Wheels Thread

[tzhangdox]

I'm sure most people are sick of me going on about all the different soft wheels but just an update on the Bones experimental 97s, since nobody else on the internet seems to have any opinion on them.

I've had them for 10 days, skating lots and they're all about 51.2, 51.3ish mms from 52mms. Haven't bombed any hills. Like the dragons and all the prototypes, they definitely wear down noticeably faster than a formula four. Not a dealbreaker for me personally but worth noting.

Grind drag hasn't gotten any better since the initial break in. Grinds on street ledges still feel gummier, pinching and holding long grinds is less predictable (again, a little better than dragons but not as good as f4)

For example, on a long slappy crooked grind on a curb, it goes if you lean back and push it a bit further, but if you try to adjust mid grind and stand up straight on it it definitely catches and sticks a bit easier than a hard wheel.

A lot of this can be fixed with wax, but everything else constant these absolutely grind worse than a hard wheel and I'm not about to wax a curb or some ledge that everyone else is skating. And there's still less tactile feedback because the wheels are soft and that kinda matters when you're trying to make small adjustments mid slide/grind

How much this will affect you depends on how and what you skate, but if you had no problems with dragons then these will be alright too. Probably a little closer to dragons than f4s in the grind/slide department.

All that being said I still find myself skating these because pushing less on rough spots is nice, and I do think they make me a little less sore after a long session. If a harder dragon with many of the same problems (to a lesser degree) is what you're after, this is it.

It feels like even if they made a 99a version of this formula, it would still feel softer than a 99a f4, I'd be interested in that.

[Xen]

As far as skating rough terrain how much 'worse' are the 97s over the 93s? Noticeably different?

[tzhangdox]

As far as skating rough terrain how much 'worse' are the 97s over the 93s? Noticeably different?

Yeah they're definitely harder and I guess 'worse' than the 93s. If you had me draw a spectrum between dragons on the left and 99a f4s on the right, I'd say these are definitely a little left leaning on that scale in all aspects.

For me thats a good thing overall because the 97s still handle the rougher spots I skate just fine (to me they still feel softer and a little gummier than a 97a f4), but on smoother asphalt and concrete I like to have a tad more ground feel and feedback.

But if you go to either 93 or 97 coming from a 99 f4, they'll both feel like a significant improvement in handling rough terrain.

[FrankRizzo]

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Been rolling on Bones SPF 84b (alleged 104a equivalent) 60mm V5 Side Cut wheels since January. I have ridden the wheels down from 60 to 55mm.

[close]

I hated those things on anything but smooth skateparks (where they were insanely good).

I think I know what you mean. At slower speeds just a little bit of sand getting pulverized by that 84b slows the wheel way down.
Growing up near Niagara Falls in Upstate NY crust was all I knew.
Navigating crust on a hard wheel must remind me of my childhood.

[goodatmeth]

All this soft wheel hype made me realize that I simply like hard wheels and need to sacrifice not riding smoothly up to the spot. Completely backfired and made me buy 103a stfs.

[roba]

what's up with pig wheels? i'm looking at some proline 58mm, f4s are nowhere to be found in my country in the shapes and sizes i like. pig wheels are cheap as fuck so i'm thinking about getting some, are they better that standard (non f4) spitfires? do they slide? my 58mm og classics are around 49mm now, so it's definitely time to get a new set of wheels. it's either these pig wheels or 57mm bigheads, but to be honest i'd rather get the pigs because they're cheaper and i'm going to get a set of f4s as soon as they are back in stock anyway.

i got a set of them, my friend bought a set earlier and he liked them so i thought why not. so far i've only skated to the store on them, but on the way there i skated on asphalt and bricks and they slid very well, a little stickier than f4s (those are truly unfuckwithable in that aspect) but i really didn't have to adjust where i put my body weight when powersliding like i had to with other wheels. i don't know the hardness, it's nowhere to be found on the packaging or the wheels themselves, they feel harder than 99a spitfires, so i'm guessing they're like 100s or 101s. i'm heading to the skatepark after work so i'll write more tomorrow (or maybe tonight because i'm going to a party after that so we will see where that goes) but i'm pleasantly surprised as for now. they're so much cheaper than f4s too, like price point wheels without really feeling like price point wheels.

