Welcome to my channel, where we explore all things mechanical. Over the past 3 years, my focus has shifted towards P.E.V. transportation, including Electric Skateboards, Skateboards, Ebikes, and similar devices, and promoting an active lifestyle through Project "Moo-Vet" activities for better health.
My love for everything mechanical and unconventional knows no bounds. I also provide honest reviews of any product featured.
If you'd like to support our work or simply want to show appreciation, you can visit our Koji page at withkoji.com/@Byron_ETA_Wheels
There, you'll find options to donate or buy me a coffee, as well as access to our complete list of affiliate and discount links.
I'm particularly interested in expanding my coverage to include more Eskate reviews, electric bikes, safety gear, and traditional skate products. My commitment is to offer fair and unbiased assessments while providing constructive feedback to help companies improve their products.
@@stanleyn.2476 fantastic question! I'm going to nerd out a little bit to answer it. Think of a wheel as an assembly. This assembly consists of 2 wheel halves held together with smaller bolts, tube, tire, bearings, spacers and washers plus the axle nut. When it's pressurized (not installed on an axle), you are reliant solely on the condition of the small bolts to contain the pressure. When the wheel assembly (tire, tube, and both halves of the wheel plus bearings) is properly mounted on the axle, you now have the axle, bearing, axle washers (speed rings) and the smaller bolts holding the pressure. Simply put you would not be in any danger with an assembled and pressurized wheel properly mounted on the axle. I have an aviation industry background, and also a heavy automotive background and we deal with 2 piece wheels all the time. It seems like a small thing, but imagine if the wheel has been installed for a while and has corroded hardware. (Aluminum wheels halves and steel bolts will actually cause corrosion over time) You are essentially trusting your life to this hardware. Further most hardware, bolts, nuts etc have an oil coating for storage. When you get a new eskate, I always recommend uninstalling the hardware and cleaning/degreasing the hardware with 99% isopropyl alcohol and applying a thread locking compound before first ride as part of the setup process. Wheel half explosions are surprisingly violent, even with a small wheel assembly and 36 psi is enough to do serious harm to you, and in the best case scenario you destroy only a wheel. I have personally had enough close calls, and genuinely know enough people who have been injured by 2 piece wheel assemblies that I feel the need to teach it every chance I get. Even with an 8" tire and plastic hub you still risk a serious injury. There are some pretty good RU-vid videos of people accidentally disassembling pressurized wheel halves and almost losing a finger when both halves separate violently. Now imagine the tools, and pieces of a tire and wheel flying at your face. Skate safe, skate smart and most of all have fun! 🤙
@ByronETAWheels Oh wow thank you for this great info. I have to look more into those 2 piece wheels and make sure mines aren't 2 piece. All I know is my tires are tubeless lol. Thank you!
Hi, I bought this skate 15 days ago and honestly I had different problems that I didn't like. I don't know if you also have the same problems. For example the central part is covered with a fake carbon film that rises around the screws and air bubbles also form. Furthermore, inside the box I found two very heavy iron bars which knocked out all the accessories and also scratched the table at the bottom and also dented the charger. Not to mention that I found a corner of the board where the anti-slip was missing and where I found a small hole in the carbon part and some white marks due, I think, to the glue that was removed. Furthermore, the rear hole, where the plate with the light is and where the wheels attach, has several imperfections, as if it had been cut badly. Support provided me with a new charger and a set of 90mm wheels and generally always responds to messages, but I can't say that the skate is free from defects or that it has a high build quality. And also the company is not attentive to many details. Furthermore, the remote control runs out of battery too quickly compared to the autonomy offered by the skate
@@ByronETAWheels Wow, that was fast! Thanks! You wouldn't happen to know/remember what your installed height was, do you? It seems like my front sight is approximately .030" lower than my rear sight, and I'm baffled
My concern is I bought my Reflex "used" and I think the previous "owner" put it together WRONG. The reason i say that is on mine the freakin firing pin is protruding from the bolt face in a dangerous manner. I haven't even loaded a round in the chamber yet much less shot it due to safety concerns. I'm taking it back to the on site gunsmith to fix my problem before I shoot it but yeah.
