ASRA - Australian Skateboard Racing Association

Hi,
At the moment, I'm using ABEC11 Gumballs-78a durometer. They slide pretty easily, but I was thinking about getting some freeride wheels, to see if they slide even better.

So I was wondering which freeride wheels are good. How do the Otangs compare with the ABEC11 freerides. Also, will the freeride wheels slide more easily than my gumballs?

I'm using them on Randals on a Hellcat 09 deck. I mainly use my board for carparks, freeride and easy downhill.

Thanks.

Views: 162

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Otangs are the best all round wheel for freeriding and they will still have lots of grip when boming hills on them. But my favorite wheel specifically for freeriding would be the retro freerides no chatter at all and still grip when needed. Give Ado a call he will sort you out.
Jonty i think you'll find your gumballs will actually slide out a lot easier than any of the freeride wheels on the market. the advantage of freerides are the slides are much smoother and they won't hook up as much as square lipped wheels. they also have quite a bit of grip on them too especially in the carparks. i found the gumballs to be one of the slipperiest wheels i've ever ridden, but i wouldn't feel as comfortable on them with high speed slides as i would with more recent wheel designs (Otangs, BigZigs, Freerides etc.)

so really, if you want a slidier wheel for the type of riding you do you won't find anything better than what you've got.
personally i love powerballs to slide, not fast but grip and slide futher then retro freerides
The otang freerides are good for shredding the gnar, very smooth slides. there are wheels that slide longer but the otangs are just awesome.
well I reckon they are... I found them HEAPS better than retro freerides.
The two main types of freeride wheels are Orangatang and Retro, the otangs have a stone ground finish. Retros are straight out of the pour, smooth glass like finish like a new wheel. For the retro's you need to break them in a bit before they start to perform. Otangs will perform straight out of the box. The only two wheels you can compare are Orangatang Stimulus 70mm and Retro Freeride 72mm. Both have a similar shape, narrower than a inHeat/Big Zig so a smaller contact patch, both are offset bearing, so you will not be able to wear the other side when coned. (hint hint Otang for the future).
Shape of the wheel is rounded edge, so you dont get that hard grip of a lip when carving or sliding. I have not skated the retro's but the Otangs will make you want to skate everyday of your life. They are a very controllable slide. You will be surprised how easy you can stand up slide on these, even if you have never done it before. Come down the hill, carve into the road, you'll feel the back getting light and let it slide, bring it back. Start small and get bigger slides as you go. Otang is a seriously fun wheel, it is hard to describe, they are not slippery, they really grip when you want it. Otang have the sizes but Retro have the duros.
Orangatang Fat Free 65mm 83a = fun small wheel for short boards, minis, cut down longboard
Orangatang Stimulus 70mm 83a = freeride speciality, nice for small boards and longboards up to 38 inch, even more. For technical skaters.
Orangatang Durian 75mm 83a = when too fast is not fast enough. Under rated racing wheel, perfect for big hills and serious corners, making a noise, get your pre drift on, scare your love ones on that hill out the front of your house.

At the end of the day Otang or Retro it is like the car wars or the cola wars. Holden or Ford? Coke or Pepsi?
Personally, retro freerides seem to be the old fishballs redone, maybe retro are playing catch up here. Otang are really getting into the freeride scene, putting lots of development into their gear. Their freeride range is the result of all that.
powerballs are the most under rated free ride wheel out, they are nicer then the retro freerides (dif thane) also other options are Kriptonics Classic Blues (if you can get them) or Freebord Slashers, if you dont mind having an 80mm wheel slashers are the way to go, some of the best thane for freerideing there is and they last for ever (12-18 months of hard use on a freebord which chews up wheels)
I have noticed that they slide out pretty easily, but as I haven't ridden many other wheels I honestly didn't know how they would compare. I rode Leigh's Dervish with In-Heats and found that the gumballs were easier to get into a slide, but the In-Heats kept on sliding for longer. I honestly always thought that the freerides would slide more easily than the Gumballs, how come it's the other way round you reckon? And why don't people choose the Gumballs as much these days? I guess not grippy enough for DH?

leighgriffiths said:
Jonty i think you'll find your gumballs will actually slide out a lot easier than any of the freeride wheels on the market. the advantage of freerides are the slides are much smoother and they won't hook up as much as square lipped wheels. they also have quite a bit of grip on them too especially in the carparks. i found the gumballs to be one of the slipperiest wheels i've ever ridden, but i wouldn't feel as comfortable on them with high speed slides as i would with more recent wheel designs (Otangs, BigZigs, Freerides etc.)

so really, if you want a slidier wheel for the type of riding you do you won't find anything better than what you've got.
By the way, thanks for all the replies everyone. You've been helpful.
sik board. havent used the otang freerides but apparently they are sik. evn the normal otangs slide sik once they r worn in.
Jonty said:
I honestly always thought that the freerides would slide more easily than the Gumballs, how come it's the other way round you reckon? And why don't people choose the Gumballs as much these days? I guess not grippy enough for DH?


i think people misunderstand what freeriding is about. its not all about sliding. its about thrashing down hills in what ever fashion you want (usually means bombing, carving, sliding, early grabbing etc.), so you want a wheel that will be able to carve and grip nicely but still have a nice controllable slide. if you have a wheel that has no grip it makes things dangerous.
if you wanna do "sliding", then i suggest you get a slide set-up.
leighgriffiths said:
Jonty said:
I honestly always thought that the freerides would slide more easily than the Gumballs, how come it's the other way round you reckon? And why don't people choose the Gumballs as much these days? I guess not grippy enough for DH?


i think people misunderstand what freeriding is about. its not all about sliding. its about thrashing down hills in what ever fashion you want (usually means bombing, carving, sliding, early grabbing etc.), so you want a wheel that will be able to carve and grip nicely but still have a nice controllable slide. if you have a wheel that has no grip it makes things dangerous.
if you wanna do "sliding", then i suggest you get a slide set-up.

completely true, if you just want to slide, i reccomend some earth wing Slide A wheels, hardest wheels there is its almost like cheating on them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=8ahjCLTP_Zw

What are the dark blue wheels and the yellow wheels these guys are using do you reckon?

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Search

© 2024   Created by Bugs.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service