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

Annoyed Bones only come in 99 for V2’s…

[Xen]

Annoyed Bones only come in 99 for V2’s…

I feel you, would much rather have nabbed some 103s the last time I picked up some V2s...been bouncing back and forth on 51mm V1 103s, and 52mm dragon v1s (bluntslides be damned) they just work...and my sessions are longer on the dragons, so bizzare.

I'm usually a 101/103a rider by choice, surface be damned...I'm hoping the 97a feel better on blunt slides as that is the only tricks I have that seems to really suffer on the 93s, they're just to unpredictable and not a trick you want to gamble with.

[tzhangdox]

Depends on the surface tbh. On waxed, slightly more porous concrete ledges, the 93 dragons were great for bluntslides and the 97s better. But on stuff like skatelite, wood, less porous less waxed concrete the 93 dragons struggled, and so do the 97s albeit a tad less.

[Xen]

Depends on the surface tbh. On waxed, slightly more porous concrete ledges, the 93 dragons were great for bluntslides and the 97s better. But on stuff like skatelite, wood, less porous less waxed concrete the 93 dragons struggled, and so do the 97s albeit a tad less.

Blunts on curbs the 93s were unpredictable (but more than 97a spits were, loss cause here), they'd go but not consistently compared to the 103 stfs (I do my best blunts on 103 stfs, nothing comes close)...where the dragons would grab occasionally (much like when you get your angle wrong and blunt not slide) the 103s were glassy all the time...spit 101a will work too; blunts to me just require a hard wheel as I need all the slide help I can get.

[tzhangdox]

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Depends on the surface tbh. On waxed, slightly more porous concrete ledges, the 93 dragons were great for bluntslides and the 97s better. But on stuff like skatelite, wood, less porous less waxed concrete the 93 dragons struggled, and so do the 97s albeit a tad less.

[close]

Blunts on curbs the 93s were unpredictable (but more than 97a spits were, loss cause here), they'd go but not consistently compared to the 103 stfs (I do my best blunts on 103 stfs, nothing comes close)...where the dragons would grab occasionally (much like when you get your angle wrong and blunt not slide) the 103s were glassy all the time...spit 101a will work too; blunts to me just require a hard wheel as I need all the slide help I can get.

Yeah thats basically my experience with these soft bones wheels. If its situation where you get in the perfect position and have your weight distributed perfectly, don't jam your wheels against the curb/rail/ledge at the wrong angle or anything, then it goes just as good as a hard wheel.

But if your execution isn't perfect on the obstacle, there's less margin for error and you're more likely to catch.

These wheels grind and slide due to the special formula not the hardness. But in some cases the hardness of the wheel is what gives you the control and response needed and a fancy formula cannot make up for that.

This is all splitting hairs of course, and obviously I'm happy to be skating these right now, but grinds n slides is basically 95% of what I do so I definitely notice these subtle differences when compared to f4s

[Xen]

I'm sure I'll get used it (more wax would help too) but the 97s seem like they'll be ever so slightly less fussy than the 93s so I'll take it.

FWIW, I don't particularly like blunt sliding on 99s no matter the brand, unless on slippy curbs, and then any wheel can be as dangerous.

It's like rails or slicks. Sure, I CAN slide that double sided curb quite well and decently far with a waxed board, but it's effortless with rails...and my tail/nose slides are much nicer feeling on slicks or grinding ATGs...half speed/effort needed to meet or beat what you can do on other brands...That's how I feel 103s are for blunts.

[sacking rails]

just go faster

[tzhangdox]

I'm sure I'll get used it (more wax would help too) but the 97s seem like they'll be ever so slightly less fussy than the 93s so I'll take it.

FWIW, I don't particularly like blunt sliding on 99s no matter the brand, unless on slippy curbs, and then any wheel can be as dangerous.

It's like rails or slicks. Sure, I CAN slide that double sided curb quite well and decently far with a waxed board, but it's effortless with rails...and my tail/nose slides are much nicer feeling on slicks or grinding ATGs...half speed/effort needed to meet or beat what you can do on other brands...That's how I feel 103s are for blunts.

Thats funny I actually prefer like the way 99 f4s slide on adequately waxed stuff, a teeny bit of resistance for you to push through makes it feel like you're actually in control as opposed to just icily gliding across.

[tzhangdox]

just go faster

Generally the correct advice. But a little trickier on these soft wheels.

