Wheels Thread

[PatrickSkateman]

So are Loophole wheels actually good?

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

So are Loophole wheels actually good?

yes!!!!!

[con_hielo]

Need help guys! I've been trying to decide since last week between 58mm 97A Spitfire Conical Fulls and 56mm NFG/Loophole V shape, but I can't ahah. I'm lightly broke so limited to one set for the summer ahah ( "-_-)/

Riding 58mm 99A Spit CF worn down to 48mm right now and skating mostly old/newish concrete parks and a little bit of street cruising/skating. I'm torn apart because it feels like the 97a would be the best for cruising around on my normal setup and let go of my big cruiser with OJ on and that the Loophole would slide better than my 99a, which I feel are kinda sticky in the parks.

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

56 v-cut loopholes are my fav wheels ever!
Can be a bit of inconsistency with the urethane though as they are hand poured. My 56s were always like absolute butter to slide on but I have some 52mm teardrops they didn’t really come into their prime until I wore them down a mm or so... 

[dr.prestige]

NFG/Loophole/Smoothie urethane is the shit, don't sleep on 'em... there may be some QC issues like bubbles and sizing inconsistencies but those guys are trying their best with what they have their hands on in terms of equipment, they would absolutely love to upgrade their setup and plan on doing so once they an afford it but the stuff one uses to make wheels like whatever those big mixer/pourer things are called and the machined wheel molds are super expensive. The bossman already has to deal with paying rent for a shop space in the Bay alongside paying a living wage to the skaters that come in to help make wheels, in addition to the COVID induced price increases in urethane which seem to keep growing every day. Essentially, if we all buy more NFG urethane, their QC issues that people like to point out will eventually disappear, since they are pretty much fixed by throwing money at them, so to speak. Besides, a little bit of bubbles on the sidewall never hurt anyone. When I ride NFGs with the bubbles facing inwards they don't mess with my grinds at all really, and they look kinda cool after they've been worn down a bit. If you're in doubt about trying them just get a set of 2nds off their website, you will likely notice that they ride just as well as full price wheels.

[rocklobster]

Anyone know the dimension on Autobahn wheels?

Specifically the 52mm Street Slims / 54mm Duo Durometer ones?

[sketchyrider]

Anyone have a favorite wheel for truly icy concrete parks?

Moved to a new town, I thought I liked real hard wheels on smooth concrete, but the park under the bridge is like glass and a little dusty from soot/tire dust.

Seems like the real hard wheels need a little texture on the ground to grip, these 101a oj elites are fast but scary.

[Firebert]

Anyone have a favorite wheel for truly icy concrete parks?

Moved to a new town, I thought I liked real hard wheels on smooth concrete, but the park under the bridge is like glass and a little dusty from soot/tire dust.

Seems like the real hard wheels need a little texture on the ground to grip, these 101a oj elites are fast but scary.

Had the same experience recently - got a new local park that is slick like ice - Bones SPF 81B is the answer. Insanely fast and grippy.

[bombsaway86]

Anyone have a favorite wheel for truly icy concrete parks?

Moved to a new town, I thought I liked real hard wheels on smooth concrete, but the park under the bridge is like glass and a little dusty from soot/tire dust.

Seems like the real hard wheels need a little texture on the ground to grip, these 101a oj elites are fast but scary.

Speedlab bombshells are my favorite wheel for really slick concrete. They grip like a 97a but have the speed of a 99a+ wheel. If 57mm is too big or you’re not into green wheels, I’m sure any of the other 99a offerings from Speedlab will have similar grip. They also have the 56mm 97a Nomads that I’ve heard nothing but good things about.

I ride Spitfire F4 99 duro. They’re not the best on slick concrete but they are good enough.

If you’re going for absolute confidence that you won’t slip out, go with the Speedlabs. If you don’t mind a little bit of slip here and there, go with the Spitfire F4 99 (because they are the best all-around wheel, most of Slap will back me up on that)

Stay away from Bones on the slippery stuff

[manysnakes]

Anyone have a favorite wheel for truly icy concrete parks?

Moved to a new town, I thought I liked real hard wheels on smooth concrete, but the park under the bridge is like glass and a little dusty from soot/tire dust.

Seems like the real hard wheels need a little texture on the ground to grip, these 101a oj elites are fast but scary.

Bones SPF truly have a Magic’s formula for skatepark concrete. Nothing else I have skated compares.

[layzieyez]

Anyone know the dimension on Autobahn wheels?

Specifically the 52mm Street Slims / 54mm Duo Durometer ones?

Their Instagram is probably your best resource. Should be easy to get answers.

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Anyone know the dimension on Autobahn wheels?

Specifically the 52mm Street Slims / 54mm Duo Durometer ones?

[close]

Their Instagram is probably your best resource. Should be easy to get answers.

Got myself a set an broke out the calipers.

Measured size x width x contact patch
54 x 29.7 x  17.4

Maybe it started off as
54 x 30 x 18

Really liked them at the park today. Skinny wheels lock in so well.

[Xen]

Rode two sets of those DD ABXs great wheel and soo fricking slim.

[rocklobster]

Rode two sets of those DD ABXs great wheel and soo fricking slim.

I have the 52mm on my wife's board and they lightened up the board so much.

Haven't tested them out of slick surfaces yet, but these are definitely a hidden gem of a wheel in terms of tech performance. Same width as a Bones V3 with a little more riding patch is a definite plus.

[Sundaynuggets]

I'm looking for some big soft wheels for cruising and filming. Has anybody tried Slime Balls? Never had a set but I dig the look of them and the tees and gear they make too. Should I just stick with OJ's?

