question regarding the wear of wheels

**Falcor** · 11-19-2009 05:30 AM

Hey, I've been looking into buying some freeride wheels, right now i'm sliding red 78a zigs and i want something thats smoother and breaks into a slide better. I narrowed my choices down to the gravity drifter or pink powerball. The deciding factor between these two will be which lasts longer, cause i'm low on dough. so which is it?

**Blix** · 11-19-2009 05:32 AM

Get the powerballs, Drifters tends to wear into ovals it seems, I would not buy them.

**Falcor** · 11-19-2009 01:07 PM

but would the 83a drifters last longer than 78a powerballs?

**tomes** · 11-19-2009 01:39 PM

The Drifters would last you longer. I've found that Powerballs get down to too shallow a urethane depth pretty quickly.

**AFTT** · 11-19-2009 02:05 PM

The classic thane freerides are coming out soon.

84a powerballs. Yummmm.

**Falcor** · 11-19-2009 02:36 PM

I think ill gett 83a drifters cause they'll last more than powerballs...

**snozzboarder55** · 11-19-2009 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Falcor

I think ill gett 83a drifters cause they'll last more than powerballs...

until they ovalize and you cant fix them.

classic than freerides are pretty sick, same shape as powerballs with a variety of duros. but since you are low on dough, check out the abec11 flashbacks in 81a. super fun wheel great slide good grip and beautiful thane lines left behind you, and they are easy on the wallet.

**Falcor** · 11-19-2009 03:16 PM

I have enough money to buy pretty much any wheel, but i just want it to last a while. I also want it to break into and out of a slide well and slide for a fairly long time (something i heard that drifters do very well). I also heard that lemon freerides were good but have more grip...

**wardlarson** · 11-19-2009 03:20 PM

get some 70mm 80a s9 raceforms.

**Rouleau** · 11-19-2009 03:20 PM

try 86a orangatangs. i've been thrashin on mine for a few weeks. hardly any signs of wear so far

**Falcor** · 11-19-2009 03:26 PM

damn there are so many wheels. could someone compare drifter, otang freerides, and retro freerides? (how fast they wear, how easy/smooth they slide, how far they slide)
thanks

**SirKale** · 11-19-2009 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by wardlarson

get some 70mm 80a s9 raceforms.

+1 any of the round lipped RF in 80a or higher = amazing freeride wheel.

**Falcor** · 11-19-2009 05:05 PM

how about venom sidewinder? looks like a really nice drifty wheel that is also centerset.

**mateo** · 11-19-2009 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by SirKale

+1 any of the round lipped RF in 80a or higher = amazing freeride wheel.

+2 for sure rf's are sick

**fastfly48** · 11-19-2009 07:10 PM

OP, how hard do you shred?

being 15 and not seeming to have too much experience with wheels, can i assume you're kind of new to longboarding? If so, then i really wouldn't worry about how long different wheels last, as whatever you chosse should last you well long enough. You have to be shredding hard, fast and sliding alot to kill a wheel. Sounds like that isn't you quite yet. i've had my lime zigs for 2 years, and they're still going strong, very well worn yes, but still going strong.

So If i were you id not take wheel-life into much account when choosing a wheel. Go for what you know will work for what you want and worry about wear later. if you get something different because someone said it'll last abit longer you might not like it, and thus will want to buy more wheels, thus not saving money. Plus, if you can, try the wheels out! it helps alot

just my 2c.

ps. between those two, im with blix, powerballs.

**cmarts** · 11-19-2009 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by fastfly48

OP, how hard do you shred?

being 15 and not seeming to have too much experience with wheels, can i assume you're kind of new to longboarding? If so, then i really wouldn't worry about how long different wheels last, as whatever you chosse should last you well long enough. You have to be shredding hard, fast and sliding alot to kill a wheel. Sounds like that isn't you quite yet. i've had my lime zigs for 2 years, and they're still going strong, very well worn yes, but still going strong.

So If i were you id not take wheel-life into much account when choosing a wheel. Go for what you know will work for what you want and worry about wear later. if you get something different because someone said it'll last abit longer you might not like it, and thus will want to buy more wheels, thus not saving money. Plus, if you can, try the wheels out! it helps alot

just my 2c.

ps. between those two, im with blix, powerballs.

What this guy said. My Lime Zigs are barely coned owned them for almost a year. Get the wheel that will make you want to ride the most

**Viebster** · 11-19-2009 07:19 PM

86a freerides slides amazing. I was throwing huge ass slides all day and only saw a little bit of coning. They are extremely durable.

Other wheels like drifters slide awesome, wear faster but leave sick ass thane marks.

Retro freerides aren't as great. They grip better than the others, and have a more choppy slide IME.

Oh, and check out the 82a S9 Raceforms. I'm dying to try them, might replace the drifters i was planning on.

**SlyTX** · 11-19-2009 07:46 PM

Out of the two original wheels posted I wold vote for powrballs. I got a set of 83a drifters and after a week or two of slides became heavily ovaled. Even going down a hill causes so much vibrations, I just dont ride them anymore.

**BAsports18** · 11-19-2009 08:14 PM

I really like powerballs on rougher pavement because they slide really easy and smooth but I find they don't slide out very easy on really smooth pavement which is pretty much true with all wheels. I also have otang freerides which slide out really easy and really long but they cone pretty easily. I'm really don't like lime retro freerides they are just too grippy for a freeride wheel IMO

**Falcor** · 11-20-2009 05:32 AM

Originally Posted by fastfly48

OP, how hard do you shred?

being 15 and not seeming to have too much experience with wheels, can i assume you're kind of new to longboarding? If so, then i really wouldn't worry about how long different wheels last, as whatever you chosse should last you well long enough. You have to be shredding hard, fast and sliding alot to kill a wheel. Sounds like that isn't you quite yet. i've had my lime zigs for 2 years, and they're still going strong, very well worn yes, but still going strong.

So If i were you id not take wheel-life into much account when choosing a wheel. Go for what you know will work for what you want and worry about wear later. if you get something different because someone said it'll last abit longer you might not like it, and thus will want to buy more wheels, thus not saving money. Plus, if you can, try the wheels out! it helps alot

just my 2c.

ps. between those two, im with blix, powerballs.

Well i have been longboarding a couple years and i do lots of sliding. Right now I'm on a hyrbid 35 most of the time, and i'm sliding retro zigzags in 78a, which i can do pretty well since those originals turn so damn hard. i would like to get the powerballs, but i don't want them to wear down fast, and all this talk of thane lines they leave behind make me think that they wear pretty fast.