Wheels Thread

[Mbrimson88]

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Does anyone know of any wheels less grippy than F4’s? I have Stfs that are comparable but never come across any wheels that slide better than either of those

[close]

Not without the added unwanted bonus of possible flatspots, as most other super hard wheels I have seen or riden end up very easily flatspotted, including OJs insaneathane (not elite) and a few local Australian companies who use wheels from other big manufacturers.  Anything that states it uses the B scale rather than the A scale is usually going to be much harder.

[close]

The funny thing is that I’ve tried a fair amount of harder wheels and while I’ve never had flat spots, none have come anywhere close to sliding like F4’s or Stfs (the harder ones, not 99a). Oj elites 101a, Loophole/NFG, Minilogo 101, they all feel pretty grippy in comparison. I’m guessing it’s more a formula thing

I guess I don’t really have any reason to look around, as  F4’s get the job done for me, but I’m curious to see how slippery a wheel I can skate without getting wrecked. Maybe I’ll try those insane a thanes if I can find them cheap

I have a long mellow hill bitumen road here, so can set up whatever and do the slide test on lots of used wheels, which is pretty interesting.  Of all the Formula Four 99s I usually have, all are good to me, but the 101s have been a bit funny, some feel grippier than the 99s, but one set I just tried the other day was so super slippery compared to the rest.  I almost ended up on my ass the first slide before I controlled it and was sure they were sliding so much further than the rest, not just on that day alone.

It is also the best way of wearing down wheels that have come to me from others with flatspots in them too, and way more fun.

I think the majority of flatspots in wheels from others have been from slipping out on things, and usually only one or two wheels that have taken the heel impact, so fairly easy to get out too.

[Sundaynuggets]

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Does anyone know of any wheels less grippy than F4’s? I have Stfs that are comparable but never come across any wheels that slide better than either of those

[close]

Not without the added unwanted bonus of possible flatspots, as most other super hard wheels I have seen or riden end up very easily flatspotted, including OJs insaneathane (not elite) and a few local Australian companies who use wheels from other big manufacturers.  Anything that states it uses the B scale rather than the A scale is usually going to be much harder.

[close]

The funny thing is that I’ve tried a fair amount of harder wheels and while I’ve never had flat spots, none have come anywhere close to sliding like F4’s or Stfs (the harder ones, not 99a). Oj elites 101a, Loophole/NFG, Minilogo 101, they all feel pretty grippy in comparison. I’m guessing it’s more a formula thing

I guess I don’t really have any reason to look around, as  F4’s get the job done for me, but I’m curious to see how slippery a wheel I can skate without getting wrecked. Maybe I’ll try those insane a thanes if I can find them cheap

[close]

I have a long mellow hill bitumen road here, so can set up whatever and do the slide test on lots of used wheels, which is pretty interesting.  Of all the Formula Four 99s I usually have, all are good to me, but the 101s have been a bit funny, some feel grippier than the 99s, but one set I just tried the other day was so super slippery compared to the rest.  I almost ended up on my ass the first slide before I controlled it and was sure they were sliding so much further than the rest, not just on that day alone.

It is also the best way of wearing down wheels that have come to me from others with flatspots in them too, and way more fun.

I think the majority of flatspots in wheels from others have been from slipping out on things, and usually only one or two wheels that have taken the heel impact, so fairly easy to get out too.

That’s funny about the F4’s, I noticed the same thing. My 101’s are less consistent wheel to wheel as far as sliding goes. Some grip, some slide whereas the 99’s seem to pretty evenly give me the same grip to slide from wheel to wheel.

[off]

are 55mm wheels going to make the pop feel much steeper than 49mm? or is it unnoticeable? really dont want to run risers and i think forged plates (venture) is my only other option

[Xen]

are 55mm wheels going to make the pop feel much steeper than 49mm? or is it unnoticeable? really dont want to run risers and i think forged plates (venture) is my only other option

That's a pretty big jump in wheels size, my dude. You'll notice for sure.

For 55mm wheels, depending on how tight you ride, you could get away with 53mm truck height.

[Mbrimson88]

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are 55mm wheels going to make the pop feel much steeper than 49mm? or is it unnoticeable? really dont want to run risers and i think forged plates (venture) is my only other option

[close]

That's a pretty big jump in wheels size, my dude. You'll notice for sure.

For 55mm wheels, depending on how tight you ride, you could get away with 53mm truck height.

indy 78a barrels for my 6.1s
cant run big trucks rattly loose without wheelbite suicide and this seems to be the next best thing

So looking at 49 to 55mm wheels, they would be 3mm closer to the deck and 3mm higher off the ground.  Put something that is 3mm under the back wheels and compare how much higher the nose will sit.  That is going to be the difference.

Also if you ride very loose trucks, they may or may not give you a fair bit of grief, depending on how strong your ankles are or how heavy you lean or land.

