Wheels Thread

[rocklobster]

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The "bought em to test em" explanation feels kinda stupid. You gave them money, they gonna keep doing that. Everybody always ends up using that excuse, but what if the wheels/trucks/bearings were any good? Or even decent? You all would totally buy them again and be taking more money away from skateboarding.

My money used to be tight, but i would rather skate 30mm flatspotted Spitfires than order some cheap trash from ebay.

[close]

Some skate shops, yes SKATE SHOPS in Asia and other places are actually buying in those fakes too, which is a really sad day for skateboarding in general.

There are a lot of people, be it kids, or parents buying for their kids, or who knows what, but a lot of people shopping from their home and ebay is a very easy source of product, so they have no idea it is fake.

Even looking at ebay feedback for the few sellers I have marked as "every product they sell is 100% fake" they are still getting mainly if not all positive reviews, with just one or two getting negative feedback when someone really knows what is going on.  One guy I messaged asking about the product even tried to tell me it was legit, claiming where it was from and I was getting a bargain, as the wheels were slightly cheaper than the regular RRP, but when I pointed out with pics the clear differences and exactly what his wheels were, I got no more replies back and the guy is still selling more of his fake stuff on ebay.com.au and getting away with it.

Power to you if that's how you want to spend your money. I bought them to test the out and do a post on my social media telling others how to spot the fakes from legit wheels. I rode them afterwards so I can give an honest assessment on them; they are incredibly sticky and have a weird bounce despite being 101a rated.

I'd rather part with my $25 and be the guinea pig for these shit wheels and get the word out, than someone spending $40 buying these at full price while being told a bold face lie by the seller.

[rumstove]

I found that around 90 duro was the perfect mix of compound for wheels for all terrain, as you can still just cess slide a bit if you need to but everything else is very smooth sailing over almost anything on the ground without feeling the sucking of speed out of smaller lower duro wheels, especially when you turn or carve sharply.

Things a few points on either side of that still work fine too, eg Keyframes in 87a, or my old Spitfire soft-d 92 wheels, but others like Ricta clouds (chrome is just the new cool look like rims on your car), Bones / Powell / Mini logo 90 duro, and a few others in regular skateboard wheel shapes, without getting in to the 60+ size and them turning into monster truck sized wheels.

It all depends on what you have access to, as a lot of these have been sold out and out of production for a bit, but most are still out there if you look hard enough, or want to have them shipped.

Thanks for reply! Locally there's nothing available but I have been able to find all the different wheels I'm looking at in stock online. Yeah 55-56mm and 78-90a seems to be the window I'm looking at. Went into this thinking 78a or bust, but with comments in this thread now 86/87a doesn't sound too bad at all.

[rumstove]

Yeah my bad, 87a keyframes are great for that. Rough parking lots and curbs. They can still slide a little bit, at least revert, and won’t get thrown like i have on 80hd chargers.
Loving my NFG 95a at the moment though. Perfect mixture to do it all.

Awesome. Thanks. I hadn't given much thought to the keyframes until they were mentioned here a few times. They're looking pretty good.

[CBP]

Been skating 60mm spitfire f4 classics for the last couple months, skating street mostly.

If you ride 56mm the adjustment period is pretty minimal. They look insane on smaller boards and roll over crust like a conical full.

Highly recommended.

[JugeL]

Been skating 60mm spitfire f4 classics for the last couple months, skating street mostly.

If you ride 56mm the adjustment period is pretty minimal. They look insane on smaller boards and roll over crust like a conical full.

Highly recommended.

I will admit that i've had trouble with some fliptricks since changing to 60mm from 56mm. I think it has more to do with using risers than wheels itself, what trucks are you riding and do you run any risers?

[Sila]

Expand Quote

The "bought em to test em" explanation feels kinda stupid. You gave them money, they gonna keep doing that. Everybody always ends up using that excuse, but what if the wheels/trucks/bearings were any good? Or even decent? You all would totally buy them again and be taking more money away from skateboarding.

