Powerballs, Strikers, or GOS

[[ben]]

Application: DH and cruising
Desired Criteria: quick acceleration, moderately grippy yet drifty and predictable

Could someone compare and contrast these three very similar wheels please?

[boogaloo28]

powerballs=72mm strikers (w/ only 1 duro option)
All three have the same core and I beleive are poured in the same place.
Strikers (and thus powerballs too) are sideset so more slidey, GOS are centerset so you can flip'em if they cone and probably a bit more grippy (depending on duro) also a bit cheaper.
All have great predictable slide characteristics

[pyrate]

i have owned all those wheels and the pink powerballs by far are my choice.

[[ben]]

Are the differences between the three drastic enough to really make an impact on performance?

I'm really diggin' the price-point on the GOS, but if the Strikers/Powerballs are worth it I'm down to spend the extra $15. I kinda like the Powerballs I have now, but I think that I actually brought the water to a boil when I dyed them black and may have altered the properties of the 'thane a bit (they seemed to slide more post-dye). I've previously tried Strikers, but only in 88a and 84a which were crazy, they slid way too much and were rather scary at high speeds. I have not tried the GOS and I'm fairly skeptical of a company such as Sector 9's urethane quality to really make much of a comparison against ABEC 11.

[tyler87]

Sector 9's urethane quality to really make much of a comparison against ABEC 11.

Abecs and Sector's wheels are poured in the same plant now.

[revelation2]

The GOS aren't going to accelerate as fast as you'd like them to. As much as I loved my set, they were traded (with some goodies) for a set of 90mm flywheels....the abec 11 'thane is great.

A 76mm flywheel sounds about right to me.

[[ben]]

I'm repelled from Flywheels due to the huge core. I want a softer ride than that (Is that foolish of me?).

[tyler87]

I'm repelled from Flywheels due to the huge core. I want a softer ride than that (Is that foolish of me?).

No, its not foolish. Powerballs are probably the best bet. They are my favorite wheel around campus, I use them for everything. Garage killing, sidwalk surfing, commuting and the occasional boneless or ollie.

[oldnbroken]

Not foolish, correct thinking.
The 76mm Fly's are kind of harsh riding.
My GOS are a much nicer ride and grip better too.

[afi dbs a7x]

pink powerballs.... for sure.

[ojyarumaru]

I have powerballs on my carving setup (loaded w/randals) and they are awesome. They are very grippy yet slide predictably when you want them to. I didn't really dig the color though.. I dyed mine dark red w/ red rit dye and they look awesome now. It's my most favorite set of wheels.

[[ben]]

pink powerballs.... for sure.

Are they really that different from 77mm 78a Strikers?

[afi dbs a7x]

I've ridden both, and powerballs seem to be a better all around wheel, they just feel right for most styles of riding.

[boogaloo28]

just smaller and pink

[tyler87]

just smaller and pink

The way they should be

[SCTR9Gold2]

Abecs and Sector's wheels are poured in the same plant now.

wow, didnt know that, good to know...

[nbhcdownhill]

I'd go with powerballs, as much as I like strikers and gos I think powerballs are better all around than both of the other wheels. but honestly for the price gos really makes sense.

[EBasil]

All those wheels are poured in the same place, but with different urethanes. Sector does not pay for the same grade that Abec uses, and cannot buy the Reflex formula. All three use the same core.

The Powerballs are more offset than a Striker, so they're "a modified 72mm Striker in 78a" if you want to think of them that way.

[oldnbroken]

Erik-Where are the 3dm wheels poured?
Same place or no?

[maizebluu]

What are the best Bearings to use in Longboarding..?