we get to 99a Radial Slims, I may have to bite the bullet and go black wheels (shudders)

[close]

I still think the Conical shape is closest.

They were the ones I took a little bit off each side, to make them as close to Radial Slim as I could.


How much would a cheap, battery recharge type of angle grinder cost?

Might cost less than your sanity with no more Radial Slims...

[close]

I want to do this to my conicals. I keep talking about it. I’m just afraid I’m gonna mess up. Like have 4 different radiuses or something.

I found it best to work on an old set of wheels first, feel it out and see what is good.

When I hold the angle grinder, I usually have one hand firmly on the handle, the other supporting the guard on it while resting on the truck, often but not always a foot on the board, flat on its back on a solid floor.

That was easier than on a bench, in a vice or other thing, but everyone is different, so see what works for you more than anything.

Also just go easy at it, a little here going more back and forth, left to right or rocking motion as I did it - figure out what is best and don't do too much at a time.


For the Conical to Radial Slim shape, I took off just a little of the middle area (widest point) and slightly rounded it back over that edge to the riding surface, so they really didn't need much at all for that change.

When I round off the Conical Full to a bit more rounder edge, it takes a bit more.

[rocklobster]

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This may be the closest thing we get to 99a Radial Slims, I may have to bite the bullet and go black wheels (shudders)

[close]

I still think the Conical shape is closest.

They were the ones I took a little bit off each side, to make them as close to Radial Slim as I could.


How much would a cheap, battery recharge type of angle grinder cost?

Might cost less than your sanity with no more Radial Slims...

[close]

I want to do this to my conicals. I keep talking about it. I’m just afraid I’m gonna mess up. Like have 4 different radiuses or something.

[close]

I found it best to work on an old set of wheels first, feel it out and see what is good.

When I hold the angle grinder, I usually have one hand firmly on the handle, the other supporting the guard on it while resting on the truck, often but not always a foot on the board, flat on its back on a solid floor.

That was easier than on a bench, in a vice or other thing, but everyone is different, so see what works for you more than anything.

Also just go easy at it, a little here going more back and forth, left to right or rocking motion as I did it - figure out what is best and don't do too much at a time.


For the Conical to Radial Slim shape, I took off just a little of the middle area (widest point) and slightly rounded it back over that edge to the riding surface, so they really didn't need much at all for that change.

When I round off the Conical Full to a bit more rounder edge, it takes a bit more.

Well, looks like I got to get those set up again, thanks a mil @Mbrimson88 !

[Murge]

@Mbrimson88  thanks for explaining it I’m gonna try and do it this weekend maybe tomorrow. If I get a chance to do it I’ll post pics.

[rawbertson.]

those look sick as fuck i bet you can tip the board up on 2 wheels really easily like that, and noseslide > crook combos all day