My money used to be tight, but i would rather skate 30mm flatspotted Spitfires than order some cheap trash from ebay.

[close]

Some skate shops, yes SKATE SHOPS in Asia and other places are actually buying in those fakes too, which is a really sad day for skateboarding in general.

There are a lot of people, be it kids, or parents buying for their kids, or who knows what, but a lot of people shopping from their home and ebay is a very easy source of product, so they have no idea it is fake.

Even looking at ebay feedback for the few sellers I have marked as "every product they sell is 100% fake" they are still getting mainly if not all positive reviews, with just one or two getting negative feedback when someone really knows what is going on.  One guy I messaged asking about the product even tried to tell me it was legit, claiming where it was from and I was getting a bargain, as the wheels were slightly cheaper than the regular RRP, but when I pointed out with pics the clear differences and exactly what his wheels were, I got no more replies back and the guy is still selling more of his fake stuff on ebay.com.au and getting away with it.

Can you pass on a link? I've reported sellers with fake Bones bearings before. I doubt much happens but I try get the ball rolling.

[Sativa Lung]

Ok so regarding the ebay/mercari fake bones... There's a few things ive noticed that are a dead giveaway.

First off if they claim they're "open box" or "used for display" then thats a huge red flag, especially if they have dozens of them in every flavor. Has anyone ever seen a bones display with open boxes in a legit skate shop? Me neither. Whats more likely is the factory wasn't able to replicate the skate rated sticker so they just unwrapped them.

Second one is a lot of the time they'll also be selling  "sovereign speed" or "Supreme" bearings, i assume because they come from the same factory. I have a feeling that a lot of these sellers are part of a network that deals almost exclusively in counterfeit chinese goods. Im sure they're paying pennies on the dollar for them so I'd imagine its very lucrative. I've noticed that when they start to get too many negative reviews or feedback they delete the account and a new one pops up with obviously faked feedback.

So basically, if you're trying to get a deal on bones then your best bet is to wait for a good hardgoods discount code from a reputable shop like SPOT or socal.

[Diocletian]

Seems like the open box ones are just the ones people returned because they realized they're fake lol.

[TwisT]

anyone ride Darkroom wheels yet?

I usually don't ride 99a, but they don't make an 83b and I want to try some new shit.

[Fooj]

Whenever I see the display from Uprise I can't help but think I want to try some of those wheels.  They do such a good job, with detailed pics and showing all angles which is a lot more than most places do.

This time Dialtone wheels, which look like a few others that have been on here and there and I know absolutely nothing about them, but it is cool to see.

I also notice this, so much better pics than other sights. Even though I live in LA I try to buy from them if my local is out.  Those granite pieces and clean background make all the difference

[Mbrimson88]

Ok so regarding the ebay/mercari fake bones... There's a few things ive noticed that are a dead giveaway.

First off if they claim they're "open box" or "used for display" then thats a huge red flag, especially if they have dozens of them in every flavor. Has anyone ever seen a bones display with open boxes in a legit skate shop? Me neither. Whats more likely is the factory wasn't able to replicate the skate rated sticker so they just unwrapped them.

Second one is a lot of the time they'll also be selling  "sovereign speed" or "Supreme" bearings, i assume because they come from the same factory. I have a feeling that a lot of these sellers are part of a network that deals almost exclusively in counterfeit chinese goods. Im sure they're paying pennies on the dollar for them so I'd imagine its very lucrative. I've noticed that when they start to get too many negative reviews or feedback they delete the account and a new one pops up with obviously faked feedback.

So basically, if you're trying to get a deal on bones then your best bet is to wait for a good hardgoods discount code from a reputable shop like SPOT or socal.

Seems like the open box ones are just the ones people returned because they realized they're fake lol.

Even the most precise of "Skate rated" stickers seems to have been copied now, with a set I saw.


