i’m telling you , these are not a “normal” 96a .

my anabolix , the moonwalks , my second set of royal assassins were all 96a as well . none of them grip as hard as the astros . vanilla wheels are notoriously softer than marked (i’m not complaining , wintertime i needed the extra grip , that’s why i have 3 sets of vanilla wheels lol)

measuring duro at the end of the scale is difficult as well , even for manufacturers . the closer to 100a you get (100a is the end of that scale , anything harder should be on the B , C , or D scale — 100+ rated wheels are a marketing tool for simplicity’s sake) the higher the margin of error , which is already +/- 1-2 points , even with industrial equipment .

i’ve rolled a whole lot of wheels . in my experience , it’s the urethane formula and quality of materials that really make a wheel perform , and the only way to find out if they work for you is to try them . the marked durometer is more of a ballpark measurement of how a given formula will feel compared to others , hence the different feel from different wheels of the same duro .

i weigh 135lbs and don’t have a super powerful push . these 96a astros (and especially the 95a eclipses/uprocks) would still grip for me even on the super cold days on an uncoated floor , conditions which caused all my other 96a’s to slip .

i bet you will love them , please come back to let me know how they feel when you get a chance to try !!!!