new Avalon 68mm's in 75a durometer

Howard Gordon · Post by **Howard Gordon** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 1:48 am

<img src="http://www.3dm-sport.com/images/red_avalon400.jpg"><br>
We just ran a production batch of softer Avalon 68mm wheels in a 75a durometer to complement the white 80a and gray 85a Avalons. As you can see from the photo, these wheels are not white or gray - we've used red in the past for prototype wheels, and thought they looked pretty cool. <br>
Longskate and SolidSkate should have them in stock shortly, plus we'll have them on our website.

Vlad Popov · Post by **Vlad Popov** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:20 am

Howard, these are the coolest looking wheels! Sweet!

That’s what longboard slalom Plankk-Rs were missing!

Can you do a little run of harder-durometer Avilons? Like 90A?
Some modern trucks, such are PVDs, for example, provide an incredible amount of traction compared to the convectional trucks. I believe Michael Dong used 88/92A wheels at the last FCR race to “drag him up” onto the podium. I use 90A-and-over durometer wheels all the time.

It might be a little “screw-up” run, in which your engineer or technician does something wrong for a second and –Boom!- 90 A comes out of it. Oops, somebody has to buy a bunch of 90A Red Avilons. I will be that somebody and I’m sure there will be others.

I know your team riders have tested the harder wheels in the past and they didn’t work. However, the tests have (probably) been done on steeper terrain and, in addition, some breakthroughs happened in the truck industry which allowed for the use of harder durometer wheels.

If you do them in red, that would be quite …..RAD!

Three Dee Emm – I want some of them!

Vlad.

PS. If you do tiny yellow hammer-and-sickle impressions in those red wheels, they will be an automatic bestseller in Russia!

Avions and Avilas are already #1 wheel choice of the Russian slalomers…by default (thanx for the sponsorship!)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 6:10 am

Vlad...I'll let Howard fill in the details but the 3dm urethane in harder duros (85a+) are dogs. The 90a cambrias are SLOW. 3dm urethane is better 75-85a, while chaput's urethane is better 85a+ while chaputs softer urethane (for slalom, other than 75a) is slow and mushy. Go figure.

personally I think harder urethanes need square'er lips on them (like a flashback) since they tend to slide more and said lip slides better than the current avalon lip.

3dm avalons rock for what they are, 3dm cambrias are the best TS (and best wheel period) on the market and the new avilas are insane. Flashbacks, for slalom, work for straight pumper where little traction is needed.

My ideal big hard (88a, 90a, 92a) wheel would be something like the older hyper super mundo (73mm), a little wider (flashback width) with the strada core (10mm though) semi centerset (like where the hub is on an avalon, complete square edge inside and outside like the old hyper mundos/strada 66mms.

that wheel combined with PVDs would be absolutely INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoever made that wheel would have to sell it under the condition that you sign an insurance waiver.....

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Chris Stepanek on 2003-04-22 00:12 ]</font>

Vlad Popov · Post by **Vlad Popov** » Wed Apr 23, 2003 2:18 am

Mmmm…kay…I like chopped Avalons with no outer lip. As wide as Cambrias. They are faster. Avilas are probably better being chopped on the East coast as well.

Most courses we ride are “straight” courses. There is nothing technical about them. And there aren’t super fast. The lip helps a lot on DC longboard slalom courses, but that’s about it. So most of the time we’re riding West Coast wheels on the wrong coast (statement based on a minimum of 10 trails under normal atmospheric conditions comparing chopped 85/80A Avalons with standard 85/80A Avalons using calibrated Tway’s timer at P&R, MD, US during the last group practice session). And don’t forget, most of the time Kimbel beat us on the Greenies! Even when we used Cambrias! Even on “TS”!

Cambrias are the best slalom wheels in my opinion, only they are the best and the most useless slalom wheels. This is GS/longboard/beginer slalom era. The Cambria-type of Slalom is long gone, but it might make a comeback one day. When and if the races’ technical level rises.

90/86A Cambrias were consistently .5 sec faster on TK’s hill last year then a 86/82A combo. 82s felt poopy and slow in the back after the 86s. 86/90A combo is significantly faster on good pavement, flat or slanted. Again, it has been empirically determined.
86/82A Cambrias are faster then 90/86A Cambrias on technical courses on a rough pavement like P&R. I assume it is because 90As start sliding around in tough offsets. 86/86A might be as good, if not better then 86/82A.

Anyway, the new Avalons are extremely cute. And I’m ok with mixing gray and green.

It’s just that the front axle is 1 cm wider then the rear one.

I gotta have some red wheels soon.

Vlad.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 23, 2003 2:56 am

our stopwatches disagree about the 90a cambrias. I have found them to be super slow in all but polished concrete. I rode 82a cambras all around at Morro Bay last year and posted around the 8th fastest time of the day (pro/open classes combined), in hindsight I probably could have taken .3-.5 off of my times with 80a avalons cutdown or even flashbacks. That would have put me advancing past Micheal Dong....

but ya...the red avalons are cute....that was our prototype color....

Howard Gordon · Post by **Howard Gordon** » Wed Apr 23, 2003 3:28 am

Vlad -

Your request is the 2nd one I received today for harder Avalons. You're right - we only tried them on steeper / rougher surfaces where they had almost no traction. I recently gave Steve Sherman some of the 88a and 92a prototypes we poured a year ago, and the rest of them went to Russia with Jani. They're really ugly non-pigmented urethane - sort of amber colored. Sherman's a big guy, and he really liked them for some surfaces. Anyhow, I'll give it some thought, since I already almost sold out the whole batch of 75a's in a single day !! Maybe a dark red to tell them from the 75a's.

Howard

Wes Eastridge · Post by **Wes Eastridge** » Wed Apr 23, 2003 6:15 am

Add me to the growing list of requests for harder Avalons.

Howard Gordon · Post by **Howard Gordon** » Wed Apr 23, 2003 7:45 pm

Got it. We'll run some 90's when we run another batch of 75's. Figure 3-4 weeks.

Sean Dawkins · Post by **Sean Dawkins** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 5:14 am

Howard: COunt me in for some 90s as well..
SD

Adam Trahan · Post by **Adam Trahan** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:35 pm

...me too. I'm up for some Avilla's and I will make an order ASAP.

Tom Blankley · Post by **Tom Blankley** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 5:36 am

Hey Adam, The Avila's rock, Your welcome to try mine anytime.
Tom

Adam Trahan · Post by **Adam Trahan** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 6:21 pm

Thanks for the offer Tom but I just ordered my first set of Avilla's. I will put them on that new board that I am building.

I was going to try your board until that security guard told us to vacate the premisis.

I'll be ready to set up the Virtual Slalom Course soon but I won't be using Avilla's, I'll probably use my TS board set up with Cambria's.

HG's wheels are it.

Tom Blankley · Post by **Tom Blankley** » Sat Apr 26, 2003 6:54 am

Hey Adam , Let me know when and where you want to set cones, I'll be there

Tom

Join the ISSA 25 cone series. One cyber race every second month!

Regular sessions allow newbies to join our community and discover slalom racing.