Wheels Thread

[iw0]

@FuzzGNU

Excellent work above.

I have been skating Bones Rough Riders on my Dane 1 for a month now and recently I switched to Spitfire Classics 60mm F4 and they felt dry and slow. I think at this stage in my skating I am over 99a wheels.

The Rough Riders are the best wheels for cruising I ever had but they are a little too soft and clunky for a true old skool set-up. I am interested in the 90a or 93a wheels. The only issue is I like a wide contact patch. If you have the chance could you please measure the contact patch? Thanks ahead of time…

Also, for all of y’all, the sml succulent dream is a fantastic wheel and I might wind up buying a set of 56mm if the Bones wheels have a more narrow contact patch. The sml wheels are cut like Classic Fulls for comparison.

https://www.tactics.com/sml/succulent-cruisers-skateboard-wheels/sun-up-92a

I would buy the 95a Slimballs but I don’t trust OJ products anymore.

Any other 90a-95a wide wheels that people swear by?

i'm a broken record about this but nfg 95a are good times, specifically the vee's w/r/t you wanting a wide contact patch. that being said if 92a sml or the 93a bones are already what you are considering, then it might be a bit hard for this case.
it's a nice smooth ride on them though for what durometer they are. i think the contact patch is 26.5mm if you go by their chart & i measured mine with a less than accurate tape measure but it was around that so i imagine it's right.

[GardenSkater77]

Thank you both.

I don’t think 95a is too hard with a wider contact patch. 

I was actually looking at the NFG 95a wheels when I saw the above post.

I think the Spitfire 58a full conical is the perfect wheel shape but I don’t think 97a is a big enough change from 99a to make it worthwhile buying.

I’m sure you guys change out your equipment more than me, but do you notice that F4 wheels get slower over time? Maybe all wheels do. They seem to become more clay like. I know that urethane hardens over time so maybe even though my wheels are still not flat spotted I need to change them every six months or so?

Thoughts?

[Sloppy Krooks]

If you want old-school, why not Rat-bones?
90a, still soft enough for shit concrete but WAY more durable than Roughriders.

Plus a wide contact patch.

[GardenSkater77]

If you want old-school, why not Rat-bones?
90a, still soft enough for shit concrete but WAY more durable than Roughriders.

Plus a wide contact patch.

That is an idea and I know you are a fan of Rat Bones and probably influenced me to get Rough Riders.

It may sound picky but I don’t like a hard edge on the inside wheel. I don’t like locking into coping or curbs.

I really like the cut on Slimeballs and that was the wheel I rode as a kid but I think their urethane is sub-par.

What about g-slides? They are harder and more narrow than rough riders. And they have that same hard core.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Monopolyman]

Ordered some 57mm oski spitfire radials but 55mm wheels showed up instead.  Should I just run the 55’s, or trade at a shop?  Going through the process of the online return seems like such a hassle

[GardenSkater77]

Ordered some 57mm oski spitfire radials but 55mm wheels showed up instead.  Should I just run the 55’s, or trade at a shop?  Going through the process of the online return seems like such a hassle

Let the shop know you got the wrong size but will keep.

55mm is a good size. I had radials in 52mm and they felt good.

[Monopolyman]

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Ordered some 57mm oski spitfire radials but 55mm wheels showed up instead.  Should I just run the 55’s, or trade at a shop?  Going through the process of the online return seems like such a hassle

[close]

Let the shop know you got the wrong size but will keep.

55mm is a good size. I had radials in 52mm and they felt good.

Thanks, yeah, I’ll do that.  I’m leaning towards keeping.  It’s a ramp set up so I wanted to lean a little bigger, but 55mm’s on AF1 66’s could maybe keep me away from wheel bite better?