On another thought, I noticed TGM is a shop I have seen with a few sets of Bones Swiss bearings opened or lightly used, which I thought was a bit weird, but I guess anything like that has been easily moved in house to friends or even put on my own boards.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLEM-BONES-SWISS-Skateboard-Bearings-8-Pack-8mm-Precision-Competition-Size-608-/373117277057?hash=item56df85d381

[Mbrimson88]

Can you pass on a link? I've reported sellers with fake Bones bearings before. I doubt much happens but I try get the ball rolling.

I always report them when I see them, as that is the skate shop guy in me, but so far it seems that none have been taken down.

What I have done is passed the seller id or listing info on to relevant persons in the industry, as they might have more luck.

[CBP]

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Been skating 60mm spitfire f4 classics for the last couple months, skating street mostly.

If you ride 56mm the adjustment period is pretty minimal. They look insane on smaller boards and roll over crust like a conical full.

Highly recommended.

[close]

I will admit that i've had trouble with some fliptricks since changing to 60mm from 56mm. I think it has more to do with using risers than wheels itself, what trucks are you riding and do you run any risers?

Skating Ace 55s with Indy risers on 8.5

[johnes]

Just to out this out there in case anyone thinks about buying these : my friend got two harsh flat spots the third day he skated these wheels
OJ hard lines
https://www.nhsfunfactory.com/54mm-from-concentrate-hardline-101a-oj-skateboard-wheels-8196935?utm_source=ojwheels.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=product-shop&utm_content=54mm%20From%20Concentrate%20Hardline%20101a%20

[Mbrimson88]

Any wheels can and will flatspot, even in the first minute of use if you slip out or slide to a stop, yes even Bones or Spitfire Formula Four (seen it and done it), but I know some wheels will flatspot much more easily than others and it would seem OJs are pretty high on that list.

I do like the joy of wearing out flatspots in Formula Four wheels doing powerslides down my long mellow road though, cause it is rather satisfying to have wheels that have been deemed no longer useful and wear them down a mm or two and have them good for smooth surfaces again.

[Frank]

i totally agree. i managed to flatspot a few f4s by now but the cool thing is exactly what you describe, you can powerslide them flatspots out nicely usually. with a lot of wheels it's like there's no turning back once you put a flatty in them.

[Frank and Fred]

Also agree. Pre-F4 I was on SPF/ STF and if you flat spotted an SPF good luck getting that shit out. Any F4 I flat spotted was pretty small and was gone after a few hill bombs.

[Rem377]

Just to out this out there in case anyone thinks about buying these : my friend got two harsh flat spots the third day he skated these wheels
OJ hard lines
https://www.nhsfunfactory.com/54mm-from-concentrate-hardline-101a-oj-skateboard-wheels-8196935?utm_source=ojwheels.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=product-shop&utm_content=54mm%20From%20Concentrate%20Hardline%20101a%20

I picked these up a few months ago and got a flat spot within two weeks. I was hoping it would wear off after a while, but it's so annoying that I'm throwing in the towel on them. Can't decide whether to continue searching for a Spitfire alternative (debating some Bones STF V5 99s or NFG Vee Cut) or go back to F4.

[jay_nev]

Expand Quote

Just to out this out there in case anyone thinks about buying these : my friend got two harsh flat spots the third day he skated these wheels
OJ hard lines
https://www.nhsfunfactory.com/54mm-from-concentrate-hardline-101a-oj-skateboard-wheels-8196935?utm_source=ojwheels.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=product-shop&utm_content=54mm%20From%20Concentrate%20Hardline%20101a%20

[close]

I picked these up a few months ago and got a flat spot within two weeks. I was hoping it would wear off after a while, but it's so annoying that I'm throwing in the towel on them. Can't decide whether to continue searching for a Spitfire alternative (debating some Bones STF V5 99s or NFG Vee Cut) or go back to F4.

oooo not a good look for those OJ’s. I would say loophole/NFG - I have the 95a vee cut and like em a lot for crust

[JugeL]

Yeah OJs are no go for me also. Flatspotted those wide ones in a few weeks and didn't never like how they slided compared to f4.

