Page 1 of 2

Seismic Speed Vents

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:24 am
by Carsten Pingel
bearings fall out of the core ??? Does anyone have the same problem ?

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:56 am
by Ramón Königshausen
No, it's only you Carsten!



...I guess that's a common problem with these wheels.

rmn

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:33 am
by Donald Campbell
the cores are not stable.i have the same problem,screwed my self during the gs in brixx since i was so clever not to have any other wheels with me,steve had the same problems.heiko received a bunch of uneven wheels on the last shipment.maybe that's just the first batch and dan can fix the problem.
next question is:do we get a refund?
i think that's an important question and it should be brought to the public.
let's hear what dan can say regarding these problems mentioned.

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:23 pm
by Carsten Pingel
then we should mention that most of the speed vents i saw ( green ones ) are noncircular !

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:29 pm
by HUYNH BACH SAC Frédéric
Carsten Pingel wrote:then we should mention that most of the speed vents i saw ( green ones ) are noncircular !
Someone told the same on our french forum ?!

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:05 pm
by Mike Cividino
my bearings fall out too. and they kinda wobble.

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:03 pm
by Stephen Lavin
I bought the whites about 6 weeks ago and ran them at the Buckeye in GS. Have run them since w/no bearing pops but do have one wheel that is not fully "concentric" (uneven spin - some vibration). It's not bad enough to freak over but none the less an issue and I will not run them competing again (wheels are the least of my problems!).

Out of round is a known issue by the way - manufacturer aware.

has anyone bought the most recent batch? I was told the problem would be fixed and would like to source a set of reds.
SL

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:18 pm
by Adam Daniels
i had wobbly 79a vents and i contacted gesmer, and he replaced them.

the ones i got are perfectly fine and i have taken them up to high speed with no troubles

Image

hmmm....anyone know why the isn't working?

Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:24 pm
by Mark Chandler
I have a box of the new/latest batch. I'll be inspecting them today.

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:27 am
by Donald Campbell
maybe dan wants to join the discusssion?

even though he's busy, some answers are due

Hmm!

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:40 pm
by Claude Regnier
Okay, seems like I need to get on mine and check them a little more closely. The week cores may be why mine are slidingo out so much at times.

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:43 pm
by Adam Daniels
i heard from Ian Comishin at MCGF 5 that most of the first speed vents wobbled because after the cores were made, they were thrown into a bucket when they were still semi-soft so then they deformed in the bucket. now i hear they started to lay them out so they could harden up and now prevent that wobble

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:06 pm
by Justin Pannulla
I hope so.

I was interested in these until i read this topic, but now im getting interested again!

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:10 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
When people email me directly, I try to respond pretty quickly. But I don’t monitor the various web forums very closely. Thanks to Wes Tucker for alerting me to this thread earlier today (August 7)!

The design for the 77mm Speed Vent was a collaboration between myself and the head of the wheel factory. It involved extremely innovative tooling that presented unexpected challenges (and, obviously, unexpected problems with manufacturing tolerances). Issues with the core tooling, in particular, took a very long time to iron out prior to the first production run.

As soon as it became apparent that some of the Speed Vents from the first production run were wobbly, I insisted that the factory immediately research and address the issue.

Before I took over the 3dm brand, Howard Gordon encountered the exact same issue with the 75mm Avila. All of the wheels in the current Seismic/3dm line are manufactured using a special type of mold that allows for lettering to be engraved directly into the urethane. We’ve learned that in larger diameters, this type of mold is more likely to have concentricity issues.

As with the Avila, the factory had to test every mold within the Speed Vent mold set to identify the bad ones that were producing wobbly wheels. It’s a tedious, painstaking process took longer than I expected, but we got it done.

As a side note, Ian Comishin’s thoughts about the cause of the wobble issue are nothing more than speculation.

So far, all reports are good concerning Speed Vents from the latest batch. And the wheel continues to grow in popularity. The 77mm diameter obviously gives it the roll speed of a downhill wheel, but the weight-saving core gives it the quickness and agility of a smaller wheel. Combined with lips designed for pure grip, the Speed Vent is pretty unique among performance wheels.

During the past few months, I’ve had numerous private email exchanges about the initial run of Speed Vents, with both vendors and skaters. Of course, wheels with a small amount of wobbliness will often perform well and even wear themselves true.

Nonetheless, we’ve replaced wheels whenever asked, and we’ll continue to replace wheels that have a genuine performance issue. In the case of overseas customers, though, we’d prefer to look for creative solutions in cooperation with our foreign dealers, so that we can avoid the high cost of shipping single sets of wheels across the ocean.

Regarding loose bearing seats, this is the very first time I’ve heard such reports. It’s not yet clear to me if this is causing a performance issue. Bearing seats that are less than snug may still provide good alignment when the wheels are properly mounted to the trucks. Please tell me more, and please feel free to email me directly at SeismicSK8@aol.com

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:39 pm
by Adam Daniels
but none the less, i am very glad to be racing 79a speed vents because ...they ruled the munnsville course....you could pull away before the second turn becaue of the awesome acceleration and you could rail the second turn with no traction loss while everyone else had to slow up or slide out...