[manysnakes]

Got some Bones 93a prototype wheels and skated them for two brief sessions the other day. Didn't make a *great* impression, but the surface I was skating honestly seems tailor-made for an ultra hard 101a Spitfire F4. What I will say is that it is a noticeably soft wheel, like you can feel the softness with your finger, but it skates much better than one would expect from it. I just came off some newish F4 97a and my feeling is that this is a much better soft wheel than that. The Spitfires do a great job smoothing out the rough surface, but they have a mushy feeling and I found that they were terrible for slides. With the Bones wheels, they roll incredibly fast and smooth, they still slide (not great, but better) with a noticeable bark. Maybe they will get soggy with time, it's hard to say right now.

I wish I had got some of the 97a wheels. This is all speculation, but I think that this formula in a little harder durometer might be the sweet spot for me.

[Ok]

Got some Bones 93a prototype wheels and skated them for two brief sessions the other day. Didn't make a *great* impression, but the surface I was skating honestly seems tailor-made for an ultra hard 101a Spitfire F4. What I will say is that it is a noticeably soft wheel, like you can feel the softness with your finger, but it skates much better than one would expect from it. I just came off some newish F4 97a and my feeling is that this is a much better soft wheel than that. The Spitfires do a great job smoothing out the rough surface, but they have a mushy feeling and I found that they were terrible for slides. With the Bones wheels, they roll incredibly fast and smooth, they still slide (not great, but better) with a noticeable bark. Maybe they will get soggy with time, it's hard to say right now.

I wish I had got some of the 97a wheels. This is all speculation, but I think that this formula in a little harder durometer might be the sweet spot for me.

Interesting. Good to hear more feedback. The f4 97s are pretty rad for real streets, pretty not rad for the courts, and/or parks.

[manysnakes]

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Got some Bones 93a prototype wheels and skated them for two brief sessions the other day. Didn't make a *great* impression, but the surface I was skating honestly seems tailor-made for an ultra hard 101a Spitfire F4. What I will say is that it is a noticeably soft wheel, like you can feel the softness with your finger, but it skates much better than one would expect from it. I just came off some newish F4 97a and my feeling is that this is a much better soft wheel than that. The Spitfires do a great job smoothing out the rough surface, but they have a mushy feeling and I found that they were terrible for slides. With the Bones wheels, they roll incredibly fast and smooth, they still slide (not great, but better) with a noticeable bark. Maybe they will get soggy with time, it's hard to say right now.

I wish I had got some of the 97a wheels. This is all speculation, but I think that this formula in a little harder durometer might be the sweet spot for me.

[close]

Interesting. Good to hear more feedback. The f4 97s are pretty rad for real streets, pretty not rad for the courts, and/or parks.

Yeah, my first session was this. Excited to try them at a super crusty DIY or at my local curbs, but it has been too wet lately.

[FuzzGNU]

Got some Bones 93a prototype wheels and skated them for two brief sessions the other day. Didn't make a *great* impression, but the surface I was skating honestly seems tailor-made for an ultra hard 101a Spitfire F4. What I will say is that it is a noticeably soft wheel, like you can feel the softness with your finger, but it skates much better than one would expect from it. I just came off some newish F4 97a and my feeling is that this is a much better soft wheel than that. The Spitfires do a great job smoothing out the rough surface, but they have a mushy feeling and I found that they were terrible for slides. With the Bones wheels, they roll incredibly fast and smooth, they still slide (not great, but better) with a noticeable bark. Maybe they will get soggy with time, it's hard to say right now.

I wish I had got some of the 97a wheels. This is all speculation, but I think that this formula in a little harder durometer might be the sweet spot for me.

Yeah to be clear these are a crust tackling wheel, but coming from F4 99a they don't feel much softer to me. Like a hypothetical F4 98a at the softest.

As I've said in the thread, I haven't gotten to try the non-cored version of the harder duros but the 97a cored was really really hard feeling which is why I can't speak to what the formula feels like normally.

I will definitely try the non-cored 95a in the future, but the 97a is probably going to be too rough for these Midwest streets.

Like I've said before, the slide will take some time to get used to. The 93a are harder to initiate slides but it's a blessing in disguise because that also means they never slip out. On top of that, the slide is super controllable and won't slip out so you can really lean into that initiation without fear of it losing traction (something many other sticky wheels I've tried have been really scary because of).

Keep skating them and just work on your power slide form. Wider stance, a bit lighter on feet to help the initiation, digging with your heel (or toe for BS), etc. Once I figured out my foot position and weight shifting with sliding these wheels, they ended up being my favorite slide because they let you be a bit more careless than other wheels without issue.

Like they're hardER to initiate slides (than Stf 103 or F4 99) but not "difficult" when compared to other wheels... Especially since they have that huuuge margin of error without slipping out. You can be a bit careless with your force and not worry which I like.

[FuzzGNU]

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Got some Bones 93a prototype wheels and skated them for two brief sessions the other day. Didn't make a *great* impression, but the surface I was skating honestly seems tailor-made for an ultra hard 101a Spitfire F4. What I will say is that it is a noticeably soft wheel, like you can feel the softness with your finger, but it skates much better than one would expect from it. I just came off some newish F4 97a and my feeling is that this is a much better soft wheel than that. The Spitfires do a great job smoothing out the rough surface, but they have a mushy feeling and I found that they were terrible for slides. With the Bones wheels, they roll incredibly fast and smooth, they still slide (not great, but better) with a noticeable bark. Maybe they will get soggy with time, it's hard to say right now.

I wish I had got some of the 97a wheels. This is all speculation, but I think that this formula in a little harder durometer might be the sweet spot for me.

[close]

Interesting. Good to hear more feedback. The f4 97s are pretty rad for real streets, pretty not rad for the courts, and/or parks.

[close]

Yeah, my first session was this. Excited to try them at a super crusty DIY or at my local curbs, but it has been too wet lately.

Yeah that is where they will really shine. I still haven't gotten thrown off my board by a pebble yet while skating the 93a and it's been about a month now.

Obviously they're not going to be as amazing and fast on nice surfaces as my beloved STF 103... but its about comparable to F4 99 on good surfaces in my opinion. And WAY better if the good surface is slick and notorious for slip outs.

[Sloppy Krooks]

Expand Quote

If you want old-school, why not Rat-bones?
90a, still soft enough for shit concrete but WAY more durable than Roughriders.

Plus a wide contact patch.

[close]

That is an idea and I know you are a fan of Rat Bones and probably influenced me to get Rough Riders.

It may sound picky but I don’t like a hard edge on the inside wheel. I don’t like locking into coping or curbs.

I really like the cut on Slimeballs and that was the wheel I rode as a kid but I think their urethane is sub-par.

What about g-slides? They are harder and more narrow than rough riders. And they have that same hard core.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Yeah, the sharp edge is the one main drawback of the wheel.
As for g-slides, I’ve never tried them. I have a kind of hybrid cruiser/downhill board with 80a? ATFs on it that i really enjoy.

[FuzzGNU]

LOL wtf... while looking at my bucket of old wheels I found a set of these (or something very similar, there is still a flake of the orange flame graphic still on one of them).



Apparently they're called "Spitfire Hardline Firelite Wheels"

They're kind of sick looking tbh, but I completely forgot about those. Ohhhhh the things we did to shave off grams of weight when we were kids.

I just measured these random blank CCS wheels I had and they were all the way down to ~44mm before I swapped them out, haha.

Next time I am able to I will have to go back and figure out all of the wheels I had.

[rocklobster]

@FuzzGNU sent me Googling old Hubba ads, seeing pro skateboarders stand awkwardly next to models in a wheel ad is the best / worst thing

[FuzzGNU]

Amazing... Can anyone else think of any blast from the past wheel bullshit?

[rocklobster]

Amazing... Can anyone else think of any blast from the past wheel bullshit?

Aircores come to mind

[FuzzGNU]

Aircores come to mind

Damn, where are you finding all of these ads?!

[rocklobster]

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Aircores come to mind

[close]

Damn, where are you finding all of these ads?!

The 2000s? That was a fun time for skateboarding.

[Mbrimson88]

These definitely were a big old NO and went out of business, more 00s for you.

[bombsaway86]

Anyone remember when Element made the featherlight bearings back in 2003? Can’t find a picture, but they were smaller than a dime and came with a plastic hub ring so that they would fit the standard size bearing seat. I believe they came packaged with the wheels pictured below. The wheels had hollow cores too. My buddy skated a set for maybe a week before trashing them. Obviously they didn’t revolutionize wheel and bearing technology.

*edit: If I remember correctly they also made this wheel with the tiny bearing seat so you didn’t need the adapter.

[manysnakes]

Anyone remember when Element made the featherlight bearings back in 2003? Can’t find a picture, but they were smaller than a dime and came with a plastic hub ring so that they would fit the standard size bearing seat. I believe they came packaged with the wheels pictured below. The wheels had hollow cores too. My buddy skated a set for maybe a week before trashing them. Obviously they didn’t revolutionize wheel and bearing technology.

*edit: If I remember correctly they also made this wheel with the tiny bearing seat so you didn’t need the adapter.

I'm always saying that skateboard bearings are too heavy and last too long. Best to shave 5g and have bearings which you can ride for six weeks rather than three months!

[bombsaway86]

These definitely were a big old NO and went out of business, more 00s for you.

I remember seeing these when I first started skating. Even as a beginner I could tell those were complete shit ha ha

[backinaction]

Amazing... Can anyone else think of any blast from the past wheel bullshit?

Big ass bearings.  Bullshit? Or legit?



https://sm00thie.com/

[manysnakes]

A larger bearing will roll faster and wear more slowly, but ultimately, as with more or less all "gains" to be made with skateboard equipment, it doesn't matter because skaters hate new shit and everything in skating breaks almost immediately no matter what.

[Frank and Fred]

A larger bearing will roll faster and wear more slowly, but ultimately, as with more or less all "gains" to be made with skateboard equipment, it doesn't matter because skaters hate new shit and everything in skating breaks almost immediately no matter what.

I would assume they would also accelerate slower. If bigger bearings were viable I bet the longboard crowd would be all over them. They aren't afraid of innovation. I believe bearings are already fast enough. Its durability that could use some work.

[backinaction]

I question the speed gains in a larger, but generic steel bearing vs a smaller, high-quality ceramic bearing.   Ceramic bearings are damn good.

[tom]

Ricta air cores would shatter pretty quickly. My local shop had to send back almost every set sold. I don’t remember them being around for too long

Satori tried to make vegetable oil based wheels at one point around 2007/2008. I got an early sample set and they were pretty bad. They didn’t grip to the point that you could shoot out just turning too sharp skating down the road. They were also octagons by the end of the first session. They may have figured out how to make them better because they sold them a few months later

[fakiefs180]

Another one from the past. My memory isn't the best, but that had to be some time between 2005 and 2010. Flip had these tricolored rasta wheels, they looked like this photo I found in the internet.



My homie had them. After a few weeks he was only riding on the yellow middle part of these wheels because the different colored sections literally fell off. It looked hella funny and dangerous.

[FuzzGNU]

Another one from the past. My memory isn't the best, but that had to be some time between 2005 and 2010. Flip had these tricolored rasta wheels, they looked like this photo I found in the internet.



My homie had them. After a few weeks he was only riding on the yellow middle part of these wheels because the different colored sections literally fell off. It looked hella funny and dangerous.

I've always wondered about that type of stuff. I'm surprised multicolor wheels are back. I wonder if they finally figured out out. Seems like the solution is to have an ugly blended portion in the middle where the colors mix together.