Evolve Street Wheels

I finally received my Carbon GT on Friday and could not be happier with the board. After 3 rides I have put about 25 miles on the board, only to find these problems (pictures below) on the black Evolve street drive wheels. There were no other problems and the only thing I noticed while riding was a slight drop in top speed. I love the street set up and don't plan to go AT. Has anyone else seen this? Advice on what to do next?

 

That seems like quite a manufacturing defect, I would contact Evolve for replacements if that happened to me...

 

Do you recall running over anything or possibly going off a curb transition that may have focused majority of the weight on that small area. I get cuts and bits taken out of my 97's at times, usually from something sharp though and nothing like yours. But the 97's have more meat and support in that area.

 

There was nothing abnormal that I recall. Just the usual amount of bumps and debris that you would expect in a city. Some of the intersections are made of brick but that shouldn't cause a problem. I know wheels technically aren't covered under warranty but this seems extreme. I'll check with customer support and see what they say.

 

I'm going to try the 90mm's and see how they feel. The 83's are rattling my bones at my ankles like nuts on rough tarmac. 97's not so much, more rubber to dampen. Went for the following ABEC clones with ABEC 7 rated bearings as well as spacers. At $28 total shipped complete its worth buying a few in different colors. I can't see myself spending over $45 on wheels. One thing is that the inner cogs of the clone's hub need to be honed out to mate the drive hub. The opening is a couple of mm smaller than the ABEC 11s. To do it right you'd buy another ABEC drive hub from evolve and modify that to fit the clones, shaving down the diameter / width of the drive cogs. But only after you trust that the clones are sticking to their specs.

Blank Pro 90mm Orange Longboard Flywheels + ABEC 7 Bearings + Spacers | eBay

 

That is very inexpensive compared to the ABEC 11's. I saw those and was curious how they work in comparison as I'm a little skeptical of the quality based on the price. I agree, it seems crazy to spend over $100 on wheels. Let us know how you like them!

 

I've been running the clones on my Metro, they're holding up just as well as the ABEC 11's but because they're clones you're not guaranteed anything. But hey, if I'm saving 30-60 bucks a pop + the cost of bearings and spacers, I'm not going to complain. I've had no issues with them splitting or doing anything wonky. They work and ride nice as they should. Again they're not plug and play as I mentioned.

 

That's worth it if you can get 2-3 sets for the price of one set of ABEC 11. Do you have any pictures of what you did to make them work?

 

The fingers of the black drive gear hub are too big for the opening of where they mate. They connect and don't push in. As I mentioned, you need to either grind / hone with a dremal tool the inside of the hub, right were those fingers go in. You'll see what I'm talking about when you start to play around. But the best idea and less work would be to modify with a dremal / file the fingers.

I'd order a couple of the drive gears and make those fit to the clones. They're only $30/side. Also buy an extra set of drive bearings for them.

Drive Gear- Abec 11 Flywheels and Evolve GT Wheels 32T

Drive Gear Bearing

 

Since this happened so early, Evolve is sending me two replacement wheels. Way to go Evolve USA!

 

I like hearing that type of customer service and for sure will spread the good word. Thanks for sharing.

 

Any thoughts on these bad boys? ABEC 11 » Abec 11 107mm Electric Flywheels (74a, 77a)



They are huge and if the 97mm is already giving a smoother ride what could these do? Any thoughts and would they work with the standard street setup?

 

The 107's aren't directly compatible with the gt. I know at a minimum you have to take the belt covers off, but you also may need to shave down the inside of the wheel to make them work.

On a side note, I've heard a bunch of stories recently of people having trouble with the stock Evolve street wheels

 

yeah no need, to much to make them fit, the 97's are perfect

 

I put these pics on another thread but I guess they're good here. These are the 90 clones where I picked up an extra set of rear pulleys and modded them to fit. Needed to reduce the cog size to fit the clones.

As for the 107s, man E boards need to be modified to fit those things. People who run them say the board is super smooth and milks out the bumps. However we have the AT setup, so there's really no need to go 107. I think they look clownish big if you ask me, like those floating water tricycles.

 

It seems weird that the Abec clones are indeed not "clones" if they use different hubs than the Abec originals?! You would think they would be exactly the same size and dimensions. Weird.

I too am interested in different than stock wheels. I am resisting the urge to go AT, but i may have to look at that route. The other day, i was riding on a road (the pacific coast highway 1 in Half Moon Bay, CA) which is slightly crowned. The rough asphalt caused the wheels to rattle around. Felt like i was riding on an icy road with little traction. With all the traffic, not a good idea. I had to bail on the road and dodge the pedestrians on the walking path instead.

 

Well if modding my board allows me to float on water with the Evolve board......I don't care about the looks it would just be awesome

 

I think I will try the 97mm when the weather gets better.....also a lot cheaper as the 107mm will cost around 180 euro.