Wheels Thread

[Xen]

interesting to hear some honest reviews of other wheel companies, it doesn't surprise me that spit and bones are top dogs with ricta/OJ close behind. if nothing else, ricta and OJ make great cruiser wheels, plus OJ has the 95a options.

curious how ricta/OJ "feel" in comparison to bones and spit. with bones feeling a little plastic, and spits feeling kinda rubbery. a lot of people use the word "chalky", wonder if that's accurate.

I used to love STFs, then hated them after riding ricta (because they hard glassy wheels), then F4s came out and like many, I bought into the hype and somehow bones became a second rate wheel. Bones feel like you slide on the surface whereas spits feel like I'm digging into it a bit. Stiff prefer SPF or OJ Elites in park...nod to OJs being just as fast but not as slippery; SPFs are not a novice wheel in that regard.

OJ/Ricta don't feel chalky at all these days (the Ricta Chrome cores of old did). Current Ricta are fucking hard wheels, they don't feel plasticky or rubbery (totally agree with you on those two counts) they just feel HARD as nails, which I like. They slide really well, give you a nice loud chirp and they are fast. I'm riding a set of the 101 super slims (the Nyjah wheel); it's basically a much slimmer Radial Slim shape.

Regular Formula OJs always feel like bones 100s. The 'concentrate' line (pp wheel) just avoid like the plague. OG formula on shit terrain they are just fine but feel slow on nice 'crete. Much like the Darkroom Triclops feel, they remind me of the ABS Autobahn wheels or the [years] older .sml 99s. It's that typical US made Creative urethane feel. Completely uncharacteristic and generic feeling wheel that is a bit on the grippy side. Probably a stock formula since it's a 'deckbrand' wheel.

OJ elites are hard but really grippy; people say they don't slide, which just isn't true, they take a little effort but have never slipped out ever for me; just go watch MM skate them at mach-1 and listen to him get them chirping. The hardline shape is amazing.

[Mbrimson88]

hardgood got way too expensive where I live and Im pondering on what wheels to buy.
Love the feel of spitfires classics and F4s, but its costing double the price in here, so if anybody can give any insight on the following possibilities below I'd be very grateful:

- Ojs - regular and conicals
- Bones 100s - v5
- Bones STF - v2
- Pig Wheels Conicals
- Emex Wheels - 102a (probably the worst option).

Any opinion is welcomed, thx

The cost vs the life of the wheel is often overlooked.  If you buy cheaper wheels that flatspot and are not fun to ride, would you think that the more expensive and better riding wheels would be worth it in the long run?

Sure I am a Spitfire Formula Four advocate, mainly because I would rather pay for exactly what I want and have it skate exactly how I know it should, rather than mess around with other options.

Bones will probably give you more joy than any of the others there, if they were your only options, the 100s being the pricepoint option but still a really good wheel, when compared to STF or SPF versions.

The only other thing to say if you are short of cash is if you get a size up in the wheels, they might be weird at first, but they will last longer overall too, not crazy like 60mm if you were used to 50mm, but something more like 54 rather than 52 size.

[beatifk]

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hardgood got way too expensive where I live and Im pondering on what wheels to buy.
Love the feel of spitfires classics and F4s, but its costing double the price in here, so if anybody can give any insight on the following possibilities below I'd be very grateful:

- Ojs - regular and conicals
- Bones 100s - v5
- Bones STF - v2
- Pig Wheels Conicals
- Emex Wheels - 102a (probably the worst option).

Any opinion is welcomed, thx

[close]

The cost vs the life of the wheel is often overlooked.  If you buy cheaper wheels that flatspot and are not fun to ride, would you think that the more expensive and better riding wheels would be worth it in the long run?

Sure I am a Spitfire Formula Four advocate, mainly because I would rather pay for exactly what I want and have it skate exactly how I know it should, rather than mess around with other options.

Bones will probably give you more joy than any of the others there, if they were your only options, the 100s being the pricepoint option but still a really good wheel, when compared to STF or SPF versions.

The only other thing to say if you are short of cash is if you get a size up in the wheels, they might be weird at first, but they will last longer overall too, not crazy like 60mm if you were used to 50mm, but something more like 54 rather than 52 size.

I pay €55 for F4 where I live vs anywhere from €30-45 for other wheels and it's totally worth it. One of the shops has loopholes for €48 that I would buy to try if I didn't already have too many wheels at the moment.

I'm surprised STFs are cheaper by enough to make a difference, but those are great wheels too and I still pick up a set every once in a while because it's all I skated for years before switching to F4.

