Spitfire formula four

[pops]

Has anyone here had problems with the bearings coming out of their Spitfire OG Classics wheels? I bought the set about 8 months ago and I've never had this kind of problem with other wheels. I've been using Spitfire for over 8 years and I'm thinking of going back to Bones or some other brand.

I never had those wheels but my 93 Radials did that I had to ditch them.

[bombsaway86]

Has anyone here had problems with the bearings coming out of their Spitfire OG Classics wheels? I bought the set about 8 months ago and I've never had this kind of problem with other wheels. I've been using Spitfire for over 8 years and I'm thinking of going back to Bones or some other brand.

I replied in the wheels thread too:

Get rid of your bearing spacers if you’re using them. I’ve come to the conclusion this happens when the spacer is too wide for the wheel.

Use a q-tip to apply a light coat of lube in the bearing seat when you put the bearing back in, this will help it go in straight and make it easier to push back in if it continues to back out.

[Richard Skidder]

Some older bearing presses have too large of a diameter and can get stuck in the core when pressing in bearings which can stretch the seat slightly. Some of the newer presses are tapered towards the bearings to alleviate this issue.
Also, removing bearings and changing/cleaning them over and over can stretch the cores too.
Agreed that spacers being too wide can cause the bearings to “walk”.
You could try removing the bearings and letting the wheels sit somewhere indoors for a few days and they may have enough memory to return to the original shape. This has worked for me on a couple of sets that I have tested various bearings in.

[Mbrimson88]

Has anyone here had problems with the bearings coming out of their Spitfire OG Classics wheels? I bought the set about 8 months ago and I've never had this kind of problem with other wheels. I've been using Spitfire for over 8 years and I'm thinking of going back to Bones or some other brand.

There is a thread about it here:

Bearings moving in the bearing seat

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=125264.0


Quite simply, it can happen to any brand, so it is not just the one brand of wheel or shape or anything, but usually if this has become a problem, there are ways to try to fix it, eg most basic option is to clean the outside of the bearings and the inside of the wheels, put them back in dry, no lube or anything and they are less likely to slip out again, but I have noticed some wheels or even with some bearings, things just don't want to fit in and they will always move around a bit, as per information in that thread about it.

Alternate options can even include reaching out to DLX and ask them about it via this link.  They are very good at responding and assisting with product issues from any of their brands:

https://www.dlxsf.com/now-its-your-turn/


It is really up to you how you want to deal with it, but in the past, people asking for help from DLX will often get a replacement set of wheels, which is a cheaper option than buying another set of anything.

Hope that helps.



* I have had a number of sets like this over the years, from various brands, most of which cannot be fixed really, apart from putting some really old bearings in that seem to fill up the gap more than any newer bearings, maybe because they have a little surface rust or other things going on, but once the bearing seat area widens out, any bearing is going to slip in it, especially with any side to side tricks where the wheel is being pushed on an angle.  Brands include Spitfire, Bones and others, so it is just something that can happen over time, more so than anything else, but can also happen to brand new wheels too.

[swongolianbbq]

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Has anyone here had problems with the bearings coming out of their Spitfire OG Classics wheels? I bought the set about 8 months ago and I've never had this kind of problem with other wheels. I've been using Spitfire for over 8 years and I'm thinking of going back to Bones or some other brand.

[close]

I replied in the wheels thread too:

Get rid of your bearing spacers if you’re using them. I’ve come to the conclusion this happens when the spacer is too wide for the wheel.

Use a q-tip to apply a light coat of lube in the bearing seat when you put the bearing back in, this will help it go in straight and make it easier to push back in if it continues to back out.

Shit, I do the opposite to solve this problem.

99% isopropyl alcohol on a towel and rub the inside of the wheel and the bearings so they grip in there good

I use a DIY bearing press, it's just two washers ever so slightly smaller in diameter than the bearings, and an ace axle rethreader. Presses on the outer race so it seats well and doesn't fuck up the bearing, if you have a stubborn wheel that's hard to press. Most of the time I can just push them in on the truck with my hands

Kinda like using hairspray to slide on bmx grips.. idk, the alcohol dries it out and cleans off any kinda sheen or shit from the factory

I've rubbed down the bushings and the yoke on Indy hangers with alcohol-soaked rags before because the bushings felt hella greasy out the box

[rob]

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Has anyone here had problems with the bearings coming out of their Spitfire OG Classics wheels? I bought the set about 8 months ago and I've never had this kind of problem with other wheels. I've been using Spitfire for over 8 years and I'm thinking of going back to Bones or some other brand.

[close]

I replied in the wheels thread too:

Get rid of your bearing spacers if you’re using them. I’ve come to the conclusion this happens when the spacer is too wide for the wheel.

Use a q-tip to apply a light coat of lube in the bearing seat when you put the bearing back in, this will help it go in straight and make it easier to push back in if it continues to back out.

[close]

Shit, I do the opposite to solve this problem.

99% isopropyl alcohol on a towel and rub the inside of the wheel and the bearings so they grip in there good

I use a DIY bearing press, it's just two washers ever so slightly smaller in diameter than the bearings, and an ace axle rethreader. Presses on the outer race so it seats well and doesn't fuck up the bearing, if you have a stubborn wheel that's hard to press. Most of the time I can just push them in on the truck with my hands

Kinda like using hairspray to slide on bmx grips.. idk, the alcohol dries it out and cleans off any kinda sheen or shit from the factory

I've rubbed down the bushings and the yoke on Indy hangers with alcohol-soaked rags before because the bushings felt hella greasy out the box

That’s a good tip for slippery bushings

What’s everyone’s opinions on the 97 formula fours?