As XEN said, it is a bit of a jump and might take some time to get used to.  The up side is bigger wheels go faster and last longer.

[off]

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are 55mm wheels going to make the pop feel much steeper than 49mm? or is it unnoticeable? really dont want to run risers and i think forged plates (venture) is my only other option

[close]

That's a pretty big jump in wheels size, my dude. You'll notice for sure.

For 55mm wheels, depending on how tight you ride, you could get away with 53mm truck height.

[close]

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indy 78a barrels for my 6.1s
cant run big trucks rattly loose without wheelbite suicide and this seems to be the next best thing

[close]

So looking at 49 to 55mm wheels, they would be 3mm closer to the deck and 3mm higher off the ground.  Put something that is 3mm under the back wheels and compare how much higher the nose will sit.  That is going to be the difference.

Also if you ride very loose trucks, they may or may not give you a fair bit of grief, depending on how strong your ankles are or how heavy you lean or land.

As XEN said, it is a bit of a jump and might take some time to get used to.  The up side is bigger wheels go faster and last longer.

thanks for the answers
put some 1/8 risers under the wheels and the difference with the nose up isnt worth new wheels.

just gonna see if i can snag some forged plates and see if the pop feels heavier/steeper with a "shorter" tail

[jay_nev]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJZ3B0QlPBY/?igshid=hfvpu09aqpzs

[Diocletian]

Usually don't care for colored wheels but Dogtown has been killing it with their colors lately.

[Kaydubbb]

Getting back into skating after a few years off and was hoping you guys could help me with choosing some wheels. I'm looking for something fast but also reasonably grippy, I pretty much only skate my local park where the concrete is fairly chewed up so Ive always found a wider contact patch to be good. I've ridden a few different wheels and had mixed feelings about them. 99a formula fours were grippy enough for me but they just felt mushy and dull. STF 103a were fast as hell but definitely felt way too slippery. Right now I have on my board some OJ insanathane 101a I think? These are probably my favourite wheel yet, they are worn down and I'm ready for new ones but can't find these anymore. Which has me leaning towards the OJ elites. Any recommendations please?

[Mbrimson88]

Getting back into skating after a few years off and was hoping you guys could help me with choosing some wheels. I'm looking for something fast but also reasonably grippy, I pretty much only skate my local park where the concrete is fairly chewed up so Ive always found a wider contact patch to be good. I've ridden a few different wheels and had mixed feelings about them. 99a formula fours were grippy enough for me but they just felt mushy and dull. STF 103a were fast as hell but definitely felt way too slippery. Right now I have on my board some OJ insanathane 101a I think? These are probably my favourite wheel yet, they are worn down and I'm ready for new ones but can't find these anymore. Which has me leaning towards the OJ elites. Any recommendations please?

https://ojwheels.com/shapes

OJ Elites are a good wheel if you are not so keen on Spitfires and come in wider options and both 99 and 101.

Also if you found the Bones STF too slippery, the Bones SPF (Skate park formula which are just as hard but not slippery) might be a bit more to your liking and although they come in round wider shapes with a medium contact patch, they are one of the longest lasting and least likely to flatspot, especially compared to OJs.

What size are you looking at?

[Diocletian]

Bones STF 99a will be perfect for you. Good grip and still a hard enough to keep you rolling fast.

[j....soy.....]

97 spits is the correct answer no?  SPF are stickier but when you describe STF's as way too slippery...the difference isn't that much.  The hardest key frames are an option too.....

[sketchyrider]

Bones STF 99a will be perfect for you. Good grip and still a hard enough to keep you rolling fast.

word, i got these for a curb board and they are honestly harder than i expected. speaking of which, has anyone used 92a wheels for slappys? i think i want some for a crusty spot but worried they are too grippy.

[Frank and Fred]

The OJ 95a Nomads are worth considering also. I'm two months into a set of 54mms and they are holding up really well.

[Buttfart Rapedick]

https://www.skatewarehouse.com/Mosaic_CS_Clover_83b_Wheels/descpage-MSCLVWH.html

These caught my eye today... anyone know anything about them? 48mm 83b and they look pretty fat, so I'm wondering if they're basically a harder version of the boardy cakes benchwarmers. Next time I need something to put me over the free shipping threshold or if they turn up in one of my local shops I might try them. I think mosaic is a euro company so I wonder if they use creative like most people or if theres some EU equivalent.

Since I got back to Pittsburgh its been a steady diet of snow and salt, so I've been skating 56mm 97a creature/OJ and the 54mm square NFG 95a formula a lot. Really loving the NFG... its not as soft as the 95a minilogo formula and it actually feels about the same or maybe even slightly harder than the 97a OJ and Pig formulas I skated last winter. It slides really well but still soaks up cracks and trucks over those little compacted salt nuggets that have taken me down more times than I can count. I was pretty skeptical about them and since I was in Texas for the entire time they were on sale I only got the squares, really wish I'd grabbed the V cuts now. The squares are great but I feel like the V cut would be pretty close to my ideal winter wheel. Hopefully they do another run of 95a again soon.

