This is my review of the Bones X Formula X97 skate wheels. I’ve been skating these wheels for the last four weeks. Here is what they felt like to skate, where they shined, and where they fell short.
Pros
- Incredibly fast on smooth surfaces and skateparks
- Durable /No flat spots
- Slide well for ledge tricks
- Lightweight
Cons
- They are sensitive to temperature and feel harder than a 97 durometer wheel when its cold out and softer when its hot out.
- They don’t offer the same level of shock absorption benefits that the 93a Dragon wheel have.
- They are on the expensive side.
Why Did I Buy the X97 Wheels?
I loved the Powell Peralta Dragon Formula Wheels and wanted to try something similar yet more suited to skate my local concrete park. Bones advertised these as having the same benefits as Dragons, so I figured I would like them, too.
Where Can You Buy the Bones X-Formula Wheels
You can get these wheels on Amazon or at the Tactics Skateshop.
Price: $40 – $48
Sizes Available: These wheels come in the following diameters:
52mm,53mm, 54mm, 55mm, 56mm, 58mm, and 60mm
They also come in three shapes, the V1, V5, or V6, which gives these wheels a width range between 30mm to 36mm.
You can learn more about the different Bones Wheel shapes and their dimensions here.
Size I Skated for this Review: I skated the 52mm V5 Sidecut shape.
My wheels were 52mm high by 30mm wide with a 14.5mm contact patch.
Our Review Rating of the Bones X97 Skate Wheels
| Considerations | Rating Out 5 | Score Out of 100 | Weight / Importance to Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 4.80 | 96 | 10 |
| Shock Absorption | 2.50 | 50 | 10 |
| Durability | 4.20 | 84 | 10 |
| Grip | 3.80 | 76 | 10 |
| Rough Spots / All Terrain | 3.50 | 70 | 10 |
| Skatepark Skating | 4.80 | 96 | 10 |
| Street Skating | 4.20 | 84 | 10 |
| Ledge Tricks / Grinds | 4.60 | 92 | 10 |
| Powerslides | 4.50 | 90 | 10 |
| Overall Feel While Skating | 3.80 | 76 | 10 |
| Weighted Score | 4.07 | 81.4 | 100 |
Editor’s Rating: 
4.07 out of 5 stars
My Overall Experience With The X97 Wheels
When I first set these wheels up, they were noticeably fast. I nearly fell pushing because I wasn’t expecting them to be so quick, and my board rolled faster than my body weight. I quickly learned to adjust and loved how well these wheels performed at my local concrete park.
On smooth concrete, these are some of the fastest wheels you can get.
The main challenge I had was that they seemed to feel harder the more I skated them (Update: I later learned that was due to me skating them in the tail end of winter and they worked better in the spring and summer).
Ultimately, I decided I was going to trade these wheels out after four weeks because they started to feel more like a 101a hard wheel than a 97a moderately soft wheel. They still slide well on features and are very fast. However, they just lacked any sort of dampness or shock absorption, so my feet would get tired from feeling every single vibration as I rode. That was disappointing because their shock absorption is one of the main benefits of why you would opt for these wheels. It’s one of the highlights Bones calls out in its ad for the X-formula.
Unfortunately, they don’t absorb shock anywhere near as well as the 93a dragon wells do. To be honest, they actually absorb less shock than my Spitfire 99d Formula Four wheels. I found this to be disappointing because it’s one of the main highlights that Bones advertises for these wheels.
Now that I know, I just got a second set of Dragon Formula wheels. Those wheels fit the highlights of the X-formula ad better.
So where do these wheels shine?
In their versatility (and when you’re skating them in normal not too hot or too cold temperature). They can handle both rough street spots and really smooth skateparks decently enough which makes them a solid choice for an all-terrain type of wheel.
The X-97 is like the Swiss Army knife of skate wheels.
It’s a versatile wheel that can handle various types of pavement, but at any given moment, there is probably a wheel that would perform a little better on that type of pavement you’re about to skate (either a softer or harder wheel).
Is it the right wheel for most of you?