Rob McKendry the 3rd also ran these wheels

and when installing and taking out bearings, they do go in and out very easy....but i don't notice anything while riding. and if people use all their spacers and correct hardware, i don't believe they shouldn't notice anything either.

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:26 am
by Donald Campbell
loose bearing seats can cause big problems,especially in gs courses such as the one in brixlegg.going through a turn full speed the bearing starts to rattle,thus creating vibrations in the wheel,which ultimatively tend to make the wheel break out of its course.
me and steve hinzen had that problem,all in all very frustrating during a competition.
also heiko has a lot of wheels which have uneven surfaces.
maybe you should get in contact with heiko now to make things up and keep customers happy.

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:57 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
Regarding the Speed Vent bearing seats, I've forwarded descriptions of the issue to the heads of my factory, and I'm awaiting their comment.

Thanks to Steven Hinzen for emailing me directly with a thorough description of what he experienced!

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:16 pm
by Carsten Pingel
so while we wait to get our speed vents replaced, you could try this !
Cut a 5mm wide and ca. 15mm long stripe out of any clear sticker, glue it inside the bearing seat and "press" the bearing inside.
Its not a perfect solution, but it works and prevents the wheel from rattling !

Speed Vents

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:28 pm
by Jack Smith
I bought a set of Speed Vents at the Paris race. I have ridden them at the Ohio and Hood River events, as well as many hours of practice time...as of today I have not experienced any problems with these wheels.

Having known Dan for over twenty years, and knowing his devotion to the sport of skateboarding, I'm sure he will take care of any of the problems mentioned in this thread.

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:50 pm
by Ramón Königshausen
Adam Daniels wrote:but none the less, i am very glad to be racing 79a speed vents because ...they ruled the munnsville course....you could pull away before the second turn becaue of the awesome acceleration and you could rail the second turn with no traction loss while everyone else had to slow up or slide out...

Rob McKendry the 3rd also ran these wheels
Maybe this question doesn't really fit into this thread, but what kind of wheels run the guys that placed 1st and 2nd?

rmn

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:19 am
by Adam Daniels
they ran flywheels......run under the feet of the kebbek guys, the most seasoned guys on that course

i think McKendry got 3rd or 4th (not bad for being stuck at the airport for half the weekend)

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:21 am
by Jonathan Harms
That's Rob McKendry III, i.e. the son of Rob McKendry II (or Junior).

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 7:11 am
by Daniel Gesmer
We're still researching the bearing seat issue. But according to the heads of the wheel factory, the bearing seats in the second batch of Speed Vents (now shipping) are tighter than the bearing seats in the first production run. We'll share further information as it becomes available.

Speculation

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 3:28 pm
by Ian Comishin
Dan...

Speculation is exactly what it was, the description of the issue was the exact same problem Chris had with the first flywheel core. That being said, maybe you should ask the manufacturer how he cools the cores.

If I can help you out in any other way it is to suggest you do something about the lack of choices for people who want to run wheels 85mm and up.

Ian

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 3:55 pm
by Chris Favero
Ran my speed vents (80a)at the windsor g/s.i had no issues with grip,vibration and the wheels were true.i had maybe,20 minutes riding time on these total before the race,and if the dual g/s goes off at lacosta,i'll ride them there.there have been times in the past when i have questioned the quality of 3dm/seismic wheels,i have tried most out there,all i can say is i keep coming back to Dan's wheels.IMHO,he is making the most consistent,fastest compound for wheels out there.thanks,cf

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 5:34 pm
by Mark Chandler
The bearing seats on the latest batch that I received are quite good. I sell a lot of wheels that are all poured in the same factory, and I will say that the Speed Vents are right up there with the others, quality-wise.

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:30 am
by Daniel Gesmer
Thanks for the props, Chris and Mark!

Ian, for many weeks I've been dialoguing with the factory about the core material and processing. We're on it! Regarding your other suggestion, thanks and stay tuned...

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 3:55 pm
by Gary Saenz
I'll be waiting to hear what comes of this. I'd like to be able to swap bearings in my Speedvents without shimming the bearings.

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:18 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
We'll make sure you'll be able to do that, Gary! By the way, thanks for your recent emails, and sorry for my slow response time. The Seismic U.S. Nationals (August 17 - 20) took a lot out of me, and I'm catching up on email as fast as I can.

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:39 pm
by Brian Peck
I have to agree with Ian's note: more 85mm+ wheels are needed on the market.

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:47 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
Brian – noted!

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:27 am
by Adam Daniels
i would run those no question

even though they are not in the works yet....put me down for a set (seriously)

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:06 am
by Daniel Gesmer
Did I say they were not in the works? ;-)

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:51 am
by Adam Daniels
aha!

MUST HAVE

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:53 am
by Daniel Gesmer
Patience… patience…

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:31 am
by Adam Daniels
after slapping the 85mm vents on my downhill board, i decided to try my 77 ones on my gs.......wow. at 79a, 0*F, salty roads, and my 3tc.........no traction lost. not bad for a 110lb rider :)

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:24 am
by Luke Melo
they work great for garage racing too!

