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I'm confused about slalom wheels

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:23 am
by Mike Milner
I was at the slalom competition a few days ago, i realized that slalom wheels are a lot harder and have speed and... I would like to get slalom wheels that have speed but still have traction, i was looking at the 3DM Avalon 82a in the rear and 86a in the front, i don't know if they are too soft or too hard. any suggestions?

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:57 am
by David Riordon
To quote local quick slalomer Brian Parsons,
"All I need are Avalon 86a's all the way round. That's the same wheel I have been using since last year's [2003] championships in Morro Bay".



As for me [lbk] I have been dorking around on all types of wheels and seem to be getting slower and slower. Meanwhile WesE, Parsons, KMG, PADan, Vlad, Ohm and the rest of the slalom world are just getting faster and faster every year. Each of them will swear by one wheel brand or another.

I find that 3dm are fast but don't last all that long so don't use for anything else than running cones. ABEC11's are much more durable but might not be as fast, though I think they grip much better and are more predictable when the offsets get hairy.

DR


PS, I'm such a kook that I rode the Lansdowne Bank Slalom Race the other week with inside out ABEC11 Stingers. But I did get 5th place.

WHEELS GO ROUND AND ROUND

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 5:41 am
by Rene Hayden
Hey Mike,

Generally, I think the progression is to go from softer to harder as you get more comfortable and confident in your slalom abilities. Harder will make you go faster, but if your lines aren't tight it can get a bit hairy. I have three (2) sets of avalons that I swap around. It's good to be able to "tune" according to conditions too. We did slalom on Meridian hill park in D.C. a while back which was super steep and a lot rougher than the P&R so it was nice to have softer wheels. The park and ride is so consistent and smooth that people have been running harder and harder set ups there.

If you only had to buy 4 wheels, I'd get avalons low 80 (84?) rear and 86 front. Or 86/92. You want the traction in the rear to push against. That's a good swiss army knife set up, i'd think, but maybe others will chime in. Vlad's been running abec 11 grippins for a while, and pa dan has done his share of monkeying about with abec 11/3dm combos. Maybe it was just the PPs but Nino's ride was rolling pretty well also. Don't know what his wheels were.

Rene.

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 1:16 pm
by Seth Levy
manx are killer too

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 8:28 pm
by Vlad Popov
Mike, I'd get 4 86A Avalons if I were you. Same duro all around will last longer.

I've tested 88/92A Grippins in the last 8 races. They are <b>NOT</b> as fast as 86/90A Avalons, but <b>ARE</b> grippier and can be pushed more then similar duro Avalons.

On a standard 7.5-second unlimited-push 40-cone-at-6ft PSL course 88/92A and 92/92A Grippins are on average 0.2 seconds slower then 86/90A Avalons. See the difference?

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2004 2:05 am
by Mike Milner
thanks guys.