Spitfire Formula Four 97A review
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- In this review I talk about the Spitfire Formula Four 97A wheel. Do we really need a slightly softer wheel for street and transition skateboarding and is it worth the £50 price tag? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
They are the ultimate wheels for slippery wooden ramps.
yeah 100% they have saved me on wooden ramps. If anyones local is an indoor wooden park then these wheels are great
I LOVE my 54mm Spitfire 97A Classics!
I 100% think 97A is very worth it on the rough grounds where I live, except when you already prefer lots and lots and lots of powersliding. In terms of comfort it does help (a bit) _however_ it is important to note how a wider contact surface wheel or a bigger wheel in general does a lot more for comfort, than just softness / durometer alone. I also have some 51mm wheels that are even softer than 97A, but due to their small size and narrow shape, they are not even really working that well as a cruiser wheel on rough terrain at all. For all of these things there's a balance. I also think it very much depends on your skate shoes as well. I mean, the super thin vulc shoes will feel a lot more forgiving when riding a 97A wheel setup, than for example a 101A wheel. I also would agree a lot of skaters would prefer how 101A for simply how it skates, regardless of the surface you're riding on. But I have rough roads here that destroy needs through very harsh vibration and skating a 99A there does not feel comfortable. I very much prefer 95A or 97A on those surfaces, whilst not completely being unable to powerslide those wheels. The Ricta Clouds 92a wheels are also a pretty decent hybrid, but I'm sure it wouldn't make sense to ride those on smoother surfaces at all.
I agree there is definitely a balance to all these things. I defiantly think in the conical shape these wheels make a lot more sense. Also if you're skating street spots and they're all super crusty then the wheel seems like a good option if that is the majority how what you skate. I feel like if everywhere you skate is super crusty I would be more likely to want a oj no mad or ricta cloud.
Width definitely plays a part on how one 97a wheel will feel compared to a wider 97a wheel with more surface area. Really crusty street spots i use 85a orbs pugs or even spitfire charger 80hd conical only because they make every smooth and fast in a small but firm wheel
@@averageskater900 conical is definately faster in rougher spots.
Which wheel size and durability should I get that’s better for tricks that can handle rough areas decently
Depends how rough, but I'd say 56 is a good size for maintaining speed and rolling over cracks, while still being able to be flipped/for street tricks. Most people would probably say 54mm though for a lot of flip tricks.
If you like square shaped wheels, ricta clouds are dope they're 92a and super comfy for crusty rough spots. Otherwise I'd say maybe the conical full or classic in 97a is probably good. Also check out the dragon wheels from Powell
Skating on ugly street the 97a full conical is the only option….. it’s all preference but honestly for anyone debating it’s a noticeable difference in my experience
I bet the conical shape is great with the 97a hardness
The 97a hasn't been out too long actually they aren't on the spitfire site. They tend to miss a few here and there, thank you for the review though man
That is possible but I pretty sure they have been out for almost a year at least
These aren’t even a year old, I just think they forgot to add them to the site. For slippery California skateparks they’re almost a necessity. For me 97a is perfect for skateparks and street
Interesting. Would love to skate some c
Californian skateparks one day. Maybe I'll remember my 97's for the trip
Na they def stopped making them I love the full radial
Just got the 97s and tried them out. They seem to be fine for what I skate which is transitions/bowls but then again I don't do slides, no rails no tricks so yeah these wheels are good for me but will restrict others I suppose.
They haven't updated that website in as long as I've been looking at it
I thought that might be the case. It's hard to know sometimes because a lot of the wheels they drop don't seem to make it to the UK right now and if they do they sell out pretty quick.
@@averageskater900 yeah, I'm also pretty sure they've discontinued the Radial Slim shape, which is a bummer because those are my favorite in 99d.
@@richardhawes5246 I’ve seen them once about 6 months ago
love the 97a and the oj nomads. wont ride anything harder these days just because they are actually faster because they soak up bumps better but are still firm enough and can slide still. hate my 99a tablets but love my oj nomads. grip the bowl better when the bowl is slick.
Nice, I liked that I felt like I had extra traction going fast in bowls
Go check deluxe now. They just came out with the Jeff Carlyle 97a in 58mm and 60mm.
Thank you for this honest review and putting this out there. I agree 💯 with your thoughts here. My local shop said similar things. Stick to the 99 wheels if you have really bad concrete then use conical 80HD wheels. I honestly have no idea as to why they made 97 classic wheels
Yeah I think they're a cool concept. I think they're meant to be like there version of the OJ no mads. I just didn't find them super helpful for the price. They might have saved my ass a couple time in slippy ground but I felt like they held me back more often than not.