I have the delfno turbo ones and supposedly they were the first to do the reworked 97 formula and they feel like a better classic 99 but yeah as someone said sluggish compared to x97

[Mbrimson88]

What’s everyone’s opinions on the 97 formula fours?

I have the delfno turbo ones and supposedly they were the first to do the reworked 97 formula and they feel like a better classic 99 but yeah as someone said sluggish compared to x97

The older 97s were definitely slower feeling, but they were good for surfaces that were too slippery for normal 99s for me and I put up with it because it was usually brand new skatepark surfaces that I was using them on which were very smooth anyway.

The new reformulated 97s definitely seem faster and easier to get anywhere, slide well on carpark surfaces, roll over every other surface pretty well, but I haven't tried them everywhere yet and still have a set with bearings in on a shoelace to put on and see if I need them for anything.

Maybe people who skate more carpark or crust type surfaces will get the most out of them, over people who want to have a softer wheel for everything, but I might get to try them out again this week on a bit more of everything, just to see.


* I also got the Pedro 55 mm Radial Turbo wheels when they first came out here and skated them on a few things, but they just felt a little too big for what I wanted, so I have been on some Conical Full 54 mm wheels more recently.  Now all the wheels are out with the reformulated 97 option, I will have more interest, but I have more of the Radial Full and Conical Full options, not the Classics yet as I haven't seen any of those in the reformulated 97 duro here.


** I did just get some of the Lil Softies 95 duro 54 mm Classic shape, so I have those on a board and have been trying them on various places too, just to compare.  They feel like a good middle ground, but I am still yet to skate them on a few more places to really figure out what they will be best on, or if they are just another in between wheel that gets lost in all the softer formulas coming out these days.

[rawbertson.]

i didnt find the old formula slow at all, but i am on 60mm and never put them on smooth terrain too much, so thats probably why i didnt notice it
new formula is better overall id say. more predictable slide and you still get tons of grip on a quarter pipe. i just miss the sound of the old formula. the new formula at least has a bit of sound still, but has a high pitched squeek when it sticks instead of a chihuahua bark.

[The Huffer]

I found the old 97s sluggish compared to the new ones but they did grip better on slippery ground which is what I wanted. Not sure what I will use now on slippery surfaces... maybe wide contact patch 93s...

[dstrytruitt]

The 97/55 Pedro are slower but sticky so I use them for the local indoor park.

[The Huffer]

The 97/55 Pedro are slower but sticky so I use them for the local indoor park.

I had those. Funnily enough I found them faster and more slidey than the old 97s at my indoor. Great wheels in the streets.

[Mbrimson88]

.

Funny having the time and the setups to have a roll in a local carpark on a bit of a slope, just going up and down between parking blocks for a "lunch break session" but this is what I realised yesterday.

The usual 99s I needed a couple of pushes to get to where I wanted to be with enough speed to hit the parking block.

The reformulated 97s, I needed a bit more power in the same number of pushes, or sort of half extra push to get to the same spot.  Carving in and out of some lines, I could almost feel the wheels sliding a bit more than the 99s, but they held on way better than the 93s in the same situation.

The 95 duro Lil Softies I needed a whole extra push or more to get to where I needed to be and took a bit to adjust to the different feeling of the wheels.  On the carve round to one I had to recalibrate my turn as the wheels would shed a bit more speed over the surface than the harder options.

The 93 duro "Soft Sliders" were so bouncy and easy going over the road / carpark surface, but when carving they would slide out a lot more easily than any of the others, but I felt like I also needed an extra push or two at times when I might not have with the other wheels, but sometimes I had the same push as per the 99s and I was fine.


If anything the older 99s between 50 and 52 mm now, were smaller than the other three sets, which are pretty much brand new at 54 mm in size, but the softer wheels absorbed vibration so much better and could still slide when I wanted to easily enough.

All three softer options had their own pros and cons, however so slight the differences actually were, with any of the three softer options being good enough for what I was doing there, but I think if I had to choose one wheel option only, I will skate the 99s over the other options for this type of session.

For once I didn't take any pics of the wheels, but I think everyone pretty much knows what they look like these days, so that is not such a big deal.

[rikki]

What’s everyone’s opinions on the 97 formula fours?

I have the delfno turbo ones and supposedly they were the first to do the reworked 97 formula and they feel like a better classic 99 but yeah as someone said sluggish compared to x97

The new F4 97s are among the best wheels on the market. Definitely an upgrade to the old 97 and definitely faster and harder feeling than the X97.

On smoother surfaces, sluggish is a word I'd use for X97, not the new F4 97.

On crusty terrain the X97 can be better as it definitely feels softer and absorbs more vibration.

For being both specified as 97s, the two wheels feel significantly different.

[Chalupa]

Spitfire x Humidity releases tomorrow.

[oh]

Spitfire x Humidity releases tomorrow.

bruh this shit looks so dope. need that red/green swirl color combo. gotta message them about international shipping to see what's up

[moykky]

Expand Quote

What’s everyone’s opinions on the 97 formula fours?

I have the delfno turbo ones and supposedly they were the first to do the reworked 97 formula and they feel like a better classic 99 but yeah as someone said sluggish compared to x97

[close]

The new F4 97s are among the best wheels on the market. Definitely an upgrade to the old 97 and definitely faster and harder feeling than the X97.

On smoother surfaces, sluggish is a word I'd use for X97, not the new F4 97.

On crusty terrain the X97 can be better as it definitely feels softer and absorbs more vibration.

For being both specified as 97s, the two wheels feel significantly different.

Yeah, 93 F4 "soft sliders" are comparable to X97
new 97 F4 are comparable to X99

I guess it's like pants sizes, some brand 32 are too small and other brand 32 are too big... I saw this video of a guy actually measuring the hardness of these wheels, and 93 "soft sliders" were 98-99.
X97 were 98 in the shore hardness scale.