[Eric Dolphy]

Even though I am a Spitfire guy (obviously), I do enjoy trying out other wheels from time to time. I found some Bones SPF 55's for $10 at a sale, so I figured I would try them out. Surprisingly, I had a set of Zero wheels a few years ago, and they were actually somewhat good. Most of the wheels made by board companies are pretty bad, but I liked the Zero wheels more than Bones STF's.

mods, please change username to "Spitfire4sometimes"

[RichardBarkley]

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Even though I am a Spitfire guy (obviously), I do enjoy trying out other wheels from time to time. I found some Bones SPF 55's for $10 at a sale, so I figured I would try them out. Surprisingly, I had a set of Zero wheels a few years ago, and they were actually somewhat good. Most of the wheels made by board companies are pretty bad, but I liked the Zero wheels more than Bones STF's.

[close]

mods, please change username to "Spitfire4sometimes"

Lol

[FrozenIndustries]

I’m lucky enough to buy from some of the best shops in the country, so I don’t need to worry about fakery.

On the topic of wheels: I skate ‘better’ on 50-52, live in a crusty zone. At what point in escalating wheel size do more spots become available to people? I was skating at my personal best, quite awhile ago, and had this experience where I met up with some folks that were outside my ability level. They were bombing hills, skitching back up, lots of grinds on Unwaxed shit, you know, ruling. I was waaaay back on a 775, lo’s etc. couldn’t handle the terrain outside of the skatepark. I’ve chased bigger setups since, hasn’t really helped.

TL;dr

How big your wheels need to be to skate most places?

I skated very shitty spots on 51mm F4s for a while. The tablets do better, or if you can do 52s the conical fulls perform really well. Width and euro matter more to me, though when you go smaller they wear out much sooner.

I was skating some 56s for a couple of months. They were cool and rolling over stuff was great, but I put on some 52s the other day and they skate better and I haven't eaten it yet.

Also, to save me a PM, I am sending your trucks tomorrow.

[Ok]

Expand Quote

I’m lucky enough to buy from some of the best shops in the country, so I don’t need to worry about fakery.

On the topic of wheels: I skate ‘better’ on 50-52, live in a crusty zone. At what point in escalating wheel size do more spots become available to people? I was skating at my personal best, quite awhile ago, and had this experience where I met up with some folks that were outside my ability level. They were bombing hills, skitching back up, lots of grinds on Unwaxed shit, you know, ruling. I was waaaay back on a 775, lo’s etc. couldn’t handle the terrain outside of the skatepark. I’ve chased bigger setups since, hasn’t really helped.

TL;dr

How big your wheels need to be to skate most places?

[close]

I skated very shitty spots on 51mm F4s for a while. The tablets do better, or if you can do 52s the conical fulls perform really well. Width and euro matter more to me, though when you go smaller they wear out much sooner.

I was skating some 56s for a couple of months. They were cool and rolling over stuff was great, but I put on some 52s the other day and they skate better and I haven't eaten it yet.

Also, to save me a PM, I am sending your trucks tomorrow.

Something about the classic shape feels ‘right’. My dumb comment about conical fulls is that they seem to get bigger. I need to go speed check some hills for awhile, also because fun. I always trip out on watching Puleo footage where he’s crushing cutty looking spots on 50s with lo’s.
Notice any pop reduction with the smaller wheels and ace?

[FrozenIndustries]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

I’m lucky enough to buy from some of the best shops in the country, so I don’t need to worry about fakery.

