The newest evolution in Fangs technology is smaller, has a lower profile, is easier to install than its predecessors, and works just as well as previous versions.
While the Fangs Minis 2.0 are smaller and have a lower profile because of the decreased diameter of the wheels, the overall width of the wheels is the same and therefore so should the protection that the wheels provide.
If you are unfamiliar with what these bumper wheels are for, let me give you a quick summary. Bumper wheels like the Fangs are meant to decrease the coefficient of friction when the nose of your Onewheel grinds into the ground.
Under normal circumstances, the nose of your board would quickly stop because of the high amount of friction between your board and the ground. The abrupt stop would then throw you off your board which would result in possible severe injury.
With the Fangs, the amount of friction when your Onewheel nose hits the ground is significantly decreased. That means that when the nose of your board hits the ground the Fangs start rolling which either gives you a few precious moments to try to regain your balance or time to react and gather yourself to safely bail from the Onewheel.
Fangs are a great way to keep you riding safer. They will not prevent a nosedive but they will mitigate the potential severe damage that may occur if you do nosedive. They are like airbags. They will not prevent a crash but they sure do come in handy during a crash.
Besides acting as a safety feature, the Fangs can also be used to help with certain maneuvers like curb hops and nudges and the Fangs even have a move named after them called Fang Drags.
The Fangs Minis come in Black, glass-filled Nylon but they now also come in colors including black, red, blue, and green aluminum anodized colors!
The new design of the Fangs Minis makes them not only smaller and more discrete, it also makes the newest version easier to install and remove if needed. With my older set of Fangs, any time I needed to remove the front foot plate to make changes to the Onewheel or just to do some deep cleaning, the older Fangs required that I completely disassemble the Fangs just to get the front foot plate off.
With the Fangs Minis, removing the Fangs does not require completely taking apart the entire Fangs setup which makes it so much easier.
I recommend the Fangs Minis to riders new or experienced. Currently they are only available for the Onewheel Plus or XR.
The Fangs Minis are an insurance policy and an added safety feature in the event of a nosedive or a grinding of the nose while going up an incline.