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:11 pm
by Eddy Martinez
I have been bombing hills on these babies. They ROCK!!!!!
Image Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws/Pavel Skates

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:51 pm
by Peter Harnischmacher
We have now tested 11 sets of different seismic models and we must say that 40 percent are shit, unfortunately. The shortcomings are all models to find the hot spot while still performing best. although I am a fan of these Wheels especially the use speedvent. I will probably no longer buy. I hope the quality is going like price, then I will buy again!

Shame shame shame

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:05 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
Peter, please tell me what wheels you've bought, when and from whom. We take reports like yours pretty seriously.

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:07 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
P.S. Peter, who is "we"?

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:36 am
by Peter Harnischmacher
we are 2 dudes, just customer-old skater in 1977 in Germany have begun to skate and slalom this year have begun. The Wheels you see are only a small portion of the Seismic this year is left. Set a few hot spot and Blast Wave I sold missing!
My friend donmiki also has the full cabinet and in the last 14days 5 Set from CW-shop in Cologne we get 73mm 77mm 85mm speedvent. We are now sad!
How can it be that some are super roll and other garbage are? That is very annoying especially since this issue has been almost 3 years!
And apologize, although a pop star you're for me is the lack of quality control for so long is insulting!
Greetings Prikelpit
btw: We are members by http://www.longboardz.de/cms/forum.html

Image

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:00 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
Peter,

Virtually all of the wheels shown in your photo are old - some over two years old. We have not made green 77mm Speed Vents in over two years. We have not made white 77mm Speed Vents, or red 85mm Speed Vents, in over a year.

Many of the wheels in your photo are probably from the first batch of Speed Vents (early 2006), which had known problems that we fixed as fast as we could. Speaking of shame, shame on Concrete Wave for shipping you wheels that are this old - especially if they knew the wheels had issues. (We long ago sent CW replacements for every problem wheel they told us about.)

Furthermore, I find it strange that no other customers have contacted us this year with complaints like yours. And now here you are, not contacting us by direct email but instead posting vague complaints and photos on a public forum. Yes, very interesting.

You give absolutely no specifics about what is wrong with these wheels. You simply call them "garbage".

I'm so sorry, but I have to ask you: Are these vague attacks on Seismic wheels the first step of a campaign to promote another wheel brand?

If not, then please provide clear details on the specific issues you are having with each wheel model. And if you actually want us to take care of you as a customer, then please do that via direct email, not via vague negative posts on a public forum.

Thanks and best wishes,

Dan
SeismicSK8@aol.com

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:59 pm
by Donald Campbell
daniel
those complaints are not the first step of promoting a new wheel brand.
i know peter well to say so and he is a very honest person.
i can't tell if heiko sold him old stuff and made a double profit,i guess that's what you are assuming in your recent post.
that's also a gross insult and you should know that.

please take your time to reconsider you previous post and try a different approach to a good customer.

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:45 pm
by Peter Harnischmacher
Dear Dan, pity you react so. Maybe my English is too bad. I understand the other hand you a business! Nevertheless, it is not a conspiracy the photo and my nickname should this show!
Some wheel are old, some from 2008, the green and white are hot spot ...
For this year we have again, again, again with the core problems and the smooth running of this year set at 6 each at least 1 roll their money is not worth it?
2006 to 2008 the same problems!

Please believe me oops black is my favorite, but axes and bearings are so precise because I want to become just the
same quality to Wheel!
Thanks Donald, all wheels with special price, is not what I mean!
Although I am because my broken Renault does not directly write President Sokrozy
I am speaking with Dan via Pm. I want no stress. only good roll!

cheers prikel

Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:32 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
Donald Campbell - Wow, what a surprising coincidence to see you posting here, and so soon after my last post!

Peter, as I requested, please email me directly about your wheel issues. As mentioned last time, I need to know the specific problem with each wheel model, set by set.

Have a good night, my German friends!

P.S. Peter, mein Deutsch ist tatsaechlich teilweise fluessig. Schreib mir auf Deutsch wenn Du willst.

Dan

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:58 am
by Donald Campbell
purer zufall herr gesmer

egal was du dir dabei denkst
es gibt auch noch andere wichtigere dinge auch in meinem leben
zufällig kenne ich den kunden und die berechtigten beschwerden

mach dir nicht so viel gedanken über sachen die noch gar nicht passiert sind aber irgendwann passieren werden
spätestens nächsten frühling

einen schönen tag noch

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:31 pm
by Daniel Gesmer
Peter, I am still waiting for your email.

Please send the details I requested to: SeismicSK8@aol.com

Thanks,

Dan

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:20 pm
by Peter Harnischmacher
ok!

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:23 pm
by Michael Peck
Eddy Martinez wrote:I have been bombing hills on these babies. They ROCK!!!!!
Image Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws/Pavel Skates
True.
Very true.

Some of my favorite wheels.