Buying lesser wheels (unless for a very specific niche like Boardycakes or some cruiser wheels) is always a mistake for me since F4s are noticeably better wheels.

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

F4s actually last longer than regular wheels so the pricing isn’t that bad, as someone else said go up a size and you’ll definitely be able to extend their life. Loopholes are great wheels, in fact they are all I’m rocking at the moment, but there is some consistency problems at least from my experience

[sketchyrider]

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interesting to hear some honest reviews of other wheel companies, it doesn't surprise me that spit and bones are top dogs with ricta/OJ close behind. if nothing else, ricta and OJ make great cruiser wheels, plus OJ has the 95a options.

curious how ricta/OJ "feel" in comparison to bones and spit. with bones feeling a little plastic, and spits feeling kinda rubbery. a lot of people use the word "chalky", wonder if that's accurate.

[close]

I used to love STFs, then hated them after riding ricta (because they hard glassy wheels), then F4s came out and like many, I bought into the hype and somehow bones became a second rate wheel. Bones feel like you slide on the surface whereas spits feel like I'm digging into it a bit. Stiff prefer SPF or OJ Elites in park...nod to OJs being just as fast but not as slippery; SPFs are not a novice wheel in that regard.

OJ/Ricta don't feel chalky at all these days (the Ricta Chrome cores of old did). Current Ricta are fucking hard wheels, they don't feel plasticky or rubbery (totally agree with you on those two counts) they just feel HARD as nails, which I like. They slide really well, give you a nice loud chirp and they are fast. I'm riding a set of the 101 super slims (the Nyjah wheel); it's basically a much slimmer Radial Slim shape.

Regular Formula OJs always feel like bones 100s. The 'concentrate' line (pp wheel) just avoid like the plague. OG formula on shit terrain they are just fine but feel slow on nice 'crete. Much like the Darkroom Triclops feel, they remind me of the ABS Autobahn wheels or the [years] older .sml 99s. It's that typical US made Creative urethane feel. Completely uncharacteristic and generic feeling wheel that is a bit on the grippy side. Probably a stock formula since it's a 'deckbrand' wheel.

OJ elites are hard but really grippy; people say they don't slide, which just isn't true, they take a little effort but have never slipped out ever for me; just go watch MM skate them at mach-1 and listen to him get them chirping. The hardline shape is amazing.

thanks for the good info in this post.

to throw in my 2 cents about bones 100s, they aren't bad for a price point wheel. they work on a lot of different surfaces, but they are a little slower and less durable than say an STF.

[lucascbn]

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hardgood got way too expensive where I live and Im pondering on what wheels to buy.
Love the feel of spitfires classics and F4s, but its costing double the price in here, so if anybody can give any insight on the following possibilities below I'd be very grateful:

- Ojs - regular and conicals
- Bones 100s - v5
- Bones STF - v2
- Pig Wheels Conicals
- Emex Wheels - 102a (probably the worst option).

Any opinion is welcomed, thx

[close]

The cost vs the life of the wheel is often overlooked.  If you buy cheaper wheels that flatspot and are not fun to ride, would you think that the more expensive and better riding wheels would be worth it in the long run?

Sure I am a Spitfire Formula Four advocate, mainly because I would rather pay for exactly what I want and have it skate exactly how I know it should, rather than mess around with other options.

Bones will probably give you more joy than any of the others there, if they were your only options, the 100s being the pricepoint option but still a really good wheel, when compared to STF or SPF versions.

The only other thing to say if you are short of cash is if you get a size up in the wheels, they might be weird at first, but they will last longer overall too, not crazy like 60mm if you were used to 50mm, but something more like 54 rather than 52 size.

Those are good points, I probably gonna get some bones 100s size 54s.

F4s will be the main choice for those listed points no doubt, the problem is that it doubled the price. The set went from R$220 or something to R$400 plus, just insane.

[munchbox]

i have the conical fulls in 97a 56mm and have been very impressed. might ride them exclusively, much smoother in the streets than the 99s and my knees are thanking me

[jay_nev]

i have the conical fulls in 97a 56mm and have been very impressed. might ride them exclusively, much smoother in the streets than the 99s and my knees are thanking me

yeah 97a are the truth. riding 54mm classics but the 56 conical full are on my list

[sammyz]

so reporting back on the Darkroom wheels.

comparing to what i've ridden recently, it feels similar to the OJ Nora wheels i have, which are 101a. The only difference is on rougher surfaces it rolls really slow, but on smooth surface its feels the same, albeit its 99a.

