Free ride wheel comparisons

[rosewood thief]

Mods/admins, I've noticed every couple of days we get a new thread called, "drifters vs. stimulus," or "Earthwing vs. ABEC 11." I thought I would make a thread and keep all of the free ride wheels in one place rather than scattered throughout the forums.

Some of you might be asking yourself, what is free ride? And what is a free ride wheel? In short, free riding is getting down a hill in the coolest way possible, or eating gnar bar whilst raping face. It's doing standups going 25 mph down a hill with lots of hairpin bends and lots of blind corners. And why do you need free ride wheels? Well, you don't, but a free ride wheel will make free riding much easier and more pleasant. The characteristics of a free ride wheel are round lips, (the lip is the edge,) narrow contact patch, (width of the wheel in contact with the ground,) and a duro commonly in the 80's, (duro is the hardness of the wheel, it is labeled with an "a" so it looks like: 83a, or 78a. the higher the duro, the harder the wheel, the harder the wheel, the easier it slides, the easier it slides, the rougher it rides.)

I thought a list of the popular free ride wheels and their specs would be a good way to start the thread:

Retro free riders: 72mm, 80a, 83a, 86a. 45mm wide, 32mm contact patch. offset

Gravity drifters: 70mm, 74a, 77a, 80a, 83a. 47mm wide, 32mm contact patch, sideset

Gravity Hi-Grades 76mm, 80a. 56mm wide, 46mm contact patch.

Earthwing free riders: 70mm, 81a, 84a , 40mm contact patch, centerset

Orangatang free rides: 65mm 37mm contact patch, 70mm 42mm contact patch, 75mm 45mm contact patch, 83a, offset

ABEC 11 powerballs: 72mm, 78a, 45mm wide, 32mm contact patch, offset

ABEC 11 noskoolz: 65mm, 61mm, 75a, 78a, 81a, i wouldnt get anything over that for free riding, 42mm wide, 36mm contact patch, centerset

Rayneskates tsunami/mini tsunami: 61mm, 65mm, ???? wide, ???? contact patch, ???? set

Freebord slashers: 80mm, 45.5 mm contact patch, sideset

ABEC 11 flywheels: 76mm 83mm, 90mm, 97mm, 52mm wide, 44mm contact patch, all sizes have the same width and contact patch centerset

Kryptonics route 59: 59mm, 78a, ???? wide, ???? contact patch, offset setting

Bennett aligators: heres a link, too many to type out Bennett Alligator Wheels

and the new Venom wheels???

The rest of the Krypto line can be found here: Kryptonics Skateboard Wheels its too much to type

Second, I thought a brief one paragraph review would be nice:

Gravity drifters: These were designed off of the original Krypto wheels up there ^^^^ the route 59's. The design is very funky and original, not to mention functional. They ride smooth even in the highest duro, 83, and can take hard carves but are by no means great carving wheels. The slide is the smoothest I've felt, and they can pull out of a slide really easy, making slides like speed checks and standup pendys a breeze. They are a very fast wheel and are very light, making them great for downhill. The downside is that they can't hold a slide as long as some wheels like Stimulus or Noskoolz.

Gravity Hi-Grades Large, cushy and very grippy, more of a high-speed downhill drifting wheel than a all-round goofing around wheel like most other wheels on this list. Decent smoothness, and wears slowly.

Retro free riders: The grippiest wheels of this list after the Gravity Hi-Grades wheels due to the sticky Reflex urethane. A bit choppy slide, but gets gradually smoother as you wear them down. Will last a long time if you're not a hardcore high-speed wheel killer. A versatile wheel that holds their line good, but still pretty easy to whip around for slides. The exception is 86a which have a very icy slide, looses grip fairly unpredictable and rides pretty rough. Fun wheel for learning some slides at lower speeds, but not an all-round wheel at all.

Orangatang free riders: These wheels have a very smooth slide, second only to gravity drifters IMO. they are also a very fast wheel and slide forrevvvver. The lips aren't as round as some wheels like drifters or free riders, making them a more versatile wheel and taking carves a bit better than some. The ride is very smooth and feels similar to zigzags and the rest of the otang line, which pleasantly surprised me. The thane isn't very long lasting and cones easily with the small core like the rest of the otang wheels. When you slide you slide fast and long, making them great for free riding at higher speeds and great for getting into sliding and free riding.

