NBF 70mm 78A Wheels Review by Seb

First Impressions

Nothing But Free outdid themselves with these wheels — they behave better than expected, especially considering the size. The wheels pleasantly surprised me. I've always been used to super heavy 70mm wheels, and this time that wasn't the case!

Who It's For

These wheels are a perfect match for all the dancers out there. Pairing them with a big longboard (in my opinion 46" and above), soft bushings, and riser pads really enhances the dancing experience.

Conversely, they're not optimal for freestyle tricks in my honest opinion — I would personally opt for a smaller size, either 60mm or even 65mm. Given their size they make tricks more challenging.

Size & Feel: The 70mm Experience

Technical tricks such as no-complies into other tricks are harder because your shoe might hit the wheel, either with toe or heel, therefore more precision is required. Due to their big diameter, the angle at which you pop becomes bigger, making the pop slower at first, but sharper once snapped. The tricks feel slightly slower but they become floatier.

I still haven't tried NBF 60mm's or 65mm's, but I've had a lot of wheels in those sizes, and this is mainly what stands out: the smaller the wheel, the closer the board is to the ground, and the lower the pop. Small wheels make big pops more challenging in my experience — my biggest pops always come out of the heaviest, biggest, highest setups I have. The smaller the wheel, the quicker the rotation too. If what you're looking for is overall quickness and an easier feeling for tricks, then smaller sizes are ideal for you!

Grip vs. Slide

The wheel is rather good for slides. I've tested it on a super smooth surface but you really have to control them. here's what I mean:

• If you know your setup and have a good relationship with slides, the wheel is very forgiving — sometimes they might under-slide (not complete the full rotation), but you can save it most times.
• If you still haven't found the "sweet spot" for slides on your current setup, speeding up and just sending isn't the right approach, simply because the wheel isn't going to slide.

Play with slides first, go slower, find out which foot placement works best, and then slowly speed up. It might take a bit to make the wheel feel right, but once you get how to send the slide, you're golden.

Best Riding Styles

Dancing on them feels super easy thanks to their size and softness. Some steps that feel very good are carving steps such as sidewinders, skiers, 180 steps inward and outward, and cross steps.

Freestyle tricks are a bit more challenging due to the angle at which you pop, but still completely doable — technical tricks are a bit harder, especially when you mix more tricks into one combo.

Slides

Slides feel buttery smooth — you just have to find the right speed and foot placement to do them. The whole slide motion feels smooth and predictable, but be careful, because going full speed and just throwing slides might not end like you expected (and I'm talking from experience, ahahah). The smoother the surface, the less speed you need, and therefore the more comfortable they feel.

Freestyle-Specific Notes

One very noticeable aspect is the overall speed of the trick, all the way from initiating it to landing it. While with a smaller wheel you want to start it quick and land quick, most times this doesn't apply to tricks with big wheels. The tail takes slightly longer to hit the ground and it makes the board rotate faster due to the angle at which you pop. Flipping tricks with such big wheels instead becomes way easier in my opinion — since you gain so much momentum and pop height, you need way less force to flip it, making the whole flipping motion easier and more enjoyable.

The thing I do every time I switch wheels to adapt to them is slowing down. As soon as something in my setup changes, my riding can't be the same right away — it takes time to adapt to the difference. My dancing becomes slower, I try to feel how much I can carve before the wheels slide out or before I get wheelbite, I check how fast I can pop before I lose control, I check how much momentum I gain from different tricks.

"Slow down, experiment, test, and once everything feels okay, start going back to your normal riding progressively."

How It Compares

The comparison that's worth sharing is with the other 70mm wheels currently available on the market. Most of them feel super heavy on your setup, and for many riders this might be a huge deal. NBF's 70mm's feel surprisingly light compared to all the other 70mm's I've skated so far.

Sizing Advice & Final Verdict

If you're more of a dancer, 70mm are amazing and I totally recommend these wheels. If you're more inclined towards tricks, maybe size down a little bit. That's really the whole verdict — ya boy confirms.

Test Setup

Board: Atreyu 47" by Pake Longboards
Trucks: Paris V3 180mm 50°
Bushings: Orange Knuckles by Orangatang
Wheels: NBF 70mm 78A (just in case we didn't mention them enough already, ahahah)

Tips & Best Clip

Don't overshoot speed on backside slides — it hurts. Also, no, you can't do kickflips first try as the first trick you do right after setting up new wheels — that also hurt.

"Backside no-comply into ninja flip."best clip from testing