What do you guys think I should get first?

I have a wooden storage box that I use for grinds/slides, and a rail I made too, but I can't decide between some nice new wheels or a proper obstacle from TNP.

Wheels forsure

Oaks, especially if you only have CNC bearing wheels.

Thanks, I take it if I get a set of Oaks on my setup it'll feel even smoother when I'm using it?

I have a lot of fun just seshing the box and rail that I have, and I haven't been fingerboarding that long so I'm still trying to get stuff like tre's and kickflips nailed properly, I'd like to be able to execute them the same way that I can with ollies, the whole feeling of the motion I get when I do ollies is smooth, and when I Ollie they feel like this most of the time, but as for kickflips and tre's there's times where I do them and I get the same feeling that I do with my ollies and they look really clean too, but it's not very often that happens though.

I practice every night, and I am seeing improvements all the time, do you eventually get to the point where you can just execute the tricks flawlessly most of the time?

Yeah man, I'm just using some CNC bearing wheels just now, they feel awesome on my BRR's, they didn't feel any different to my regular bearing wheels when I had them on the China trucks they came with, but they feel great on Blackrivers, so I am assuming a set of Oaks will make my setup feel super slick?

I have a Yellowood Skully Z3 deck coming to replace this Ambition as well, I hope to get it tomorrow.

No, oaks will not make it smoother, oaks are made out of polyurethane (same material as skate wheels) oaks are for a more "realistic" feel. If you want smooth get some flatface wheels.

Oaks are the best wheels in my opinion but there a bit bumpy still smoother than cncs if youre willing to pay extra I'd go with oaks but if not just some ff wheels that work on brts, FF has the blam Z's which are grippy and smooth and only 20 bucks

If you want smooth, go with Flatface.
From what I understand, you're relatively new to the scene, so I would go with FF wheels. Oaks are more for when you have had smooth wheels, and wanna try something more unique

The Oaks are much the same price as FF wheels, I want something that will spin fast on my trucks, I don't see the point in paying £24 on FF when I can get Oaks for the same price.

Can anyone answer my question regarding tre and kickflips, will they come to me just like ollies, with practice?

Why do you want something that spins fast?

Bearings that spins fast are often the ones that are the least smooth.

If you want Oaks, get Oaks. If you want a smoother feel get Grand Wheels.

Enternamehere wrote:

Can anyone answer my question regarding tre and kickflips, will they come to me just like ollies, with practice?

It's like anywhere else, the more you practice, the smoother it'll feel. Same thing with FB-Tricks.

I can also highly recommend Oaks... and the revert-sound is just amazing

I like the feel of fast spinning wheels, the only set I have that I really like the feel of are my CNC wheels, they spin real fast, and they're really smooth. :/

Can you please explain to me what would possibly make a fast bearing cause a wheel to not roll smooth, because this sounds utterly ridiculous man!

cant go wrong with winklers though

So, Oaks are gonna give a similar feel to real skateboard wheels?

I was considering Winklers, but Oaks are a few quid cheaper.

Winkler, Oaks and FF wheels all roll really well, and as much as anything, the most impactful difference between them is the wheel material itself. Oaks offer the most realistic, softest experience and I personally find em perfect for my indoor use setups.

Outdoors, I tend to go for Winklers, as although I find FF wheels very smooth, they're a little hard for my taste... For me, the middle way solution is to go for a set of FF Duros, which feel like a good equidistant point between these choices.

They usually have stock from all of these manufacturers at TNP, and similar (ish) costs, so it's really up to you, but if you're near a meetup, why not go along and try out a couple of options...

If you're in London, the next TNP meetup is happening shortly, and I'll be bringing along setups with all those wheel options to give people a go. And I know there's meetups across the States, Europe etc, so hopefully there'll be one near you soon!

Addendum... I'm yet to try Grands, but everyone says good things, and I've got a few sets coming in, so will let you know how I find these. Worth reiterating that a lot of folk recommend them...

Frostie, thank you for a descriptive response man, I'm up in the North of Scotland I'm not sure there are any fingerboard meetups that happen up this way, I don't even know anyone else that fingerboards, apart from my little brother who only started after me.

Jack, are you aware of any meetups at all here in Scotland?

Regarding a fast bearing causing an unsmooth ride, that's not correct at all, logic and common sense tells you that the material and accuracy of wheel shape is what dictates how smooth something will roll, nothing to do with a fast spinning ballbearing.

Enternamehere wrote:

Regarding a fast bearing causing an unsmooth ride, that's not correct at all, logic and common sense tells you that the material and accuracy of wheel shape is what dictates how smooth something will roll, nothing to do with a fast spinning ballbearing.

It seems logical doesn't it ! but its not true, china wheels spin like crazy on my trucks but are not that smooth, and my winklers and oaks hardly spin at all and are wwwaaaayyyyyy smother man. Although it does seem weird haha. As regards to the events, there are no scotland event that i know of and i have looked around a bit, im pretty sure the nearest meetup is the northern meetup (i think that what it is called) which is in north england but isnt that big. But the best is probably Crossed fingers in Bristol if you can get there haha ive not been yet but hope to go this year

Yea, i can't really explain it. As Jack says it's not really logical, but in my experience fast wheels are less smooth. There are of course also wheels that are neither fast or smooth, so it doesn't work that way around.