[jay_nev]

Since I got back to Pittsburgh its been a steady diet of snow and salt, so I've been skating 56mm 97a creature/OJ and the 54mm square NFG 95a formula a lot. Really loving the NFG... its not as soft as the 95a minilogo formula and it actually feels about the same or maybe even slightly harder than the 97a OJ and Pig formulas I skated last winter. It slides really well but still soaks up cracks and trucks over those little compacted salt nuggets that have taken me down more times than I can count. I was pretty skeptical about them and since I was in Texas for the entire time they were on sale I only got the squares, really wish I'd grabbed the V cuts now. The squares are great but I feel like the V cut would be pretty close to my ideal winter wheel. Hopefully they do another run of 95a again soon.

I have the V cut 54mm 95a and I agree, pretty perfect winter wheel. Maybe should’ve gotten 56mm since I usually use risers with my 9” trucks anyway. But I agree with you, skated a court/bank rocky spot with tons of pebbles and they ate em up really well. Still need more time, only got 1 or 2 quick sessions in them with all the snow and cold.

[Kaydubbb]

Bones STF 99a will be perfect for you. Good grip and still a hard enough to keep you rolling fast.

I've purchased some 53mm 99a v5 stf's. Can't wait for them to arrive and put then on. New board while I was at it too, got a 9.0 anithero eagle. Gunna slap it all on my Indy 169. Thanks for the advice, I was looking at some of these before you mentioned them and you sold me on it.

[Mbrimson88]

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.


https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6wV-PJUch/

[rocklobster]

Almost picked up a set of SML James Craig (Clifford the Big Red Dog) wheels, I love his skating but I don't see myself riding anything besides Spitfires and to a lesser degree Bones.

[Gay Imp Sausage Metal]

I rode a set of SMLs on my last setup, the whole gear shortage due to COVID forced me out of my F4 comfort zone but I’m kinda happy it did. For the meantime loophole get all my hard earned, but SML do make a solid wheel!

[Mbrimson88]

These and others posted recently all seem like good / legit brands with decent urethane, but I am also seeing a lot of cheap wheels from local "nobody knows who" or DIY brands in the same way that the DIY deck brand was getting a bit too big a while back, with the cheap China imports of questionable quality flooding the backyard market.

I know there are some good quality urethane manufacturers out there besides those who are only made in house by brands like Spitfire, Bones, NFG Mfg, etc but I wonder too if the shortage has not really increased the market of crap quality wheels that I have seen coming out more lately too.

Even some of the fake Spitfire wheels coming out actually perform fairly well, from what some people have been saying too, so who knows when things might even out between the big wheel companies and the up and comers.

[Turtle Boy]

https://www.skatewarehouse.com/Mosaic_CS_Clover_83b_Wheels/descpage-MSCLVWH.html

These caught my eye today... anyone know anything about them? 48mm 83b and they look pretty fat, so I'm wondering if they're basically a harder version of the boardy cakes benchwarmers. Next time I need something to put me over the free shipping threshold or if they turn up in one of my local shops I might try them. I think mosaic is a euro company so I wonder if they use creative like most people or if theres some EU equivalent.

Since I got back to Pittsburgh its been a steady diet of snow and salt, so I've been skating 56mm 97a creature/OJ and the 54mm square NFG 95a formula a lot. Really loving the NFG... its not as soft as the 95a minilogo formula and it actually feels about the same or maybe even slightly harder than the 97a OJ and Pig formulas I skated last winter. It slides really well but still soaks up cracks and trucks over those little compacted salt nuggets that have taken me down more times than I can count. I was pretty skeptical about them and since I was in Texas for the entire time they were on sale I only got the squares, really wish I'd grabbed the V cuts now. The squares are great but I feel like the V cut would be pretty close to my ideal winter wheel. Hopefully they do another run of 95a again soon.

I tried some mosaic wheels that I got for free 3 years ago, and they were awful, super plastic-ish, super hard AND super grippy, could barely powerslide. I don't know if they improved their formula, but back then they were really bad, nonetheless the shape was really cool. Back then they were made in China so I don't know about now, but I doubt it's creative.

That being said I swear by Mosaic bearings, best value for money you can have in Europe.

[skatekm0]

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.


https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6wV-PJUch/

Riding a set of 53 99a Dialtones right now. I really like them so far.

[cliff]

Almost picked up a set of SML James Craig (Clifford the Big Red Dog) wheels, I love his skating but I don't see myself riding anything besides Spitfires and to a lesser degree Bones.