A couple days ago ,i was riding my bike and came across a pair of polarized Randolph's lying on the side of the road . No scratches no ding's. I scored 😎
I got mine like two weeks ago and it had feeding issues, which wasn’t a worry because I figured it was a break in period issue, so I got it home after shooting and cleaned it, after it wouldn’t chamber my hollow points, so I sent it to fn and it turns out it wasn’t the pistol but the ammo, it was hornady american gunner and it would setback the bullet so far it would bulge the case after 1-3 racks, got it back yesterday and its running accurately and no feeding issues at all
Glad yours is up and running well! Mine likes 124gr win defense+p, which is my normal carry load, I was able to standardize it across all my pistols now. Keep trying different loads till you find the one that works best for you! I hope you like yours as much as I like mine.
Awesome video. My question is that what didn’t it just come with a #8 sight? Or do some come with the correct sight height or some don’t? It’s like Did FN not even QC or QA these guns during testing? They had to have known the sight was an issue. Anyways thanks for this very informative video.
@@ByronETAWheels gotcha. Mine must be an older model. Had to send mine back to FN because of constant FTF and come today just found out it’s shooting low left…. Any other way to measure the sight other than using a measuring caliper? I don’t have one unfortunately and that’s what Dawson website recommends. Thanks!
@@Slasherx28 are you shooting with the pinky extension on the short magazine? If so try replacing it with the flush fit before adjustment of the sights. Might get lucky and correct your issue. If not, $10 on Amazon for a vernier caliper or $18 for a digital caliper.(Get the digital ) You will be shocked at how much and how often you use them! I use mine for all sorts of stuff now including measuring kydex thickness, sight heights, car nuts and bolts etc. Super handy device! Also useful for measuring OAL of suspected ammo to ensure it's dimensionally correct. With 9mm it's less of a concern, but I also shoot some really oddball stuff and always very my ammo with those. It's a tool you will use a lot honestly, I recommend everyone have one in the tool box. I can send you a link for one if you want. You don't need a fancy one, just a basic digital will do nicely.
Hey Byron. I used the caliper to measure. I’m getting 0.16 in. I’m measuring correctly according to Dawson’s spec (top of slide to top of height). I also watched a YT video on it to confirm I’m measuring it correctly and using the correct part of the tool (tail end measurement). So mine appears even smaller than what you said in your video of ~.02. Any thoughts? Should I just go ahead and replace
Interesting that there are not comments here yet... To me it looks like a MIM casting artifact with the circular part below it being the injection point and the pattern above possibly a result of binder contamination. It could indicate a weak spot or not depending on whether the sintering process cause the particles to rebind or not. The only ways to tell would be to x-ray it or whack the circle with a punch and hammer to see if it pops out.
I'm glad you commented! I did a NDI on it after discussing with some friends and coworkers. Ultimately FN replaced it. I've got about 700 on the new one since then. Since this video was made, I've started a new career and moved to a different state lol. I'm slowly getting back to video production and catching up with follow ups.
I just bought a used Reflex and should be getting it tomorrow. I'm really glad for videos like yours (and HRFunk's etc) that talk about the accuracy issues. With that information in mind, I noticed that the point of aim they show in the Reflex manual (pg. 32) is kinda strange. They show the top of the front and rear sights being in line (fine...) but that puts the dots way out of line with each other. I'll bet a lot of shooters are lining up the dots. I'm certainly in that habit from my VP9 with night sights since that's how they're designed to work. Based on that illustration alone I would guess that lining up the dots would cause the pistol to shoot at least 3-4 inches low at 7-10 yards. If mine does that (it's in the 46xx serial number range) I'm going to try blacking out the rear dots as that should help make it easier to line up the tops of the sights before swapping it out for a different rear sight. If it turns out I'm right, I assume it's simply a poor design choice on FN's part since that sounds better than FN blaming us all for not knowing how to aim a pistol ;) .
Mine when measured was physically too short. I tried everything from the "combat" sight picture to the traditional top of the front to top of the rear. Mine, regardless of sight picture and poa. Shooting with the flush baseplate helps also. It's a good pistol when everything is sorted!