Powerballs: Are a very plush wheel. they slide smoother than the Retro Freerides due to the classic Abec11 urethane, a good all around wheel. In case sliding or free ride isn't your thing. They hook back up very easily but they only slide for a short amount of time. If you want good grip through carves and corners but a wheel that is easy to slide, consider these.

Noskoolz: Noskoolz are perhaps the most underappreciated wheel. Don't let these wheels go unnoticed in your search for a free ride wheel. They are the smallest wheel I mentioned, so if you want a fast wheel get these, or if you have a small board. But also remember that 65mm isn't very much smaller than your typical free ride wheel at 70mm. So these will work with just about any board and perform the way most Noskoolz do. They slide for a very long time and are very fast due to the size, although I find them difficult to hook back up compared to drifters or stimulus.

And the rest?

PS, I'm really bored, so dont hurt me if a thread like this has been posted already

[TylerHill]

Good post, I was actually looking for some good sliding wheels other than otangs. I think I'm going with 83a retro freerides

[rosewood thief]

Good post, I was actually looking for some good sliding wheels other than otangs. I think I'm going with 83a retro freerides

good choice, they are indeed great wheels, drifters and otangs just suit my style better

[TylerHill]

good choice, they are indeed great wheels, drifters and otangs just suit my style better

yeah I have a pair of durians also. I just want to try something different and that will fit on my avenger

[riley_bombs]

gonna have to disagree with you on the powerballs... buttery smooth and slide for a decent amount of time. longer than lemon retros... you should also ad which wheels leave badass streaks... powerballs being one of them.

[rosewood thief]

gonna have to disagree with you on the powerballs... buttery smooth and slide for a decent amount of time. longer than lemon retros... you should also ad which wheels leave badass streaks... powerballs being one of them.

really? the powerballs i rode must not have been broken in....

oh and drifters leave badass streaks.

if i forgot any, tell me and i will edit my original post

[SeanML]

I really want to see a thorough review of the slashers... I'm seriously considering droppin some dough for them.

[cravecrave93]

I agree with rosewood.
I think powerballs have the sickest streaks, smoothest slide, and great hookup. They are my favorite wheel by far

[rosewood thief]

here ya go: Freebord Slashers Review

[That Guy]

Finally someone does this, too many damn freeride wheel threads lately.

Just a few things i noticed

Strikers man, gotta be up there! Butttttter.

earthwingscome in 81 and 84a

Blastwaves?

Bennett gators are pretty awesome freeride wheels too.

[rosewood thief]

Finally someone does this, too many damn freeride wheel threads lately.

Just a few things i noticed

Strikers man, gotta be up there! Butttttter.

earthwingscome in 81 and 84a

Blastwaves?

Bennett gators are pretty awesome freeride wheels too.

considering trying strikers, they look very intresting

fixed

blastwaves?

and i forgot about aligators

[TylerHill]

does anyone know if i would get bite on an avenger with paris 180's and retro freerides?

[rosewood thief]

does anyone know if i would get bite on an avenger with paris 180's and retro freerides?

theres a 75mm wheel option on the site, so you will probably be fine

[TylerHill]

okay. thanks man

[That Guy]

I love strikers. Pretty plush, have a silky drift and aren't as sluggish as I find a lot of other "freeride" wheels. Definitely an underrated wheel.

I've never personally ridden blast waves, but I've heard some good and bad things about 'em. Apparently the older 'thane ones were pretty drifty. Havnt heard too much about the black ops ones, but if they're anything like my speedvents it'll be choppy as hell.

Can anyone chime in whos had time on 'em?

[rosewood thief]

well 3dm is known for there grippy thane, i wouldnt imagine that theyd be very good...

[BAUER]

you only need 3 wheels.

drifters, bigzigs, and durians.

[rosewood thief]

you only need 3 wheels.

drifters, bigzigs, and durians.

and noskoolz! dont forget those

[Bookworm]

you're gonna catch up to mark on rep after this post.

[rosewood thief]

you're gonna catch up to mark on rep after this post.

so far i won 5 rep points8)