Cortech slalom wheels from Australia

Slalom skateboard wheels

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Colin Beck
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Cortech slalom wheels from Australia

Post by Colin Beck » Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:24 am

Two sizes and two duros. More info here:
http://charliedontskate.com/bb2/viewtopic.php?p=28700

I haven't ridden them, but the word is that they feel much harder than the stated duro rating, go faster than you'd expect from the stated duro rating, and yet grip as you'd expect from the stated duro rating.

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Sam Gordon
Sam Gordon
Sam Gordon
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Cortech Sl

Post by Sam Gordon » Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:46 pm

Hi Colin,

Are these widely available in Australia? It'd be great to pick up a set and give 'em a go.
I'll be in Adelaide next week and Melbourne the week after that before heady back to Blighty.

If not, then should the manufacturer or distributer be contacted direct, and if that is the case then who might that be?

Thanks,


Sam

Braden Schlager
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Post by Braden Schlager » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:51 pm

Hey Sam, glad to help you with coretechs when you are in Melbourne...we have regular sessions we can meet up at for a roll.
I am the only website offering these wheels, so can supply international orders.

Colin Beck
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Post by Colin Beck » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:29 pm

Sam, I don't know where to get Cortechs in Australia other than through Braden, who runs http://www.charliedontskate.com.

If you make it to Sydney and are up for a skate, PM me and we can set something up.

Sam Gordon
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Coretech

Post by Sam Gordon » Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:46 am

Thanks Colin and Braden. Reckon that a few might be interested in the wheels from the Anglo/Deutsch persuasion. Given the standard 20k baggage allowance, 68mm might be the most favoured size.

I'm in Oz because my niece is tying the knot in Adelaide down on the beach, so days are tight. Can't make Sydney unluckily, Colin (although I already know the feeling of being outgunned by both Haggy and Steve Daddow!), but will be in Melbourne starting Wednesday 28th February for a couple of days.

If there's a regular session in Melbourne, then please post me the details at sam.gordon@vtr.co.uk. Either way Braden, it would be great to get in touch and maybe try out a set of these wheels. Let's make the rest of the world worried that they don't have the right setup!

Sam

Sam Gordon
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Cortech

Post by Sam Gordon » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:59 pm

Finally met up with Braden from www.Charliedontskate.com in Melbourne. Great guy, easy going and helpful.
And he has a snow dog in his back garden to guard his gear and drag him back up a race couse. Swear that beast is half wolf!

Wheels look a little like this:

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And mounted up:

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Think they should be taken for a spin.

Braden Schlager
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Post by Braden Schlager » Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:04 am

Thanks for letting me ride your board Sam.........LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!
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Keen to hear what you think of the wheels.....

Sam Gordon
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Cortechs

Post by Sam Gordon » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:11 am

Ha Braden; top ride! Like it a lot!

I've only given the Cortechs a preliminary spin so far. Realizing that these wheels are still in the nascent or test phase, here's what I found:

Pre riding: On spinning the wheels when mounted on an 8mm axle, there is a slight wobble at the wheel edges that suggests that the hub is not horizontally flush with the riding surface. In addition, the wheel colour (translucent white) is not entirely constant from wheel to wheel. This latter is a purely cosmetic defect and in no way hinders performance. In other words, ride 'em once and no one gives a damn. The white colour is also very recogniseable, as Carsten demonstrates on the Pavel forum, so it's a good thing!
The former fluctuation can be sorted when the wheels go into manufacture proper. Every manufacturer seems to have initial difficulties in the area eg: Abec 11 with the Big Zigs, Seismic with the Speed Vents; so it's to be expected.

Riding: The board is set up with the 85a up front and 75a in the rear.
I had expected the 75a to be too soft, yet would have to agree with the initial review that says that these wheels feel harder than their durometer suggests. Don't quite know why this is; soft is soft surely? Anyway, it works. The 75a feels more like a typical 78 or 80a.

Up front the 85a (large core) rode a little hard. As many will know, this is mainly due to riding a stiff board and Radikal. Not much give in the bushings there, then. In theory the 75a core on the 85a wheel should act as a dampener; that is to say that the axle can move around in the softer formula whilst the harder formula remains attached to terra firma. In other words, more traction especially where the riding surface is les than perfect. It might also allow a harder duro to be run (with its assumed reduced rolling resistance), but with the traction of a softer duro. One for Ramon there.

Since writing the above paragraph, I have been in communication with Tim Dawe and discovered that my faux-science assumption is completely wrong. The main section of the wheel is infact 75D (rather than 'A' hardness scale). This is a much harder durometer scale and therefore helps to shed light on why the wheels do indeed feel harder than their 'A' durometer suggests.

The Pre-riding concerns had no real world affect on the wheel's performance. These wheels feel hard, fast and have plenty of traction. Haggy has drawn up some comparative figures to suggest that Cortechs are at least similar in performance to the major players and I wouldn't doubt that he's right. It'll be interesting to see how these wheels wear and whether the initial hard feeling is due to the new wheel 'skin.'

Either way, it's great to see a new player in the slalom wheel market that is redefining the pre-conceived ideas about durometer technology. Nice one Tim.

And thanks for the wheels, Braden!

Now, when are we going to see the 80a/75d 68mm wheel?
Let's get a full set of race duros going!

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Sam
Last edited by Sam Gordon on Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:08 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Carsten Pingel
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Post by Carsten Pingel » Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:10 am

perfect test report from the big island north of Germany ! I allways loved reading your words, Sam ! You are a poet my friend ! :-)

Sam Gordon
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Cotech SL

Post by Sam Gordon » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:29 am

Thanks Carsten; hope you are in one piece and are ready for the Dusseldorf GS. That looks one helluva spooky hill for us flatland racers!

Speaking of which, I gave the Cortechs another run down on the flat in Hyde Park. The best way to describe their ride is that they feel like a pool wheel urethane on a slalom board. The vibration and tarmac feel is more direct. Its a bit like driving a track car on twisting country lanes. In other words, these wheels give instant feedback and are more of a race oriented product rather than for chilled cruising. Perhaps this is the proven formula urethane that is used across the whole Cortech range?

When ridden in comparison to both Pink Seven-O 78a and Manx wheels, the latter products seemed to soak up some of the vibration and 'deaden' the ride. Whilst more comfortable, these wheels offered less feedback than the Cortechs; so it's horses for courses.

Having said that, The Cortechs did not break traction once, feel responsive, hard and fast; so if the assessment below is anything to go by, then I'm sticking with them until proven otherwise!
Last edited by Sam Gordon on Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sam Gordon
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Cortech review

Post by Sam Gordon » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:31 am

Here's a copy of Bug's post from Charliedontskate.com:
Greg kindly sent me the data from their wheel tests. Here are the averaged results, fastest first:

Cortech 85A
Greg 9.73
Haggy 8.75
Overall 9.00

Avalon 80A
Greg 9.93
Haggy 9.03
Overall 9.41

Cortech 75A
Greg 10.40
Haggy 8.97
Overall 9.56

The unsurprising thing is that 85A is faster than 80A which is faster than 75A.

But what's fast on a particular surface and a particular course may not be fast on other surfaces and other courses.

Also, Haggy was slightly faster on Cortech 75A than Avalons, but Greg was the other way around, by a long way. Maybe it was because by the time Haggy tried the Cortechs he'd warmed up, while Greg rode them when he was cold.

Also, Haggy's average times didn't vary as much as Greg's (0.28 vs 0.67).

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