There’s been a fair amount of hype in the last couple of weeks around Spitfire’s new Formula Four wheels – undoubtedly fueled by that Busenitz advert, (below) but also built up by the word of mouth that they genuinely offer something new.
After spending the last couple of weeks testing a set of the 54mm’s on every piece of terrain I can find, I can safely say that they are the best Spitfire Wheels I’ve ever ridden. I would normally skate slightly bigger wheels but these have held up well all terrain, even dealing well with cruising around the crusty streets of West Yorkshire.
The main difference between these and Spitfire’s I’ve had in the past is the powerslide potential; at 101 duro you can slide down hills like you were skating glass, but after testing this repeatedly (and with great enjoyment), they have yet to flatspot. This was previously a problem I had with Spitfire’s that finally seems to have been fixed to great effect.
The narrow wheel base means a nicely locked in feel on grinds, even on council built parks with coping set so far in – it might as well be non-existent, and perhaps most importantly, they’re fast. It took a decent amount of truck tightening before I stopped getting speed wobble during a vert session and hill bombs would be a dicey proposition if it wasn’t for that reliable, flatspot-free sliding potential.
When winter comes round you might want to change up and put on the 99duro’s for those oil slick indoor parks that have seen some heavy blader waxing action, but for summer months when the hills and concrete parks are your oyster? Stick a set of these on, find a big-arse incline, put on Devo and pretend you’re in Thrashin’.
Jono Coote