Wheel Reviews - kegel, onda...

Joined
Mar 27, 2011
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385
Location
Bay Area, California
I wanted to start a thread devoted to wheel reviews and different peoples' impressions of how they ride. Mostly I think we are looking for grip, smoothness of ride, ease of attaching a pulley/sprocket, cost, picture, etc. One thing that I am also interested in is roll speed, which I understand is very hard to quantify, but I will rank the wheels I have ridden based on my experiences riding with my friends down the same hills at the same time... I may try to compile peoples' posts here at the top of the thread to keep this more organized. Also feel free to add your own impressions of any wheels that have already been reviewed.

Anyways I will start us off!

The first two reviews are wheels that might be used on an electric longboard, the other reviews are just my personal sentiments concerning the wheels I have ridden on conventional foot powered boards.

kegels.jpg
Orangatang Kegels 80mm 83a
The purple ones. Ride sooooo smooth. Not quite as quiet as the huge diameter onda wheels, but a lot better grip. My friend owns these - they are probably the next wheels I am going to buy.

baby onda.jpg
Onda 5.5" Polymer Wheels
The "baby" onda wheels. Still plenty big and capable of rolling over sidewalk cracks, small curbs, rocks, patches of grass, and small rodents. Similar behavior over cracks to the Bigfoot wheels and overall fairly poor grip on most surfaces. Roll speed is unrivaled. My favorite for cruising around campus because of the peace of mind afforded by the large wheels that will roll over anything.

deez wheelz.jpg
Churchill Deez Wheelz 70mm 80a
Very nice ride for the small(ish) size. My first and still favorite all around wheels. They grip very well around corners and over bumps, and they slide very predictably. I don't slide on purpose, but on those occasions where I have been pushing it a little hard, they break traction very smoothly. Roll speed is fairly slow, at least compared to the other wheels I will review (kegels, ondas, bigfoots).

bigfoot.jpg
Bigfoot Mountain Cruiser 76mm 80a
Roll speed is really really fast. Can keep up with much larger wheels such as kegels and onda wheels. They grip well on smooth pavement, but are very sketchy when trying to turn over sidewalk bumps or other gaps in the pavement.

flashbacks.jpg
Abec 11 70's Flashback 70mm
Fun for riding around on. Soft and gummy makes for good roll speed, good bump absorption, and quiet rolling.

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City Slashers 64mm 78a
Harder than the pavement I ride on. Not as smooth due to smaller size. Don't buy unless you only want to do laps around your garage or the local tennis courts...

city slasher.png
Sector Nine Race Formula 70mm 80A
Haven't ridden them too much. They are on my dad's board. Probably would recommend Flashbacks over these.
 
Nice.. I think the most easiest sets of wheels would be the following. Bigger wheels allow for more room for bigger pulley sizes and/or more room to add a pulley to it. I've always wanted 70mm wheels but it tends to be to low to the ground and doesn't leave clearance for the deck also.

1. 83mm/90mm/97mm Flywheel Clones & ABEC 11 Flywheels
81_BME1_RJc_L_SX425_1.jpg
abec11_flywheels_83_mm_wheels.jpg


2. 77mm/85mm Seismic Speed Vent
speed_vent_85x52mm_75a_single_small.jpg
SEISMIC_speedvent77mm_violett.jpg


3. 80mm Orangatang Kegels
kegel_2shot.jpg


4. 5" / 6" Pneumatic Wheels
gspnugg.jpg


Those are my main selections but my preference is more due to ride, comfort and simplicity.

Others I would consider would be the following below. But they also require more custom modification and don't just slip on.

small_These_78a_66mm_Red__Set_.png
small_Orangatang_In_Heat_Orange__Set_.png
small_Metro_Spyder__Set_.png
small_Cloud_Ride_Slide_77a_Light_Blue__Set_.png
small_Cloud_Ride_Freeride_80a_Sea_Green__Set_.png


But do we need more options than the ones listed above?
 
90mm is huge ! you should get more speed but acceleration will be lower than 83mm... and you will need big risers .. and you will be higher to the ground, less agility.. so the feeling will be different. I really enjoy my 76mm but going to 63mm motors.. require at least 83mm... maybe 85mm (speed vents) but 90mm man ! this is huge ! I tried inflatable wheels on my Evolve.. but the ride is really really different. I won't be able to do some aggressive riding compared to my 76mm wheels.. In fact I prefer urethane wheels than inflatable... maybe I spent too much time riding these kind of wheels !

I will be moving (as soon as my electronic is sold) to a 10S 8AH dual motor 63mm... medium acceleration .. still hesitating between 83mm Flywheels or 85mm speed vents... I like my 76mm 78A... maybe if I go for flywheels I would be able to easily upgrade without hub modification to 90mm .... whereas with speed vents hub... I'm stuck at speed vents :)

Should be pretty fun :D
 
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