Downhill Design makes wheels. Wheels that go fast. Wheels that slide far. That’s why, at first glance, the Spud may seem like the black sheep of the family. The small, clear thane outcast of this performance line of products. However, don’t be fooled by its humble appearance or seemingly self depreciating mockery of a name…once broken in this black sheep becomes a beautiful swan! Or, you know…whatever.

Breaking them in:

So, to continue mixing metaphors…even in its most sheepish state this wheel shits thane like it’s golden eggs. In fact, I regularly have post breaking-in sessions in the parking lot of my work during my lunch break…I rarely break a wheel in completely this way, but it’s quicker to slide well on the hill when I scrub off some skin first. Spuds were the superstar of these flatground sessions…thaning hard on the first slide. There’s no waiting around for these things to leave lines! In fact, the only hint that they were new was the loud honk they had until broken in, and a slight inconsistency in the slide (though slight enough that I’d still pick fresh spuds over many other wheels broken in).

Sliding:

So a few slides in and the parking lot was getting pretty painted up. I had to stop and save it for the hill (and make sure to take some photos of the now semi-fresh wheels). That was a good call on my part…the wheels were already starting to cone due to the inherently poor form of flatground puttery. So the first thing I did on the hill was some nice long standies, to even out my wear. I just leaned until the wheel released on its own, which wasn’t very far. As mentioned before, it doesn’t take much for spuds to thane hard. This results in a surprisingly early release point considering how resistant they are too icing out, so you have avery large margin of error here. Plus, the few times they started to get away from me I was saved by this wheels clean and predictable hook up. If you need practice getting a nice lean without falling every time (it’s skating, you will fall…but the less time falling the more time spent dialing shit in), or you’re already an expert who’s looking for a wheel that will adapt to different speeds/terrains as quick as you do…this is the perfect wheel for that.

Leaving lines:

If you want a wheel that will thane anywhere, then you want a spud. I literally tried them on every surface I could think of: blacktop, sidewalks, parking garages, even brick! What’s cool about spuds is that they don’t leave the pale white lines you’re used to with clear thane…instead they seem to take on the characteristics of the surface they’re on. Blacktop comes out black/tan tie die, brick turns it Orangeish yellow, and pavement gives it a light gray color. Although, like the clear thane you know it wears fast and its therefore prone to defects. I actually tried to flatspot them and it didn’t work…but they coned so hard so fast that I’m pretty sure they just passed the test because wheels only flatspot when you don’t want them to. If you aren’t at least working on getting all four wheels sideways, these wheels won’t wear very evenly…Which will affect their performance. Though, small mistakes (i.e. coning, minor flat spots, possibly even slight ovaling) are easy to fix given you have good form.

Hitting The Core:

Out of the package Spuds definitely seem like your standard mids, which calls the price into question. It’s not crazy, but a little high for mids. It’s not until you start to hit the core that you realize what them extra dollars was for. DHD seems to, for better or worse, missed the point of making mids…they aren’t dirt cheap and a bit to much thought seems to have been put into them. These are more of “performance mids”, if that’s even a thing. These wheels have a very quick releasing urethane that seems specifically designed to compensate for their wide contact patch/center set geometry. Why not just have a wheel shape better suited for sliding then? Because near the core the soft urethane deforms slightly and that wide contact starts to hug the ground in an hourglass shape. These lips continue to provide grip when not sliding and maintain more consistency than other wheels I’ve experienced. Is this the only wheel designed this way? Of coarse not…a lot of wheels will have decent albeit very different slide characteristics near the core. What impressed me was that the Spuds compound seemed designed in such a way that a fresh wheel and a nearly cored wheel would feel and perform as similarly as possible. I’m not saying it’s exactly the same all the way through…but it’s not going to be throwing you any huge curve balls.

Does that make it worth the extra money? That’s entirely up to you…I’d say, if you’re learning checks and relatively new to holding out long slides with all four wheels going sideways, then you’re going to love the extra play you get. This is a very forgiving wheel designed to keep you on top of your board no matter what. You become very confident on this wheel and it gets easier and easier to push your limits…especially since it stays familiar all the way through. Once you find that release point, it never wanders too far…even near the core. If you kill a wheel in one sesh, then it might not be cost effective for you to stock up on spuds…but then again, you’d have to be holding out long enough slides already that you probably don’t need the safety net of this wheels huge margin for error. Though, even the most experienced skater could easily justify trying them given all the freebies you get from Thane Store! For more info on Spuds, it any of DHDs other wheels, check out their Facebook page.

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DISCLAIMER: This company was confident enough in its quality that it was willing to provide me with product to review.