On the topic of wheels: I skate ‘better’ on 50-52, live in a crusty zone. At what point in escalating wheel size do more spots become available to people? I was skating at my personal best, quite awhile ago, and had this experience where I met up with some folks that were outside my ability level. They were bombing hills, skitching back up, lots of grinds on Unwaxed shit, you know, ruling. I was waaaay back on a 775, lo’s etc. couldn’t handle the terrain outside of the skatepark. I’ve chased bigger setups since, hasn’t really helped.

TL;dr

How big your wheels need to be to skate most places?

[close]

I skated very shitty spots on 51mm F4s for a while. The tablets do better, or if you can do 52s the conical fulls perform really well. Width and euro matter more to me, though when you go smaller they wear out much sooner.

I was skating some 56s for a couple of months. They were cool and rolling over stuff was great, but I put on some 52s the other day and they skate better and I haven't eaten it yet.

Also, to save me a PM, I am sending your trucks tomorrow.

[close]

Something about the classic shape feels ‘right’. My dumb comment about conical fulls is that they seem to get bigger. I need to go speed check some hills for awhile, also because fun. I always trip out on watching Puleo footage where he’s crushing cutty looking spots on 50s with lo’s.
Notice any pop reduction with the smaller wheels and ace?

Honestly my pop got better because it was on a steep-ass Hockey. Less ghostly.

[johnes]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Just to out this out there in case anyone thinks about buying these : my friend got two harsh flat spots the third day he skated these wheels
OJ hard lines
https://www.nhsfunfactory.com/54mm-from-concentrate-hardline-101a-oj-skateboard-wheels-8196935?utm_source=ojwheels.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=product-shop&utm_content=54mm%20From%20Concentrate%20Hardline%20101a%20

[close]

I picked these up a few months ago and got a flat spot within two weeks. I was hoping it would wear off after a while, but it's so annoying that I'm throwing in the towel on them. Can't decide whether to continue searching for a Spitfire alternative (debating some Bones STF V5 99s or NFG Vee Cut) or go back to F4.

[close]

oooo not a good look for those OJ’s. I would say loophole/NFG - I have the 95a vee cut and like em a lot for crust

I love my bones stf 99s. I do a lot of back 180s where I slide the wheels and I haven’t got any flat spots in the last month. My friend was learning back 180s when he flat spotted his OJs and it was after like his 5th attempt trying to do one over a hip.

[Murge]

I’m on 99a F4 classics. Really enjoying the 99a coming off 101 radials. Been skating more and more street and crust. My local gas 95a OJ nomads and 99a F4 tablets. They both are the tablet shape I want to try. F4 I trust. But 95a is tempting. Has anyone had both ? Thoughts?

[dr.prestige]

I've been skating NFGs pretty much exclusively for a year or two now. The urethane is just as good as your spitfires or bones, if not better, without all their gimmicks. From what I've heard, the dude running the company did chemistry for a while at spitfire, and from the way the wheels feel I can tell he definitely knows his shit. It's also rad to know that I'm skating wheels made by bay area skate rats like me. Recently I've been skating the smoothie wheels they've been making, it's kinda neat skating a bigger bearing than typical skate bearings. Maybe it's a placebo but I feel like the larger diameter of the bearings add a bit more momentum; I'm riding 54s but they handle transition like a 56 or 58 would without the larger wheel size. It's worth checking them out if you feel like switching things up for a change, I think this is the first time skate bearing technology has changed since they stopped using loose ball bearings in the '70s.

[dipped]

Has anyone tried the satori conical shape? I would like to know how they compare to the f4 99a conicals. I used to really enjoy skating satoris back in the day so i‘m really tempted to get some new ones.

[Chevy Beretta]

Has anyone tried the satori conical shape? I would like to know how they compare to the f4 99a conicals. I used to really enjoy skating satoris back in the day so i‘m really tempted to get some new ones.

They don't compare to f4s. They're just regular ass creative, I think, wheels. I know they're poured in the US, so I'm just assuming creative. I think they're fine though, but I'm not super picky about wheels.