The biggest difference is the size, and at 50mm i had no wheel bite last night...i ride thunders with forged baseplate, and this size is great for that.

What i would love is a 50mm conical from Spitfire...but i now have some many wheels that i cant justify buying another set.

[antarctica]

Going to post this in the spitfire thread aswell but what are the pros and cons of classics vs conical shaped wheels? Ive been riding only conical shaped wheels pretty much forever but lately ive been kindve eyeing some classics so im curious of the performance diffrences.

[beatifk]

Going to post this in the spitfire thread aswell but what are the pros and cons of classics vs conical shaped wheels? Ive been riding only conical shaped wheels pretty much forever but lately ive been kindve eyeing some classics so im curious of the performance diffrences.

I think classics are more forgiving for everything except rough ground.

So, if you're going fast and ollieing over stuff, conicals are great. But if you're doing anything else, classics make everything a little easier. They're lighter, and the rounded edges are more forgiving for flip tricks, grinds, and ledge tricks. But they don't roll quite as well over rough stuff.

That's my experience at least.

[lucascbn]

Going to post this in the spitfire thread aswell but what are the pros and cons of classics vs conical shaped wheels? Ive been riding only conical shaped wheels pretty much forever but lately ive been kindve eyeing some classics so im curious of the performance diffrences.

I also would like to hear some opinions on that. Im kind of getting over conicals lately.
I skate mainly ledges, manuals and flat.

[IpathCats]

Going to post this in the spitfire thread aswell but what are the pros and cons of classics vs conical shaped wheels? Ive been riding only conical shaped wheels pretty much forever but lately ive been kindve eyeing some classics so im curious of the performance diffrences.

The straight edges of conicals lock in your grinds harder, but in doing so they slow your grinds down a bit compared to classics. Also, classics make it easier to get out of grinds. The wider surface area of a conical will give you more grip, but the increased grip and square edge makes them harder to slide than classics. The radials sit in between conicals and classics, and provide a good balance imo. I ride 99a 56-58mm classics and radials.

[chris.]

Was rotating my wheels today and just had to stop and admire them. 53mm F4 Classics worn down to probably about 49mm, the perfect wheel. That is all.

[Mbrimson88]

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Going to post this in the spitfire thread aswell but what are the pros and cons of classics vs conical shaped wheels? Ive been riding only conical shaped wheels pretty much forever but lately ive been kindve eyeing some classics so im curious of the performance diffrences.

[close]

The straight edges of conicals lock in your grinds harder, but in doing so they slow your grinds down a bit compared to classics. Also, classics make it easier to get out of grinds. The wider surface area of a conical will give you more grip, but the increased grip and square edge makes them harder to slide than classics. The radials sit in between conicals and classics, and provide a good balance imo. I ride 99a 56-58mm classics and radials.

Yes this is well put.

Classic round shapes (which I usually ride) with the rounder edge are much easier to get on and off coping, or edges on street too, even when they are worn down some and still have a slightly rounded edge.  Some have said it is much easier to crooked grind on classics too.  At least one guy who is usually on conical shaped wheels didn't like the classic shape and said he felt like he was slipping out of grinds as there was not a sharp edge to hold him on the coping.

Conical shaped wheels (that I have on a few boards but not my preferred shape) feel a lot more grippy on coping and don't get on and off as easily, which some people prefer, but always made a couple of people I know say they felt much better locking into rails and edges than classics.

[Xen]

Been doing a lot of slappydayz due to an ankle tweak and conicals or a side cut work best for me, in larger sizes and the wider the truck, the better (so I don't 'catch' whatever the fuck wheel shape I'm on). Groooves > wheels shape. I'm now on 159s.

Classics /V1s on rounded/worn curbs, while easier to get on (especially for crookslaps) were way easier to slip out on going fast...if I was off just a little bit I was out..more so on classics; I guess you pick your poison here = easy in and keep the lock or tougher in, easier lock?

Tablets or V2s, I'd get my front truck on and end up willying the slap unless I paid special attention to getting the back truck on (something I don't think one should need to do). Really bizarre but I really had to force it.

Conicals, got me on and locked in without having to worry about speed or form +bonus on square double sided curbs (sitting on top) I'd get a nice lock if I had truck wiggle room (vs a smaller truck) if i wasn't locked on (new trucks/no grooves).

Taller wheels helped a ton due to having more overhang to grab the curb vs smaller wheels (49/50mm spit classics at speed I slipped out like crazy on anything but full truck contact) 50/50 no issues; been skating with a dude who has perfect curb huggin slappy trucks...his wheels never touch...the trucks are bigger than the curbs with grooves to lock him in...he just sits there grinding for days.