Haven’t tried Slimeballs but Oj super juice mini and Ricta clouds are the best cruiser wheels I’ve skated. No chunking and super smooth

[moonordie]

Expand Quote

I'm looking for some big soft wheels for cruising and filming. Has anybody tried Slime Balls? Never had a set but I dig the look of them and the tees and gear they make too. Should I just stick with OJ's?

[close]

Haven’t tried Slimeballs but Oj super juice mini and Ricta clouds are the best cruiser wheels I’ve skated. No chunking and super smooth

+1 on Ricta clouds, i had the 92a 57mm and they were awesome

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

I'm looking for some big soft wheels for cruising and filming. Has anybody tried Slime Balls? Never had a set but I dig the look of them and the tees and gear they make too. Should I just stick with OJ's?

[close]

Haven’t tried Slimeballs but Oj super juice mini and Ricta clouds are the best cruiser wheels I’ve skated. No chunking and super smooth

[close]

+1 on Ricta clouds, i had the 92a 57mm and they were awesome

Ricta Clouds are the de facto suggestion for cruiser wheels.

[bombsaway86]

I'm looking for some big soft wheels for cruising and filming. Has anybody tried Slime Balls? Never had a set but I dig the look of them and the tees and gear they make too. Should I just stick with OJ's?

My wife has the 60mm 78a Slimeballs, they’re really nice for bombing hills or cruising to the beer store. They handle the shitty roads here in Seattle really well. They are surprisingly not terrible for carving around bowls either.

[Shoebox]

Any opinions on loophole wheels?

I’ve got some 101 f4s and they’re a bit slidey at my local. Considering 99 f4s but they are £50! Also not sure if they’ll feel too soft?

Local shop has loopholes in a bit cheaper wondered if they are a viable alternative?

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

Loopholes are the best, I’m not riding else for e meantime! Feel somewhere between a 99 and 101 F4 imo, the v-cuts ricin of you like conicals

[Shoebox]

Right between 99/101 sounds ideal. I been on conicals for a while but was considering going for the rounded shape for a change

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

Right between 99/101 sounds ideal. I been on conicals for a while but was considering going for the rounded shape for a change

i can’t say enough good things about them! If you want classic shape, go for the teardrops

[Sundaynuggets]

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Right between 99/101 sounds ideal. I been on conicals for a while but was considering going for the rounded shape for a change

[close]

i can’t say enough good things about them! If you want classic shape, go for the teardrops

How do the teardrops slide compared to the v shape? (If you have tried both).

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

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Right between 99/101 sounds ideal. I been on conicals for a while but was considering going for the rounded shape for a change

[close]

i can’t say enough good things about them! If you want classic shape, go for the teardrops

[close]

How do the teardrops slide compared to the v shape? (If you have tried both).

funny thing, my v-cuts slide considerably better than the teardrops which kinda doesn’t make sense, but because they are hand poured you can get variance from wheel to wheel!
A guy at my local bought 54mm v-cuts after trying my 56s and then come up to me and was like, “they’re broken, they don’t slide like yours!” I rode around on his board for a minute to warm them up and while they screeched at little bit at first, I was sill doing some Leo Valls inspired combos within a few minutes on them.

[Shoebox]

I’ll pick some up this week and report back. Leaning towards the teardrop shape tbh

[Sundaynuggets]

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Right between 99/101 sounds ideal. I been on conicals for a while but was considering going for the rounded shape for a change

[close]

i can’t say enough good things about them! If you want classic shape, go for the teardrops

[close]

How do the teardrops slide compared to the v shape? (If you have tried both).

[close]

funny thing, my v-cuts slide considerably better than the teardrops which kinda doesn’t make sense, but because they are hand poured you can get variance from wheel to wheel!
A guy at my local bought 54mm v-cuts after trying my 56s and then come up to me and was like, “they’re broken, they don’t slide like yours!” I rode around on his board for a minute to warm them up and while they screeched at little bit at first, I was sill doing some Leo Valls inspired combos within a few minutes on them.

Interesting! Yeah, the variance in urethane seems to be a factor. I’ve had two sets of square shapes and three sets of v shapes and noticed that one set of the squares slid exceptionally well whereas none of the v shapes slid well at all, except for the 95a ones. I thought maybe the smaller contact patch and rounded edges of the teardrop shape might make a difference but it sounds like it doesn’t haha

[con_hielo]

56 v-cut loopholes are my fav wheels ever!
Can be a bit of inconsistency with the urethane though as they are hand poured. My 56s were always like absolute butter to slide on but I have some 52mm teardrops they didn’t really come into their prime until I wore them down a mm or so...

Went with the 56s Vee! Thanks for the feedback, gonna report back! 

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

Expand Quote

56 v-cut loopholes are my fav wheels ever!
Can be a bit of inconsistency with the urethane though as they are hand poured. My 56s were always like absolute butter to slide on but I have some 52mm teardrops they didn’t really come into their prime until I wore them down a mm or so...

[close]

Went with the 56s Vee! Thanks for the feedback, gonna report back! 

you’re in for some fun!!!

[sketchyrider]

A quick ride report, OJ elites are really fast and slide well. Has the feel of modern high tech thane. They don't get a lot of attention on here but I think they are fair competition to SF and bones. Some people have mentioned flat spots but I wonder if that's their "from concentrate" line.

[topfrog10]

Anyone have a favorite wheel for truly icy concrete parks?

Moved to a new town, I thought I liked real hard wheels on smooth concrete, but the park under the bridge is like glass and a little dusty from soot/tire dust.

Seems like the real hard wheels need a little texture on the ground to grip, these 101a oj elites are fast but scary.

I've been riding spitfire 97a classics in 54mm lately and i was amazingly suprised how well they gripped at my park. took em to a almost completely painted spot yesterday and they held up super well too, no downsides of these softer wheels in my opinion.