I purchased a Reflex about a week ago and didn’t see the videos with folks having problems. I always clean a new pistol and its magazines before I take it to the range. I shot it about 250 times without an issue. It took me a little time to get used to the trigger and the recoil impulse. I found it to be enjoyable to shoot and the recoil manageable. The only time I shot low and to the left was when I would anticipate the recoil and push the pistol to the left and low. Once I was used to the trigger and recoil, I kept my shots in the 9 and 10 ring out to 25 yards. I will change the back sight out to the correct number and replace with night sight.
I'm really glad they seem to have ironed out the issues some of the early pistols like mine had! My suggestion is that if you are shooting it well with the existing sight setup, don't change it! The front sight is already a night sight and with some practice quite functional as is. I changed mine due to the accuracy issues it showed. I love how well it shoots now though. The intent was not to add night sight function to the rear, I simply went with what was on the shelf at my local gun store.
@@ByronETAWheels they must have ironed out the issues then. I heard some hype from Spnfirearms and how it was becoming his new favorite, so when I seen a used one for $350 and it was barely used I snatched it up. Then I seen all the bad reviews and was worried but I had only shot it at like 15ft and I figured that it was just me anticipating recoil. So this next time I will try at a further distance and rest my hands just to make sure. My rear sight post is bigger than the dovetail slot and hangs over the dovetail towards the front of the gun and it looks like yours in the first clip didn’t. So if that’s the case then mine definitely has a different rear sight. Thanks for the reply and reading my ramble!
@@Fanorst I recommend slow fire, and most importantly have fun! It's a great shooter, one that really surprised me after the kinks were ironed out. Remember if you dry fire it, use snap caps. The firing pin contacts the roll pin if you don't, and it will eventually break. If you are curious, I have some videos on my channel where I break the complete pistol down and put it all the way back together. If you feel the sights are in question, measure it and compare it to the sight heights I listed in my reddit thread on the subject. www.reddit.com/r/fnreflex/s/jGNOgcP5HC I have another one in the r/fnherstal group also. www.reddit.com/r/FNHerstal/s/G8aL2jh314
Nope. There is zero reason to use an extended firing pin. It invites trouble on a carry piece. Also there is plenty of force for positive ignition, even with the reduced springs. If you go down the research rabbit hole you will find people said the same for the Cajun setups, and most remove it due to safety. It's not worth extending the firing pin closer to the primer under any circumstances in my opinion.
@@ByronETAWheels Thank you for the reply, I had some trouble with reloads not going off after installing the kit so I had put the stock hammer spring back in for the day, is that safe in your opinion? Or should I at least use the stock firing pin spring if using the stock hammer spring? I think I'm going to just stick with factory ammo so I can take full advantage of the kit. I found your page on reddit, I tried my best to get the polishing like yours. Awesome job!
@@D.Herb. if you have a batch of hard primers, or they are seated too deep, I can see that being an issue. I run mine with whatever I have handy, including reloads and reman ammo. Light strikes are weird for the p-07, and I'd be more suspicious of the batch of primers. I've had some guns that love CCI and some that don't for example. I wonder if Mcarbo may have sent a lighter spring out on accident? I would reach out to them, they are genuinely awesome people with a lot more experience than I have.
@@ByronETAWheels They made it right in the end, but originally sent me the kit with a large spring that didn't belong at all instead of the correct sear spring. I sent them a picture and asked for a new sear spring and they replied with it looks like the firing pin block sping and two day FedEx the wrong one but eventually they sent out the sear spring. Thanks again
I ordered the largest size. On their website they list sizing info and how to measure. As I stated however in the review I really don't recommend the helmet from a safety perspective when there are far better options for less money on the market like the IXS Trigger FF.
It's a SOG baton Q4. Unfortunately it's no longer made, but it's suitable for the corporate savage when you need a screwdriver/knife/hex bit driver. I really wish they would bring them back, they are quite possibly the most under appreciated multi tool I've ever seen. The pliers leave something to be desired, but if used within reasonable parameters it's a fantastic handy dandy cool tool.
It was my first time filming and color grading the footage. The rest of my videos are quite a bit brighter though! I had no clue what I was doing at that point in my editing journey. Hopefully you enjoy some of my newer stuff! I always appreciate feedback and honest criticism. Thank you 🤙
I have a full version of the Girsan MCP35. It’s absolutely awesome. I always wanted a HI Power, but I could neither afford it nor find one, so I went with the CZ75 instead, no regrets. Until Springfield and Girsan came out with their versions and I finally got one. I plan to get the Springfield version in the future.