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

Anyone want to do a product swap with US and Japan? PFC aren’t shipping here at the moment and I really want a pair...

[roba]

i’ve been on dial tone wheels for a month now and the bearings are popping out of some of them, has this happened to any of you? it’s been happening since i first started riding them but they still haven’t worn in

[Sativa Lung]

https://www.chemsfb.com/product/street-rat-skateboard-wheels-53mm

Creative urethane 83b/103a for those who like the really hard stuff. Looks like a similar or same "fat classic" mold as the PFC. The guy sells mostly fingerboards but when he gets skate stuff made its usually really good (and he uses clutch O shape for his decks so that's an automatic like from me).

[phlap]

I just switched back from some 53mm F4 101a Conical Fulls back to 54mm Jart 103a Classics, and the difference is night and day.

Reverts in particular seem a lot less... consistent? It's hard to pin down exactly what's different, but the thinner contact patch makes reverts feel a lot less reliable than on the conical fulls, despite the harder urethane. (Could just be that F4's have spoiled me.)

[jtrpma]

Anyone got suggestions for big, wide, hardish wheels for cracked, shitty ground. -like really shitty with patches of weeds, Rocks, goose shit and no point in cleaning it.
No soft juice stuff, I got some Powell ssl that are nice for cruising but too sticky for what I am thinking of.

I am usually riding 58 conical full f4s that are nice and thought of getting something like cubes or the roadcrew scram wheels, maybe those wide ojs, anyone got experience with a few or can help me with those, thanks!

Also wasn’t there a big wheels thread? Can’t find it...

[Xen]

Anyone got suggestions for big, wide, hardish wheels for cracked, shitty ground. -like really shitty with patches of weeds, Rocks, goose shit and no point in cleaning it.
No soft juice stuff, I got some Powell ssl that are nice for cruising but too sticky for what I am thinking of.

I am usually riding 58 conical full f4s that are nice and thought of getting something like cubes or the roadcrew scram wheels, maybe those wide ojs, anyone got experience with a few or can help me with those, thanks!

Also wasn’t there a big wheels thread? Can’t find it...

Spitfire 56mm 97a Conical Fulls

You'll love them, they're amazing wheels (sadly I iced mine today tho as they are wider than what I want right now; switched back to Bones V2s and now I can straddle those double sided curbs all they way locked in!!)

[jay_nev]

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Anyone got suggestions for big, wide, hardish wheels for cracked, shitty ground. -like really shitty with patches of weeds, Rocks, goose shit and no point in cleaning it.
No soft juice stuff, I got some Powell ssl that are nice for cruising but too sticky for what I am thinking of.

I am usually riding 58 conical full f4s that are nice and thought of getting something like cubes or the roadcrew scram wheels, maybe those wide ojs, anyone got experience with a few or can help me with those, thanks!

Also wasn’t there a big wheels thread? Can’t find it...

[close]

Spitfire 56mm 97a Conical Fulls

You'll love them, they're amazing wheels (sadly I iced mine today tho as they are wider than what I want right now; switched back to Bones V2s and now I can straddle those double sided curbs all they way locked in!!)

are they heavy being that wide? My NFG vcut are super wide and can feel the heft

[sketchyrider]

Anyone got suggestions for big, wide, hardish wheels for cracked, shitty ground. -like really shitty with patches of weeds, Rocks, goose shit and no point in cleaning it.
No soft juice stuff, I got some Powell ssl that are nice for cruising but too sticky for what I am thinking of.

I am usually riding 58 conical full f4s that are nice and thought of getting something like cubes or the roadcrew scram wheels, maybe those wide ojs, anyone got experience with a few or can help me with those, thanks!

Also wasn’t there a big wheels thread? Can’t find it...

i too am curious about wheels like these. I have 56 bones wide's that are decent on sidewalk, but 99a still seems a little hard. basically same dims as spitfire conical full.

not to shill too hard but i have some 57 mil dogtown 80's street 97a that never touched pavement, too wide for what i wanted, if you're interested.

[LE_rik]

ordered 56s 97a full conicals today and really look forward hitting the streets with them. Right now I skate bones stf 99a. Want more comfy rides to the spots and hope the 97a will perform better although I liked the bones my knees asked for softer wheels. Had the OJ nomads on my list but they don't seem to be available at the moment.

[jay_nev]

ordered 56s 97a full conicals today and really look forward hitting the streets with them. Right now I skate bones stf 99a. Want more comfy rides to the spots and hope the 97a will perform better although I liked the bones my knees asked for softer wheels. Had the OJ nomads on my list but they don't seem to be available at the moment.

youll love em. where did you order from?

