I will admit that I knew about this a long time ago. When I first bought the wheel I scraped the core with a blade to see if it had glass fiber in it, as the plastic looked suspicious. I’m only trying to point out that there is a difference between ideal and realistic. If iwonder wants to break into the high performance market with a good core, maybe even better contact patch design among other things, that would be really cool. If they choose to stay with the cheap make a dozen market, I get it. It would be unfortunate for us, but that doesn’t mean they’re in the wrong. It’s like buying cheap tools vs nice tools. The cheap stuff will always exist because not everyone wants or needs to spend a premium on something they will barely use. And before people say that it costs the same as x wheel, the foam core does add complications to the mold, so it’s technically “cheaper”.
A nylon GF core would likely have a similar result. The test is meant to break things to see how they fail.
Jeff probably has more connection than I do. I only want people to see that maybe not every product that fits is good for you. People are quick to criticize when a company doesn’t use top of the line materials, but do you always buy the best phone every year? the best model car? I’m just pointing out that not everyone needs the best materials and there is a place for cheaps and clones. If it breaks because you’re hard on your things, maybe try another brand…
So we started off disagreeing on everything. Now we agree on one thing perhaps. The PC/ABS composite is not suitable for a faster moving electric longboard. Perhaps we could agree on one more thing which is that I-WONDER is marketing their product as a replacement for the OEM high performance wheels that are sold with high performance electric longboards.
Is that a good idea? Is it safe? Should the company be encouraged to do things differently?
I’m honestly very confused on it. Here’s why: the PC/ABS is much much more flexible than gf nylon. If anything is going to crack, I would’ve guessed that gf nylon will crack where pc/abs will bend. The failure doesn’t line up with the material. I would’ve expected the core to warp to a point where the bearing falls out, not split on the edge. Maybe they didn’t use enough ABS. Idk. I guess if you want to think that they are claiming a like for like replacement, then yeah it’s not quite the same. But is it any different with things like some aftermarket car rims being weaker than OEM and cracking during use even though they’re sold as directly compatible, in almost the same way?
We as consumers here should speak with our money. If it sucks, stop buying it. If there is a market gap for a high performance version, it will be filled. I think instead of everyone getting into a cult circle, give the company some time and see if they make changes.
I don’t think is material problem. I think is problem because this core design is not suit for wheel this large. I think they choose this core because is popular for can working with many board.
I typing my answer too fast sorry friend. I think is core design problem for wheel. I think if even core make by GF it still have problem for cracking.
You make a good point. ABEC core was never designed for so much leverage. It is like body builder that skipped leg day. I bet the round profile adds crazy leverage on those thin spokes
Oh I’m not done yet. When i was picking wheels, I picked clouds over tb110s because tbs uses dem nasty cores. I even asked if there was going to be an abec version, he said no, so I wrote off tb110 wheels.
Mabey its both problems Jeff. Whether its material or design or both, they need to change. Its not good for anyone if they stick with the same material and the same mold. And everyone needs to understand that lives are at stake becasue wheels are critical.
I think that part of this is cultural. It is extrordinarily difficult for a chinese subordinate to go to his/her boss and say that a product is flawed. It is much easier to suport the boss and find ways to argue that the product is good. As north american customers, sometimes the best help that we can give to a chinese entrepreneur is the cold hard truth about a product that is dangerous right now but could be great with improvements.