No, probably not.
For most of you reading this, you’ll probably be better off with the 93a Powell Dragon wheels for their ability to ride over really crusty spots while offering some shock absorption benefits, or you should just go with a normal 99+ durometer skate wheel.
Performance Metrics
For this section, I am going to measure the Bones X Formula wheels across a few categories, such as durability, grip, and smoothness. The data from these categories will help you understand how these wheels measure up and if they’ll be the right wheel formula for you.
Speed
The X Formula 97a wheels earned a 4.8 out of 5 in the Speed category.
These are some of the fastest wheels that I’ve ridden for skating on smooth surfaces. They are advertised as an all terrain wheel. However, they aren’t as capable of cruising over cobblestone or rougher terrain as the Dragon wheels, so it isn’t faster outside of the park. It’s at its fastest when the ground is perfectly smooth.
Durability
The X Formula 97a wheels also earned a 4.2 out of 5 in the durability category.
After four weeks of skating, these wheels had no major durability defects that affected the way they skated. They have no flat spots, and the shape of the wheel lasts longer than the Dragon wheels, which started to round off on the side that pointed away from my truck’s axle at around the same time.
I am noting there is one straight line scratch running through the width of my wheel. I saw something similar with the Dragon Wheels. This scratch is from a burr on a rail that I tailslide across. The burr was sharp enough to scratch my wheel.
This scratch is not noticeable while I skate. I am just noting it here to say that if you skate features that have sharp flaws, you might wear these wheels out faster than normal because the surface of the wheel feels like a softer material that can get scraped or gouged off.
Speed (The highlight of these wheels)
This is the highlight of the Bones x97 wheels. They’re exceptionally fast for skating at my local concrete park.
I scored the X97 wheels a 4.8 out of 5 in the speed category.
These wheels are exceptionally fast on smooth ground and moderately fast on smoother asphalt for street skating, too. Through the four weeks I skated them, they didn’t lose their speed.
Shock Absorption / Smoothness (Where these wheels fell short.)
This section was where I was disappointed in the Bones X97 wheels.
They earned a 2.5 out of a 5 in the shock absorption / smooth riding category.
These wheels mention very similar benefits to the Powell Dragon Wheels.
I was expecting these wheels to have the smoothness and dampening properties similar to the 93a Dragon formula wheels, just in a slightly firmer durometer. However, they don’t.
The Bones X97 wheels are a very different feeling wheel than the Powell 93a Dragon Formula wheels. The X97 wheels do not offer anywhere near as smooth of a ride as the Dragon Formula wheels. Skating with the X97 wheels, I felt every bump or crack that I rode over. It made skating at some spots more difficult than it usually is for me because my feet would get tired faster from feeling all of the vibrations. This is ultimately the reason I decided to go back to my Dragon Wheels instead.
Grip
The X Formula 97a wheels earned a 3.9 out of 5 in the grip category.
To me, these wheels don’t have the level of grip you would expect from a softer wheel that’s under a 99 durometer. They actually felt more like a harder wheel than a soft, grippy wheel.
However, there is a benefit to this. If you do a lot of ledge tricks, you’ll want a wheel that allows you to slide across the rail or ledge. These wheels are better for that style of skating over being a grippy, cruisy, sort of soft wheel.
With that said, these offered enough grip to skate a concrete park and felt a bit better on the asphalt at street spots.
UPDATE: The Wheel’s Feel Varies Due to Temperature
This is a new section that I added in weeks after this review was published. It speaks to why sometimes it felt harder than it should.
What I didn’t note is that there were other days where it also felt softer than it should.
I now understand why that happens.
The X-97 wheels are more sensitive to temperature than other skate wheels.
In cold weather, they feel significantly harder than how a 97 durometer wheel should feel, and on the opposite end, when the ground is hot, they will feel noticeably softer and slower than you would think they should be.
These wheels performed best for me in 70 – 90 degrees. Anything above or below that changed the feel of the wheel from what Bones / Powell were likely intending.
If you know that going into these wheels, you can better plan your sessions by bringing spare wheels with you.