[LE_rik]

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ordered 56s 97a full conicals today and really look forward hitting the streets with them. Right now I skate bones stf 99a. Want more comfy rides to the spots and hope the 97a will perform better although I liked the bones my knees asked for softer wheels. Had the OJ nomads on my list but they don't seem to be available at the moment.

[close]

youll love em. where did you order from?

Sounds great! I ordered at skatewarehouse. They are not available in Germany as far as I know and are still a bit cheaper incl. Intl shipping within 5 working days. Hopefully this will work out.

[switchfrontshuv]

god damn reading this shits makes me wanna pull the trigger on some 55mm 97a classics so bad

gotta wear out the SML AG formulas first though. Real nice wheel btw

[LE_rik]

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ordered 56s 97a full conicals today and really look forward hitting the streets with them. Right now I skate bones stf 99a. Want more comfy rides to the spots and hope the 97a will perform better although I liked the bones my knees asked for softer wheels. Had the OJ nomads on my list but they don't seem to be available at the moment.

[close]

youll love em. where did you order from?

[close]

Sounds great! I ordered at skatewarehouse. They are not available in Germany as far as I know and are still a bit cheaper incl. Intl shipping within 5 working days. Hopefully this will work out.

US to Germany from last Thursday til today is really fast and so are the F4 full conicals 97a 56mm. I took of my now approximately 49mm Bones ex 53mm 99a (don't know the exact shape anymore). The shape is massive compared to my last wheels but damn it, they roll smooth and hold the speed so goood. (With almost 10 year old bones swiss ceramics). They add 100g to my board which I have to bring up but it is just more wheel... 50g vs 75g. Expected them to be kinda softer but on most of the grounds I took them they just rolled and rolled. No Problem with Tailslides/boardslides on beton ledges, goodockin to grinds, Good revert/powerslide control. Overall I am a happy man. Thanks for the recommendations

[Xen]

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Anyone got suggestions for big, wide, hardish wheels for cracked, shitty ground. -like really shitty with patches of weeds, Rocks, goose shit and no point in cleaning it.
No soft juice stuff, I got some Powell ssl that are nice for cruising but too sticky for what I am thinking of.

I am usually riding 58 conical full f4s that are nice and thought of getting something like cubes or the roadcrew scram wheels, maybe those wide ojs, anyone got experience with a few or can help me with those, thanks!

Also wasn’t there a big wheels thread? Can’t find it...

[close]

Spitfire 56mm 97a Conical Fulls

You'll love them, they're amazing wheels (sadly I iced mine today tho as they are wider than what I want right now; switched back to Bones V2s and now I can straddle those double sided curbs all they way locked in!!)

[close]

are they heavy being that wide? My NFG vcut are super wide and can feel the heft

Could really tell as I have them set up with 159s on an 8.625" the whole set-up is hefty.

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https://www.hazardwheels.com/

i wish there was a wheel more slippery then stf 104a..

[close]

i felt f4 101a's were more slippery than the spf 104s and stf 103s

[close]

To confuse matters further, I feel that my F4 99’s are more slippery than my F4 101’s

[close]

you aren't the only one. and a lot of people say stf's are more slippery than spf's. who knows...

[close]

mght as well go with stf 99a for street then...

too broke for f4 its like 60cad for a set

[close]

Oddly enough, the 99a Stfs I’ve had are pretty grippy and don’t slide very well. At least the newer ones. When they first came out the white ones slid comparably to f4 but the natural color ones after those seem drastically different

[close]

It's true, the white EZ streets slide waaaaaay better than the current natural colored 99a STFs (previously dirty birds?). You can still get the white EZs but it's old stock and usually 54mm+

[close]

Haha I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed. I thought the white ones were pretty comparable to F4 99’s as far as ease and consistency of slide

Not that I wasn't 100% sure of it before, but I happened to bring two setups with me today, one with the older 'bones white' 99a STF EZ streets the other with 99a STF (the natural/dirty bird color) - the thanes are totally different; they clearly changed it up [for the worse] when they went to the natural color.

On medium-rough terrain the 99a EZs felt like a 101 in comparison to the 99a stfs, which felt soft and mushy (something I noted the other day riding my V2s after the 97a spits).

In fact, the F4 97a feel and sound harder than the current natural colored 99a STFs and feel and sound closer to the older 99a EZ streets. I'm officially back of Bones 99a once these EZs are toast...but the 97a F4s are just too good!