I kinda scratch my head on that one too. My top deck is at 62" and backside detailing of the wheels is near impossible to detect... Even with a car smack dab in front of me.
To me it is a question of pure visual esthetics as operationally all of the wheelsets do the same thing and that is to keep the cars on the tracks. The argument that some wheelsets roll easier than others is immaterial to me when I can get an ABBA set of FA/B 1's to walk away with 150 car train and have no problem with two Kato or Atlas diesels pulling 50car trains. The sound made by metal wheels is in no way comparable to the sound made by the prototype. As far as track cleanliness I think that has more to do with the composition of the track than with the wheels. I'm sticking with the delrin wheels
I can personally say that FVM's are very very good rolling quality.. I haven't tried the BLMA wheels yet.
Originally Posted by christoph BLMA wheels are here, but I have not yet used them. Not sure where this extra detailing of the backside will show. The Super fine detailing is for those that do Super Macro Photograph. Kinda like all the other super fine detailing on locos and cars. From a normal viewing distance ya cant tell. Doesnt make em run better...just adds to the cost. :tb-wacky:JMO .
I have a mixed bag of the Fox Valley, Intermountain, Atlas, and BLMA metal wheels. All of them roll well. Atlas are inexpensive, and they seem to be in gauge. Intermountain wheels are a very good choice also. In truth, I tend to purchase Intermountain above the other brands. FVM and BLMA treads are a touch narrower, and some, but not all drop down into the frogs of my Atlas Code 55 turnouts. Very seldom does this seem to cause a derailment, but it does look funny as the cars roll by. I have decided the extra detailing on the back of the BLMA wheels is not necessary. I don't take any up-close photographs or videos, and rarely am I looking at the backs of the wheels.
I purchased the early narrow tread FVM wheels and had issues on some turnouts. I was quick to blame the wheel sets, but I found that with some adjustments here and there on the track they ran quite well. So I thank FVM for helping me improve my track work to be more reliable. This is just my experience and is not meant to minimize anyone's opinions and experiences.
I just put some BLMA wheels in a Fox Valley rib side box car, in exchange to the Fox Valley wheels I normally use for these (these cars come with brown wheels and I don't like that "chocolate" color, so I change wheels). So it is BLMA 33" wheels in a MTL bettendorf truck. The running quality is the same, which means perfect. The car has no problem (so far ) with turnouts. The appearance is minimally better, the BLMA wheels seem to have deeper contours of the wheel side. Actually I think there is no significant difference between BLMA, FVM and Exactrail wheels. Yes, cou can tell there is a difference, but it is really minimal.
It's not just the backside detail... the front profile on these wheels is straight from AAR CH-36 and CJ-33 drawings, and as such is the only wheel out there with a correct front profile.
Just an FYI ...for those who care about such things: FVM .53 per axle...2.11 per car BLMA .96 per axle...3.83 per car Depends on what ya need...what ya want...how many cars you have...and how much $$$ you want to part with. It's your call. .
Depends on where you shop, you can find the BLMA wheels for much cheaper then that as I listed in a above post, about $.71 per axle.
Yup...and I am sure a guy could find the FVM's cheaper too :tb-wink: I just worked off the first 2 etailers I opened .
I think the discount rates will be similar, so the best is to compare the recommended retail prices for 12 wheelsets: FVM $8.95 Exactrail $9.95 BLMA $11.475 ($22.95 for 24 axles/wheelsets) My test packages of the "newcomers" Exactrail and BLMA were bought locally in Germany, so I paid full local price ( 1 USD = 1 EUR ). My stock of FVM comes directly from etailers in the US and therefore is much less expensive. I also buy FVM wheels in 100-packs which gives me a better price. Maybe the other two will also offer bulk packs of their wheels when they see a success on the market. Excatrail's homepage shows only the 36" wheels, so I assume their batch of 33" wheels sold out. I hope this is a good sign
BLMA $8.95 ( that's wrong!) 33 Inch Metal Wheels, 24 Axles/Pkg [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-2]ITEM # BLMA-9810 [FONT=ARIAL,DEFAULT][SIZE=+1]$16.15[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-2] [FONT=ARIAL,DEFAULT][SIZE=-2]LIST: $22.95[/SIZE][/FONT] [/SIZE][/FONT]Thats 11.475 list per dozen http://www.blwnscale.com/BLMA Metal Wheels.htm Exactrail $9.95 FVM $11.475 ($22.95 for 24 axles/wheelsets) (Also wrong) ...FVM 33' Wheelsets for Micro-Trains ITEM # FVM-3301 - 12 Pack $6.35 LIST: $8.95 http://www.blwnscale.com/Fox Valley Models Brass Wheelsets.htm I'm thinkin ya had the 2 confused while compiling the list:tb-wink:
