Skated some atf shape 95a bones with the hubs today, schoolyard, black top asphalt. Unlike the 93a and 90a which are well in hybrid and cruiser wheel territory respectively, these definitely feel and sound like a traditional hard wheel.
They basically feel like a 99a formula four, but maybe very slightly worse if we're splitting hairs. Compared to my friends' 99a 53mm radials, the bones felt maybe the slightest bit harder if anything at all (weird because these are 95a), and slid ever so slightly worse (but definitely better than a 97a f4). When it comes to maintaining speed I don't really notice a difference, pretty hard to tell, they're both good quality wheels and neither feels slow.
I don't think the cores should necessarily make too much of a difference here, I did a slide test with my hands on this butter box so the cores shouldn't have affected the slide feel in that scenario vs the f4s which fared slightly better.
This was my first session on them so maybe they're going to break in more and feel better than f4s. The more difficult slide might also be due to the fact that these wheels are wide as fuck, like noticeably wider than an equivalent 54mm conical full which is already wider than I like. Felt like I had dumbbells on the ends of my axles when doing flip tricks.
I also haven't tested them on a variety of surfaces yet. But based on my first impressions, these are a very good wheel but I'm not seeing any major reasons to pick them over a 99a f4, though that may change as I skate them more.
I know you said you rode the 93a with the core and it felt really soft. That's bizarre, and very interesting to hear. 93a without the core feels only very slightly softer than F4 99a. They don't feel even feel like a hyrbid cruiser wheel AT ALL, just a straight up trick wheel. While the 90a without a core however feels like an unapologetic cruiser wheel (down to the chunking issues, from what I've seen).
I think the cores really do effect this formula, but its so hard to predict in what ways on a duro to duro basis. However, I really do suspect they universally affect the ability to initiate powerslides though, because the 97a cored and 95a cored were
notably harder to powerslide than the 93a without a core (and even the 90a without a core!). And it sounds like people who've tried the 93a WITH a core have not enjoyed the wheel very much, which says A LOT because it seems like everyone who has tried 93a WITHOUT the core has gushed over it as much as I have.
I think people in this thread have said the 95a without the cores slide well? And don't feel as rock hard like 95a cored we've experienced? I really want to try the 95a without a core now based on what has been said in this thread.
Just to distill my sentiments on what I've tried:
- The 97a WITH core are nearly
unskateable in many respects, but was fun to mess around on. Vibrate your feet to hell.
- The 95a WITH core are a decent wheel but struggled with pebbles/cracks, and powerslide initiation.
- The 93a no core are my favorite wheel of all time. Period.
- The 90a no core are a cruiser (hybrid?) wheel that slides alright, but almost feels like its made obsolete by the 93a's extreme competence. Would probably make a really solid filmer wheel due to how quiet they are. Their powerslides are even near silent at times.