My best guess is that the slower bearings are smoother because of good greasing, and precision parts.
And that fast bearings are less smooth because the parts are less precise. Allowing you to make them roll fast by applying force.

I've tried taking the fast bearings from a set of china wheels and putting them into a pair of No Comply wheels which were really smooth with the original bearings. But this made the wheels almost as crappy as the chinas.


As for Oaks. I personally don't think they feel like a skateboard. They just feel different than regular plastic wheels, and to some people this is a nice feeling. The material is slightly more responsive than plastic, and it's not as noisy, which can give the setup a less cheap feel.

Thanks Mikkel, sorry if my last post came across as cheeky/offensive it wasn't intended, I've mentioned several times the gear that I have, which is all China and I never really noticed a difference between the CNC and my regular China bearing wheels, in fact before I got my Blackriver trucks my favourite wheels were my soft TD expert sk8s, but when I stuck those onto the BRRs they barely spun and they felt terrible, I tried my regular bearing wheels and again it felt no different, but I got a surprise when I stuck the CNC wheels on, I tightened the nuts right up then just gave them a quarter turn back off and the wheels spin for quite a while, and when I started using the setup it felt amazing compared to how those wheels felt on the trucks they came with, yet with my other wheels didn't make any difference, the Expert Sk8 ones barely spun, and weren't smooth, yet when they're on the trucks they came with I actually like those wheels.

Wish I didn't post this thread now, as I was pretty much set on getting either an obstacle or Oaks, but now I'm looking at all the brands you guys have suggested and now I can't decide on wheels!!!!

Edit

Sorry, not ALL my stuff is China, just most of it.

Dilemmas are good, means there's plenty of choice out there, and right now, there are some really great wheel sets from all of the brands mentioned here.

I think there are a couple of consistent things you can take away from the discussion, specifically that everyone recommended wheels (over obstacles) as your next investment and that everyone is passionate about their personal wheel decision!

I'd be inclined to suggest that if you want reference wheels, go for Winklers, if you want smooth material suitable for a wide range of surfaces go for FF and if you want something that does feel a little more responsive (very apt description Mikkel), Oaks are great. As I mentioned earlier, I'm yet to try Grands myself, so reluctant to include in this list, but can't wait for mine to arrive!

Ultimately, whatever decision you make will enhance your fingerboarding experience, so go for it!

And having said all that... I just got some new Gators! They're for an old school setup though, so perfectly appropriate... Pix coming soon...

Enternamehere wrote:

I like the feel of fast spinning wheels, the only set I have that I really like the feel of are my CNC wheels, they spin real fast, and they're really smooth. :/

Can you please explain to me what would possibly make a fast bearing cause a wheel to not roll smooth, because this sounds utterly ridiculous man!

Try Grands if you want smooth wheels.. and oaks if you want grip.

FAST SPINNING DOSENT MEAN SHIT! FAST SPINNING WHEELS ARE ABEC1 CHINA BEARINGS THAT ARE COMPLETLY DRY AND NOT LUBRICATED AND ROLL LIKE CRAP. A NICE WHEEL WILL SPIN SLOW QUIETLY SMOOTH AND ROLL SUPER SMOOTH.

Its exactly like skateboard bearings.. if you know anything about speed and durability... you know that all the kids with bones reds that have "the fastest spin" are dry and slow when you ride.. the bearings are about to break the next time you try to do some stairs.

fast spinning doesn't = smooth rolling

you need oil and higher abecs

http://www.grandfingers.home.pl/en_US/p/GF-GHOST-RIDE-wheels-street-7.5-VIOLET-PANTHER/384

These are stupid smooth^^^

http://www.grandfingers.home.pl/en_US/c/Bearing-Wheels/59

I didn't say fast bearings = smooth rolling wheels, Trent.

What I meant is the bearing isn't going to be the sole factor as to how smooth the wheels feel when you're using them, that's kinda silly because by using that logic, then you're basically stating that if you took a bearing out of a set of the smoothest wheels and stuck them into another wheel it will roll smooth too, but the accuracy of wheel shape, and also the materials used to make the wheels are going to play just as much if not more of a role as to how well the wheels will feel, no?

And I know that I only have China wheels so I can't compare them to proper fingerboard wheels, but only the CNC wheels spin fast on my BRR's and they are really smooth, none of the other wheels I have felt any different, except the CNC ones.

And obviously this is due to the fact that the wheel has been more precisely shaped compared to the other wheels I have which I assume came out of molds and not laithed.

- China CNC wheels spin fast and if you're lucky they are smooth too (each set differs, they are not very consistent)
- Oak wheels do not spin fast and are not very smooth when you roll but they are softer so you don't really feel it
- FF wheels spin really fast and also roll very smooth, when on glass it feels like your board is hovering


So oaks are very different, if you want something new to try, get them. They are not ment to be super smooth, they give you very special feeling (mucho feeling). They grip a bit more than other wheels and you can feel they are softer.
If you want crazy smooth wheels that will make you chase your setup rolling off the table whenever you miss a trick, get FF BRTedition wheels.
It is up to you.
Period.

Thanks TehBlazer, I was hoping my Yellowood came in today but it didn't come.

Anyone know how long it takes to receive items from TNP?