ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

Being on an island as a slalom skater in the midwest I have a question for you all.
Why do I see guys trimming the outer edge off slalom wheels like Avalons?
If this has some merit or a real advantage will we wheel manufacturers change their shape or adding wheels with a narrower profile or squared off outer edge?

Thanks..

Good question.

Narrower contact patch = less rolling resistance

Stiffer lip = quicker change of direction

I may be wrong, I usually am.

i am really not a slalomspecialist or as we allways say in berlin a "professor" but i love the sport and the "fight man against man"- but i logged in this forum to follow the discussions of really pros. i love the rebound of a flexible outer lip like the cambrias - it gives me a feeling of traction and a fast change of direction - i once turned the wheels the other way around with the outer lip on the inside but it was not my style so i dont understand why to trimm the outer lip ????

The idea from the beginning was that we could always remove material from a wheel after manufacturing to change the characteristics. There is a tradeoff between traction and agility which can be adjusted by the amount of lip which is trimmed, but the optimum width is going to vary from course to course, so it's an interesting challenge to figure out what configuration works best. I've notice a couple of other manufacturers are now copying our dual-lip design, though they're building their molds with the lips already trimmed or even rounded off (Manx wheels look identical to trimmed Avalons, while Abec 11 Gumballs are basically Avilas with a rounded outer lip). The trimmed or rounded wheels will work well until there's a situation where traction is a real issue, and then they tend to give up a lot of speed.

I've also experienced the front wheel's lip "rolling under" and taking Dave for an unannounced superman!! specifically when running softer duro's(which I like) I shaved all my outter lips of my softer wheels down and haven't had the reacurring nightmare since!!

Mr Gale,
I seem to have rather the opposite reaction with trimmed (soft) wheels. I have this set of red 70mm Kryptos that were acquired in a shady trade and were shaped up in da mountains of WV. It seems that even on smooth turns, the square lip just wants to fold under. I dunno, maybe daze be sum sort of mountain tire that don`t work too well on da flats?

I`ll trade em back to the same fellar, fer less say? trimmed avalons?

How`s doze blue and pinks kryptos doing fer ya? heh heh!!!

Can't remember ever trimming any 70 mm krypto's. I think you're refering to a set I got from Arab (no kidding) I'd be more than happy to swap 'em back for something tho!!

The Inspiration for FAST Wheels came from seeing racers trim down their wheels.