@@averageskater900 Thx for the reply. I honestly think you're right. The 97A was the counter to the OJ Nomads. I got a set of OJ Nomads and they feel good on gnarly pavement. Haven't brought them to the skatepark yet. I bet you'd have tons of fun with them.
97a Spitfire Conical Full slide a lot better and feel a lot smoother than oj hardline 99a and bones stf v6 99a to me, have them in 54 and 58mm❤🔥
The formula 4 formula is great in all the hardnesses. It does not surprise me that other 99 wheels don't slide that well. I was able to slide my 97 wheels but they were just a tad sticky for what i'm used to. Also they sounded a bit more mushy which through me off a bit if that makes sense. They are still a good wheel. I felt a lot more secure bombing round bowls
Are they good for power slides on asphalt hills? I was thinking of getting some, but, need to decide whether to get the 97A or 99A. I normally prefer softer wheels, but, I'm looking for something that's good for slides.
@@idmhead0160 they slide super well on asphalt, the 99a might be a bit too fast in the slide, i like both though. But the 97a is exceptionally smoother! also trying the new powell 93a DF, they slide ridiculously fast and easy on every terrain, might be a bit more controlled when the threads are gone. Might be an option for you to consider ;)
The site was never updated. They never added the 97, they are missing the OG Classic shape, and missing the new radial full shape.
Oh yeah. The OG classic is my favourite shape, how did I not realise they weren't on there
What wheels should I get (durability and size) that’s better for tricks but can handle rough areas
Late to the party here, but the marketing purpose of "transition" is probably for crusty bowls lol
As far as I know they have NEVER been on the site for some reason. When I first saw them like a year back I went to the site to see what kinds of shapes they came in because there wasn’t much to choose from in the shop. But couldn’t find them. Only ever seen them in a couple of the Conical Full sizes and in 54mm Classics.
I wouldn’t mind picking up some 54mm Conical Fulls to skate the streets with around here. Then again might as well almost stick to cruiser wheels given how rough the streets are.
Yeah I thought they might be good for cruising but still being able to skate a spot if you skate past one. I think something like a ricta cloud would be better for that though. The spitfire HD's look good for cruising
@@averageskater900 you’re probably right.
I’ve been really happy with these wheels for transition. The shape locks in. The duro will slide but not slide way out. These wheels have thrown me off of nose slides, as they dig into the side wall. It just depends on what style of tricks and riding your doing and on what sort of ground. I ride a cruiser with massive wheels around the neighborhood and park setups for real skating. If a kid can only buy one set of wheels for transportation and park, these aren’t a bad choice..
I just started skating and I built a board and I got the SF FF conical full 54mm 97DU for my board. So I have no idea what other wheels would be good for me? I just want to do standstill tricks and grinding and powerslides.. any help? Btw I live in Los Angeles, California.
97a is the best !
what Kind of skating do you do. Interested to know why you prefer them over the 99
@@averageskater900 ripping mostly
@@wavehog Can you be more vague?
Do these slide just as good as the 99a f4's with the softer ride for knees?
They slide decently but it’s noticeably harder than the 99 which is why they were not for me at the time. I think I would try them again now tho as I have had a couple ankle injuries which have heavily affected my skating
Good points!
Shape AND duro👍
bro would recommend this as a cruiser wheels for a certain degree of rough surface? i still want a hard wheels rather than soft as i revert a lot and powerslide.
No it's defiantly still a street or park wheel. It's not soft enough to be classed as a cruiser. Still feels harder than a lot of wheels. Just softer than regular F4's
I have a question. How long can spitfire last before they get small like from 54- 45 mm? because im getting my first spit soon im getting tablets 99
depends how much and what surface you skate on. 54-45mm I'd say you'd get at least a year if not more if you're not skating super crusty surfaces everyday
Like. 7.75
Skaters are fading out different styles
Parts. Thank God for the variants
Please elaborate, your point sounds interesting I'm just not sure what you mean.
@@averageskater900 I've loved all sports...
But nothing was better then street surfing.
Now I just have my lill pitbull & my neighbors boxer. Pull me down the jogging path
I have the 97's radial full, they are quite grippy due to the shape too, but I never slip out, which is nice.
Use them in the streets, think they would be too grippy in the park.
Good wheels, slide and quiet
Yeah they are good wheels Just not my preference in hardness. I would still skate the 97A formula 4's over the 99a's from other companies. Since making the switch to formula 4 I have become a bit of a fan boy admittedly.
These are the worst formula 4
They’re good wheels for slippy wooden parks and they have the smooth f4 roll, but they kinda felt too grippy for me.