On a hard wheel lets say you're rolling up at a speed of 7, and once you lock into say a crooked grind you naturally slow down a bit and you're grinding at a speed of 6, slowly decelerating to maybe a 4 upon exit over the course of a long grind

On these wheels its you can make up for it by rolling up at a speed of 10 (which to be fair is easier because these are generally faster and smoother), but once you lock in due to the softness and grip you decelerate and drag a lot more so you may still end up grinding at a speed of 6 and you'll probably decelerate to a 3 much quicker

But decelerating from 10 to 6 upon impact is a lot more jarring than from 7 to 6 so its a little harder to adjust to, control and sit in the grind properly for as long.

Pulled these numbers out of my ass but I think you get what I mean, definitely something I noticed. Again you can compensate for this with wax, but I try not to wax shit if possible so...

[LebowskisRug]

Eloquently put and my exact experience this morning on a well-waxed curb. These are painted red curbs that are highly waxed, but San Diego gets dusty. You can easily hit dust wax and slow down from 7 to 2 or 3 on Dragons and need to pop off or just stop. On F4 those issues just don't happen. But you do push more. Since I am on Thunders I am attentive to waxing the side of the ledge/curb, but even missing a spot or a spot wearing through the wax would require attention.

[FatGuy92]

Some clips of Townley testing the dual duro OJs (and the new Indys)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cif15KUstDz/?igshid=NDc0ODY0MjQ=

[Xen]

blunts on dragons do indeed force me to pop off sooner rather than later...I have to pop out before they grip, cutting the slide short, even at full speed...103 stfs I can sit on for days once that slide kicks in and choose my distance much more easily (or end up eating shit because I tend to Puds and slide/grind for as long as I can instead of Gustavo'ing the trick for 2.5").

It almost feels like powerslideing, that point where you know the slide is going to grip/end so you have to prep. This happens much sooner on dragons than on regular wheels, even at fast speeds; they just don't hold their speed when you lock in.

As for just 'go faster', @tzhangdox is on point with his explanation.

Some clips of Townley testing the dual duro OJs (and the new Indys)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cif15KUstDz/?igshid=NDc0ODY0MjQ=

sick clips!

[DERBY]

pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

[Xen]

pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

Bones V2/Spit tablets =  ledges/rails
Bones V5 = slappies/rails/bowls - favorite wheel shape
Spit Radial Slims for literally everything else

I've never like classics because of the golfball-like shape (I don't like wide wheels); big fan of the V1/regular snot wheels shape...it's not really a classic shape but it's a 'standard' wheel on the thin side.

[FuzzGNU]

pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

General principles for the three main shapes (I'm biased towards CF/V6).

Conical Full/V6: Sharp edge. Very controlled, very stable, and very predictable. Grip well. Has a clearer differentiation between the wheel tipping or not... hard to tip over. Many say harder to flip. A more "snappy" flip, rather than a smoother easier flip. Locks into stuff more definitively, but can be harder to get out of locks. Good for rough ground. I love how secure they feel while powersliding. Conical cut takes away a bit of the extra weight from the wheel, but are still wider/heavier wheels than classics. What I would trust when bombing a hill. Great for all types of real street skating (but not the most tech wheel) and general park skating (might hang-up a bit more in transition). Great for always feeling in stable and in control.

Radial/V4: Radial edge. More effective at skating weird geometry/transitions, and ride over random obstacles. Grip well. Climbs sideways/diagonally better, and gets into coping grinds easier (but also slip out of grinds easier). More gradual to tip which can be better for flip tricks for some people. More smooth/easy flips. Tend to be a heavier shape as they bulge out to the sides. Pretty stable. Great for park/transition/bowls, are versatile but wide/heavier and less tech. Great at riding over coping and tackling transition.

Classic/V1: Thin, lightweight, with rounded edge. More nimble but less stable. Quicker easy flips. More space between trucks. Struggles with rougher ground. Share a lot in common with radials, but for street skating rather than transition skating. Great for tech and flip tricks and smooth street skateparks. Great for learning flip tricks.

Something people don't talk about enough is how much more nimble thin wheels are. I've got to tighten my trucks for thin wheels and loosen them for wide wheels. Its a bit of a trip going between the two. Feels like my wheels are balancing on their tiptoes when I try switching back to thinner shapes these days.