Those are our Aend wheels. Very close to a bones STF. They have high rebound and don't flat spot. It's my fav formula we make. I keep telling Aaron and Austyn to kick me off the team since I pretty much only skate curbs these days...they still won't..damn them!! Haha

[Fooj]

Just a heads up all,

I bought some bootleg 52mm F4s on ebay last week, luckily the seller was cool enough to give me a refund once I pointed out the inconsistencies. Has anyone else seen fakes like these out in the market?

1. the wheels had treds on the contact patch
2. The width of the wheel and contact patch was more narrow than a normal classic 52mm
3. This ransom graphic only came on radials, not classics
4. the graphics are messy compared to authentic, coloring outside the lines

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spitfire-Formula-Four-52mm-99-Duro-skateboard-wheels/393081666054?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3Db6f36c33ac4747ebaa9315346a3cf155%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D393081666054%26itm%3D393081666054%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2060778%26brand%3DSpitfire&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

[Fooj]

wow, this guy actually has a whole bunch of fake shit posted now that I look at the rest of the stuff for sale:

All the wheels have a weird greenish tint to them

Radial slims shaped like classics:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spitfire-Formula-Four-54mm-Radial-Slims-101-Duro-skateboard-wheels/393081665900?hash=item5b857e396c:g:-G0AAOSwzJFf5Q3B

Conicals shaped like lock ins
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spitfire-Formula-Four-53mm-Conical-Full-99-Duro-skateboard-wheels/393081665503?hash=item5b857e37df:g:VskAAOSw15Nf7nmX

indys with a painted over baseplate(see cross), and misspellinged FORGED on label
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Independent-trucks-139-This-Is-A-Pair/393081666331?hash=item5b857e3b1b:g:0n8AAOSw8MRfvETw

[Ok]

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?

[larry leadfoot]

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?

53/54mm. Start to notice the struggle at spots when they get below 50mm. A wider contact patch helps a lot. If I go above 55 my flatground goes to shit and the wheelbite is too much (medium loose Ventures).

I'm on some 54 Loopholes. The square shape ones. Love everything about them. They power through everything without being too big or wide (might be the formula helping here, too). I might try the v-cuts next for some more width/stability.

[rocklobster]

wow, this guy actually has a whole bunch of fake shit posted now that I look at the rest of the stuff for sale:

All the wheels have a weird greenish tint to them

Radial slims shaped like classics:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spitfire-Formula-Four-54mm-Radial-Slims-101-Duro-skateboard-wheels/393081665900?hash=item5b857e396c:g:-G0AAOSwzJFf5Q3B

Conicals shaped like lock ins
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spitfire-Formula-Four-53mm-Conical-Full-99-Duro-skateboard-wheels/393081665503?hash=item5b857e37df:g:VskAAOSw15Nf7nmX

indys with a painted over baseplate(see cross), and misspellinged FORGED on label
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Independent-trucks-139-This-Is-A-Pair/393081666331?hash=item5b857e3b1b:g:0n8AAOSw8MRfvETw

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH78my2hifb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Took me a whole day (IG noob here) but I did a comparison of fakes versus real Spitfires. Graphics, dimensions, packaging and ride feel are night and day difference. Right next to me I have 5 sets of fake Spitfire wheels:
- F4 Classic 52mm 101a (Green Swirl)
- F4 Radial Slim 54mm 101a (Speed Kills graphic) - they are shaped like classics
- F4 Radial Slims 52mm 101a (Venomous graphic) - they are shaped like conicals
- F4 Conical 52mm 101a (Green graphic) - Dimensions are off
- F4 Tablets 52mm 101a (Red graphic) - they are shaped like conicals

Counterfeits are rampant in Asia, there are a few shops in Indonesia that are pushing back against them. A buddy of mine contacted a seller / distributor on Alibaba and they were proud to say they were selling counterfeits and the quality was exactly the same as F4.

Rode a set of the fake Conical Fulls while they are ok to roll around on, are incredibly sticky even on Skatelite.

If the rain keeps up and I can't get a session in I'll post up more stuff on IG on the fakes, probably the most egregious fakes.

[manysnakes]

What's really weird is that you have sellers pushing fake product at full-price. I had some "eBay Bucks" kicking around and I decided to pick up some Bones Big Ball Bearings, and it was immediately obvious that these were fake. They were regular price - $25 - not the too-good-too-be-true Bones Swiss price you see on there. I emailed the buyer and get immediately issued me a return label, without comment, so he knows they are fake

I should have known better, but I know there are legit skate shops selling Bones Bearings online

This is the seller, by the way. I assume that everything he is selling is also 100% fake (and also has the aforementioned too-good-too-be-true prices). I Googled the return address and it also doubles as a shady smartphone repair operation
https://www.ebay.com/sch/jdub7217/m.html?ssPageName=&_trksid=p2057872.m4086.l2654