There are 97a Spitfire at a nearby SK8board shop here in Southern California not too far from my house. I may be buying them soon cuz budget tight and bought other wheels for other board. They're a little less then 40 dollars(plus tax OF COURSE) I never had a Spitfire before.
Less than 40 for F4's is pretty good. To be fair I would skate the 97A spitfires over most wheels still
@@averageskater900 With several in mind of "which next" to try out, it seems to me they,the 97a I have in mind may be all (artificial)terrain (and in earthquake prone unstable California creates plenty of crummy ground in cement & asphalt)& these 97a seem to be touching both worlds of sliding which 99a are within "that world" and "the world of" under 99a which take you over diverse terrain & I need softer to best ride over crummy ground and ruined asphalt & sidewalks ruined by unstable faultline rich SoCal. I THINK I KNOW WHICH TO GET NEXT NOW plus I'm guessing that being Formula Four(the 97a Spitfire I've in mind) flat spot risk is minimum despite the two less durometer...(?)
@@socalautisticman1975 Yeah I think that they should work well for you. Only if they are the conical full shape though?
@@averageskater900 the people that have the skate shop closest to home has got broken into and they were just beginning... That sucks !!!!!
I could care less about the 97a but now I'm going to have to wait because of my budget even if they didn't have that bad luck.
I like to skate a pool that’s pretty slippery I normally skate spits 99a in a 56 or 58 but imma move it down to oj 97a 56mm ojs tend to be grippy in street but the same in parks when 99a so going to try them out
I just ordered mine from skate warehouse 58 mm, I’ve noticed they tend to go out of stock every few days. I had a set of lance moutain rainbow formula fours years ago and they we’re the best wheels ever!
How do you like them? I was thinking about getting the same ones, but, I'm not sure if I should go with the 99A or 97A. I normally skate on asphalt. I prefer a softer wheel, but, I want something for power sliding on hills.
They are soooo sick! Best wheels ever they won’t get messed up! But I went to do a power slide and I fractured my arm though😂, still skating but I got no fear now but I gotta go safer and learn the rest of the tricks holding onto something first, wanna at least get up to hard flips like my friend Andrew who skated in the 90s but their 58 mm and I’m getting a mike v public domain board soon and I love my Krux trucks! After these set I’m gonna go to 52 mm like my friend Sean brown and go check his channel if you can! And I love old school boards that’s why I’m getting the mike v board
@@djbucher6998 Cool. Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about your arm. Sheesh. I just asked someone else a question about a different set of wheels and they said almost the same thing. They fell down and messed up their back. Using the new Powell experimental 93A wheels. You mean the Mike V Powell Elephant board? Yeah, I actually bought one of those a couple months ago. They have them on the Skate One website, or, at least did the last time I checked. I skated that board back in the 80s. I think prefer Popsicle shaped boards now though. I wanted to compare ollies on that to the modern boards.
Yeah dude! I wanna have two board setups someday a popsicle and an old school
@@djbucher6998 Did you skate back in the 80s? Public Domain and Mike V style skating was exactly what I tried to emulate when I was in my prime skating days
Vs dragons?
How much is the difference between 99a and 97a?
It was noticeable to me. Mostly when pivoting out of tricks the 97a was a lot grippier. They saved me on wooden slippy skateparks tho
People act like 97, 99, and 101 feel that different. Hell, I bet I could give you unmarked 92a and 97a that are the same size and tread and no one would notice the difference.
I think the difference between 99 and 101 would be too difficult to tell the difference in a blind test but 97 I think I could tell. 92 and 97 I think I could tell for sure. A blind test would make a fun video though, would love to be proven wrong.
Wrong. I've tried Mini Logo 101, 95, and 90 and there's a noticeable difference. 90 and 95 are kind of similar, but, 101 is definitely harder. 103 Bones STF are noticeably harder still. I don't know how people tolerate hardass wheels like that.
Sub
Real men ride a 97a wheel.
How long have you been a real man bro?
@@averageskater900 I was born a real man, home boy
I’m almost sure they made them for boards filming …. They’re smooth enough on rough surfaces, yet hard enough to carry speed. I have 56mm Classics on a shaped board to cruise, but I’d be nervous to ‘skate’ them… maybe on a rainy day 🤷🏽♂️
99s are the best. you can slide and grip easily and it seems a lot softer than the 101s, in the park. if you want a softer wheel, go all the way and get the 78s. there is no in between wheel that works for everything. the 78s are a totally different wheel, however, they will destroy crust, if you need that kind of action. I like 78s in the streets because they just roll over everything. spitfire has chargers, which are 80s and you can rip on those wheels...
Ricta clouds normal shape 52 on asfalt works for me