Heelychat, the forum for heelys, the shoes with wheels - View topic

*Last edited by Heelynut on Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:35 am; edited 2 times in total*

I ordered mine yesterday from Zappos and got them today...
Wearing them tonight!
I wear size 11 and I got the white and gunmetal ones.

Surprisingly, there is no noticeable drag due to the generator...
They roll as fast as the clear mega wheels normally do...possibly even faster (because the core is bigger).
As ME shows in his video, the wheels are only dependant on the axles, thus they could be used in any mega shoe...
But in the new shoe, there are openings in the side of the heel to let more light out.
When rolling slow, the lights actually blink but at normal rolling speeds, the light appears constant.

The shoe in my size 11 seems to have a larger toe box than usual.
I don't care for the view looking down from the top of the shoe (see zappos website for a pix from the top)....too much white which makes the toe look really huge...somewhat like clown shoes. Sad

I'm thinking now that the black, gunmetal and blue ones would have been a better choice.

The flat laces are way too long...also stretchy which makes them even longer when laced up snugly.

The sole is more flat then most Heelys. Thus when I walk, the toe "slaps" on hard surfaces.

The tongue is thin and not as cushy as most Heelys. Also they're not as comfortable as other mega models.

The strap across the fore foot is a bit unusual....it makes the lacing area too short and out of proportion.

That's all for now.

HN

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

I know what you mean about the stiffness when they're brand new, but it's like many new shoes or boots. It seems to just need breaking in. Smile

Once they are broken in I bet they'll be great, since the thin materials and less padded tongue should make for less weight and cooler feet than (say) Ninja's.

And I got my usual size (7s) so that I'd get the medium mega, but I think I'll also try the blue ones in Size 6 so I have some small mega shoes I can wear: Like with rumbles the extra room might mean some people can buy their usual size instead of having to buy one size larger when buying the newer models, in which case they'll be even less heavy/bulky than the equivalent older model Heelys. Smile

EDIT: Just now wearing mine at work and yep, the "new shoe stifness" is easing off after a couple of days of walking around in them without the wheels - which I find is the best way to break them in, because they get flexed more when walking than when rolling straight. Smile

I'll say another thing about the comfort of the new models too: the new insoles are much better. I tried to peel one out to compare it to the older heelys insoles but the new ones seem to be fixed in. Either way, the new insoles provide plenty of "squidginess" whilst somehow remaining quite slender. Smile

with so many people buying megawatts now, id like to stress that they arepart of the new season line where the shoes fit true to size so don't order a size up. I got my suede dogs sz 9 and they are HUGGGEEEE.

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

Well, I just got mine. Zappos moved holy-crap FAST for me. Ordered them Wednesday evening, got them today.

(Somewhere in Zappos' internal database, lies a secret VIP list of website owners who are to be given the highest priority should one of them comment on their purchase... Very Happy

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The fit is actually a lot like Fleets, with the flatter toe. This is actually the shoe they seem to be based off of, with a thicker sole and a Mega wheel, and possibly longer for extra toe room. They feel just as tight side-to-side as the rest of my size 11s, though.

And yes. The laces are too long. Considerably so.

Spinning the wheels in your hand feels a bit "clicky" and they will NOT spin on their own very much, but when ~160 lbs of Slicer are rolling the energy loss is negligible.

There is an extra gap above the axle fixing to show off the wheel's lights. I kind of wish my Glows had this (yes, I am that much of a geek).

They're also C-Clips, and I'm guessing the internals of the axle/wheel assembly are special, so I don't really want to try to change these bearings... ever. No water or dirt for these.

I'm also guessing they're very, VERY air-bubble prone- not something I want to find out the hard way.

ok, enough of that kind of stuff, i just want the basics: do u suggest them and r they good? (sorry if that sounds rude Laughing

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*Last edited by Heelynut on Fri Jul 31, 2009 11:34 pm; edited 2 times in total*

Contrary to what slicer said, I did some measurements (on my size 11s):
The inside length is the same but the inside width is ¼” wider which makes them feel sloppy in the width to me.
I said in my first post that the tongue is thin and not as cushy as most Heelys...but also, the insole is not sculpted like previous heelys....also there’s little arch support.