Comparison: The Bones X97 vs. Powell Dragon vs. Spitfire Formula Four Wheels
The chart below compares the Bones X Formula X97 wheels with the 93a Powell Peralta Dragon Formula Wheels and the 99d Spitfire Formula Four wheels.
| Bones X-Formula X97 Wheels | Powell Dragon Formula 93a | Spitfire Formula Four 99d | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros | Speed on smooth surfaces, Slides on rails and ledges | All-terrain soft wheel, Slides on ledges, Grippy, Smooth ride | Popular street/park formula, Prevents flatspots |
| Cons | Not smooth, Feels every bump | Not the fastest (soft) | Not the fastest, Not for rough spots |
| Park Skating | Great (5/5) | Decent (4.2/5) | Decent (4.4/5) |
| Street Skating | Decent (4.8/5) | Great (4.9/5) | Good (4.8/5) |
| Powerslide | Yes, easily | Yes, easily | Yes, easily |
| Ledge Tricks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Grippiness | Moderate (4.0/5) | Maximum (4.8/5) | Moderate (4.8/5) |
| Flat Spots | Prevents flat spots | Prevents flat spots | Prevents flat spots |
| Smoothness | Weak (3.1/5) | Very smooth (4.8/5) | Moderate (4.2/5) |
| Speed | Fast (5/5) | Moderate (4.6/5) | Moderate (4.6/5) |
The Main Benefit of the X97 Wheels
It’s an exceptionally fast wheel for riding at a skatepark that is resistant to getting flat spots and skating ledges.
The Main Drawback of the X97 Wheels
It doesn’t always feel the same when you ride these wheels.
Some days they’ll feel hard and you will feel every single bump or crack you roll over, while other days they’ll feel overly too soft and slow. This detail defeats the need for buying this formula for most of you.
So is the X-Formula Wheels Worth It?
In most cases, no. These wheels will not be worth it, and their competitors offer wheels that will do a better job for the type of skating you do most often. So instead of these, I’d recommend getting a harder wheel like the 99d Spitfire Formula Four wheel for skating smooth ground or the softer 93a Powell Dragon Formula wheels for skating rougher ground.
These x97 wheels are a great all-around choice, but they really shine with their speed on smooth concrete park surfaces (just as long as it isn’t overly hot out).
If you’re looking at these wheels and thinking, “I could skate that one rough spot with these,” than just get the Dragons for that one spot. However, if you already had the Dragons and want to try a wheel that is well rounded, you should give the X-97’s a try.
So Who Are the X-97 Wheels For?
The X-97 is for the skater who wants a softer all-around type of wheel to skate crusty spots, but they also want a hard enough wheel that they can still blunt slide with when the opportunity arises.
Where to Buy the Bones X-Formula Wheels
You can get the Bones X97 wheels on Amazon or at the Tactics Skateshop.
However, I’d really recommend you check out the Powell Dragon Formula wheels.
Steve Weber is the passionate snowboarder, skateboarder, and author behind Board of the World. He understands that most gear reviews focus on having the perfect snow conditions, but his testing methodology is different. Living in Pennsylvania, Steve describes exactly how a board performs when the conditions aren’t perfect. His reviews cover performance on ice, hardpack, and flat-out brick conditions. In other words, he reviews boards for the conditions that East Coast riders actually face.
Bringing 27 years of East Coast snowboarding and 21 years of skateboarding experience, Steve is a 42-year-old intermediate park rider. His recommendations are informed by decades of battling icy conditions, ensuring every review accounts for the board’s performance on the roughest of terrain.
For the last five years, Steve has poured his passion into writing in-depth, unbiased reviews that help riders make informed decisions about the gear they’ll use. He also works part-time at a snowboard shop in Northeastern Pennsylvania, which gives him a direct line to learning about the new gear tech months in advance. When he’s not writing reviews, Steve is often found riding at Montage Mountain and testing out new boards.
Steve’s goal with Board of the World is simple: to help every reader find the right gear so they can have fun outside from the first time they use it.