Gravity Skateboards: Fu Manchu Wheels 78mm 80A

Gravity Skateboards: Fu Manchu Wheels 78mm 80A

I was finally able to pick up new wheels for my longboard setup when I found this set of Gravitys on sale at an online merchant. They’re the Fu Manchu model, 78mm and 80A, that means big and soft for those of you who grew up in the recent era of companies that don’t print hardness on their wheels anymore. These wheels have a sideset bearing, what this means for performance I’m not really sure but it looks cool. The core is like a hard plastic mag-style rim that could be designed for airflow purposes and which also looks cool.

(Actually Dan, conventional wisdom holds that a cored wheel allows for a faster response time and less overall flex. I’m sure there is a more technical explanation, but basically, the core allows the wheel to spin faster and gives the bearings a more solid seating, which is especially important in big soft wheels. The hard plastic also means less energy is lost when starting rotations becasue there is less elasticity and less weight. Who wants to pop your wheels out of the bearings? Granted, you’re not likely to do that on a liquor store run… Industry types, please feel free to chime in here. k-ed)

The sheer size of a 78mm wheel usually means that it will be fast and Gravity hasn’t disappointed me with this set. They’re pretty fast but not as fast as some harder wheels. The fact that they are so soft means that they’ll ride slower than a harder wheel yet it also means that they feel super smooth on rough streets. So far these wheels have performed great and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been riding this thing around town on beer and grocery runs but haven’t had the chance to try them out in a park setting. They’re even a good dark shade of red, there seems to be lots of longboards out there with the gummy green wheels of another company and I’m sick of that look. When I first got these wheels and set them up all I could think about were the 80 mm Bullet Road Weapons my buddy had on his everyday board back in the eighties. I remember watching him roll right over grinds without touching the coping because of those wheels being so big. I’m yet to try these on transition but I look forward to riding across town to our poor excuse for a park someday soon.

Online Action: gravityboard.com