I checked my other new Heelys: the Grind-N-Roll also has this same non-sculpted insole but the Classic insole is sculpted.
Edit #1: I put in a sculpted insole in the MWs and the footbed is now as comfortable as usual but the thin tongue is still not comfortable.
Edit #2: I wondered why I didn't care for my Grind-N-Rolls...I put in sculpted insoles and now they're nice and comfortable. I also figured out a solution to the long laces. I'll share this in another post.

As I mentioned above, the inside width is wider resulting in more room in the toe box. This is not the case with the Grind-N-Roll or Classic.

Overall, I’d say that the out-of-the-box Megawatt is the most uncomfortable heely of the 55 pair I have.

Bottom line:
The lighted wheels are cool but the shoe sucks in a number of ways.

So, here’s the question I sent to HSL:
How soon will we be able to buy just the lighted Mega wheels?
HN
PS, the next test will be to see how durable the lighted wheels are.

NEW COLLECTION PIIIIIICCCC!!!!!!!

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

The tightness and apparent width of the shoe, and the length of the lace-ends, can of course be altered to quite a degree by the lacing-style used, and how tight you pull the ends after threading through each set of eyelets (lace-holes). Smile

Since the megawatts come out of the box "unlaced" (unless your shop has laced them) it may simply be a matter of finding a more suitable lacing for your foot.

My sister once had a pair of trainers that for ages she was saying were uncomfortable, but I just relaced them for her with a more appropriate style of lacing for her foot shape, and since that day she says they're her favorite pair. Smile

Although I love my Ninja's, Megawatts seem to me to have solved all the problems the Ninja's had: no longer with too much padding meaning less heat and better ventilation, and more roomy in the toe box so no more cramped toes, etc.

Personally I'd say my megawatts are one of my most comfortable mega-Heelys now that I've got the lacing right (as shown in the pic above), and I didn't even feel the need for the usual added gel insoles that I usually do, but I guess it could depend on the shape of your individual foot etc. Smile

ok, so i guess i shouldn't get them if they aren't comfortable. the funny thing is heelys r usually really comfortable.

HN, The MWs are half an inch longer than my Ninjas and a quarter inch longer than my Pros and Fleets. For an inside measurement I used a stiff builder's tape measure.

You might be right on the width, though. This could just be the "don't order a size up anymore" thing, although they don't feel as large as my size 12 Torches (yes, I have a pair). I'll check again when they're broken in.

They're plenty comfortable for me- they don't have the about-to-fall-off feel that my Ninjas sometimes get- but yeah, the tongue is thin. At least it isn't about to shove itself down into the shoe like my Evos did (at least not yet).

Having next to no arch I don't need or want arch support of any kind Smile

I'm also pretty sure the MW is heavier than most other styles, too.

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

Nice pic. How did you spin yours to get the light effect whilst taking the pic?

Was thinking of spinning mine with a drill using the side of a holesaw bit. Very Happy

Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 1391 Location: UK

BTW, it turns out that bearing changes on megawatts are easier than other megas... because the magnet in the middle of the axle means that once you've taken one of the c-clips off, if you push that end of the axle in by simply pressing it against a hard surface, the other bearing gets popped out by the magnet. No need for any screwdrivers or anything, just a pair of c-clip pliers. Smile

And it looks like all the circuitry is enclosed within the water-tight gel outer material - if you did skate in the rain, all that water could get to is plain metal, so water shouldn't be any more of a problem with megawatts than with normal mega's, as long as the water isn't left in there to rust. When that magnet axle is within the wheel it doesn't actually physically touch the core at all... so no wear and tear either except the usual amount on the bearings, it just creates power like a dynamo. Smile

This explains why the megawatts are able to run just as fast as normal mega's. Smile

(Warning: Incoming geekery!)

I want to pump that magnet up.

It's a bit hard to wrap wire in the correct way (don't try to loop wire around the whole axle, kids, it's not magnetized in that direction- north and south are on the round part in the middle, not the sides!) and I'd need a mild DC generator for that, like one of the hand-cranked ones. The other alternative is to take two extremely magnetized pieces of iron (can wrap wire around those...), put the magnet between them, and leave them like that for a while. I bet, as sold, it's nowhere near the limit of the field it can hold...

(The thing I dread the most is taking those fiddly little C-clips off and on.)

Think it's worth a shot, ME?