A lot of wheel shapes are like a combination of the above three, if you want to be reductive. Tablets/V2 are like a Classic/CF hybrid in a weird way if you think about it. I agree with Xen they are like a tech/ledge wheel. I also think Tablets look really cool, and the people who skate them always put them to good use. Makes me jealous. I've always liked them when I've tried them on others' boards.

Bones/Powell V6 56mm is my favorite wheel shape. Its like a slimmed down and deeply cut version of the Conical Full, without losing the stability/control of a Conical Full. It seems like Spitfire's OG Classic is similar in that respect. I really want to try a 56+mm OG Classic soon. 56mm CF are just too chunky IMO. Once you size up past 54mm, they take a leap in width that's a bit too much for me.

[rocklobster]

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pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

[close]

Bones V2/Spit tablets =  ledges/rails
Bones V5 = slappies/rails/bowls - favorite wheel shape
Spit Radial Slims for literally everything else

Blessed wheel shape and unique to Spitfire,  I'd say impossible to find a similar wheel profile amongst other brands.

[LebowskisRug]

Classic Fulls are god tier.

I don't like wide wheels if I don't have to. My last wheels were classic fulls that were 54 to start and measured 34.5 wide with 23 contact patch at 50.5. I don't like locking into any sort of crook with that profile, but Foy does fine.

[manysnakes]

pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

Just switched from Conical Fulls to Classics and was surprised by how much easier flip tricks were. My first few flicks, my board rotated further than I expected - I had to dial down my flick to get it back to normal. Also seems like they get into a slappy a little easier, but that might be my imagination.

[backinaction]

Annoyed Bones only come in 99 for V2’s…

I have 103 V2s in 51 and 53. 

Tactics has 52s for sale now.   https://www.tactics.com/bones/stf-v2-locks-skateboard-wheels/retros-103a

Long Beach has 53s
https://lbskate.com/products/bones-stf-retros-v5-sidecut-103a-53mm-skateboard-wheels

[hiljentaa]

Currently riding a set of 101a Rictas. Was riding 99 F4s before.

Curious how Bones 103a STF, Spitfire 101a and OJ Elite 101 compare now.

[LebowskisRug]

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pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

[close]

Just switched from Conical Fulls to Classics and was surprised by how much easier flip tricks were. My first few flicks, my board rotated further than I expected - I had to dial down my flick to get it back to normal. Also seems like they get into a slappy a little easier, but that might be my imagination.

Your imagination is my reality.

Same thing happened, but I also went up to 149 so it sorta cancelled out.

[Xen]

Currently riding a set of 101a Rictas. Was riding 99 F4s before.

Curious how Bones 103a STF, Spitfire 101a and OJ Elite 101 compare now.

101 Ricta are hard to beat once you adjust to the slide. Everything else will feel soft but Elites but Elites will be too grippy, bones will be too glassy, and spit will feel a bit slower, in my experience (after riding ricta).

They wear down pretty fast but no flats spots or complaints.

[Creachteach]

WHAT is the deal with flip flop wheels??
Do any of you ride combo wheel shapes, I.E. asymmetrical ones like Santa Cruz Vomits or OJ Mini combos?

If yes, which way do you use them, and why?
Like, conical side facing inwards for better lock-in on grinds, or rounded side inwards for hanging up less?
Which way do the pros run theirs?

Also most of my local skateparks are plywood, Masonite and skatelite. Think kinda slippery dusty stuff, and I have a fear of slipping out, which duro should I get?
OJs only come in 101a and except for the Gregson 56mm 97a. Slime Balls come in 97 and 99, right?

Currently on Spit F4 57mm Radials in 99a. I haven’t really given them the full test yet, because time. Some people claim them to be very slippery, and others perfect, what’s the verdict?

[Xen]

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Expand Quote

pros and cons of wheel shapes you’ve tried. what’re their pros n cons? what sorta tricks are they best for?

[close]

Bones V2/Spit tablets =  ledges/rails
Bones V5 = slappies/rails/bowls - favorite wheel shape
Spit Radial Slims for literally everything else

[close]

Blessed wheel shape and unique to Spitfire,  I'd say impossible to find a similar wheel profile amongst other brands.

Dug my last set out and rode them today (been on 93 dragons and 103 v1s), they feel so good, way better than the classics I had with me, both 101.