I almost went with the Springfield version, but the aluminum frame and 3.8" barrel is what got me super excited, so Girsan got my cash. I'm also saving up for a Springfield variant. 🤙
It works very well actually. But I'm glad you have super vision. If you look hard enough, you will see anyone's carry setup. To better improve your self and your own CCW skills, look and see how others react to that person that you spotted. If they don't react, they are totally unaware and the carry setup is effective. Most people remain unaware, as only a chosen few dedicated themselves to spotting every CCW person on the street. This is a demonstration and review, hiding it in a well lit room wasn't on my to do list. Nobody has ever said anything to me while wearing it out and about, even while wearing it in the FL hot season under a polo or light aloha shirt. It works well with decent t shirt also. In the unlikely event that my shirt rides up slightly, all they see is the line of the holster, or the very bottom of it, and not the actual gun itself. You can also adjust the ride height and cant of the holster to better blend it in, and tuck it closer to your body, which I've since done after this video was made. It's among my favorite CCW rigs. It's also great for practical shooting events.
I bought my girsan mcp35 pi lw ops last month, only have about 200 rounds thru and I absolutely love it, it’s accurate, it’s lightweight, feels great inside my waist… It has replaced my beretta m9 commercial has my 2nd favorite hammer fired pistol, my sig p229 is my favorite… I am going to try the recoil spring you talked about but I need to shoot it more, thanks for the video…
I'm really glad you like it, it's a sweet shooter! The recoil spring will smooth out the impulse of the recoil and just takes it to the next level. I'm planning on picking up a steel frame one soon also to round out the collection. I appreciate the comment! I'm excited to hear how you like the recoil spring. I ordered mine from Cajun gun works. It's the P-07 standard flat wire spring, yellow color. I also did a video of me swapping it back and forth and shooting with my old P-07 spring if you are curious. My final shooting footage, I am planning on getting some slow motion of both springs (original and p-07) that will clearly show the difference in slide velocity.
It's fantastic stuff. I use it in several different applications, including my PC fans, drills and other high speed, high torque items. It also doesn't destroy the POM gears. It's also good for metal on metal.
I worked the trigger on mine a few hundred rounds. Trigger is way better than when I purchased it. I still get better accuracy with my P01. LOK grips are awesome. Mine has had zero issues. I just struggle with the trigger pull affecting accuracy. Which is all me.
I highly recommend polishing the transfer bar in the slide. It will clean up the grit a bit. The more you dry fire it, the better it gets. I also have a P-01 and it's among my favorite pistols! I've had mine since they first become available in the states way back. The appeal of the hi power to me for carry is it's slightly thinner. That p-07 recoil spring really helps it shoot smoother for a follow up shot also. Lok grips are fantastic! I'm going with the micarta grips from NAVIDREX however for a more classic look.
Beyond a deep cleaning at the 1400 round no. I fed it a diet of NATO pressure loads in the beginning to help with any possible break in. NATO pressure is ~36,800 psi compared to ~35,000 for normal 9x19mm. American eagle 124gr is a good example of that. The gun is designed around 124gr loads however as per FN technical support, which I learned chasing my sight issue. Feeding and extracting have never been an issue with mine, sights and last round hold open were my main issues, however last round hold open was purely my grip. Is it not extracting, not fully going forward into battery or another issue? If I'm reading your post correctly, it sounds like a failure to return fully to battery. All I can suggest to clean it and lubricate thoroughly and keep breaking it in. I did find a weird metal sliver on the takedown lever, which polished off easily. I like to use a microfiber cloth and a credit card size object to thoroughly scrub the rails on all my pistols during deep cleaning. If something is causing a lower slide velocity, my bet is some carbon build up on the rails. I will also say that the pistol takes quite a bit more lube than my Glock does, and I use Lucas gun oil for everything if you need a suggested lube. It's not anything special, but seems to work well enough for everything I own.
@@ByronETAWheels Thanks for your reply! So yeah basically when I load in the mag and shoot the first round, the second one stops the slide about midway, causing me to slap/push the back of the slide round after round…I just thought maybe you’d have a suggestion…saw some posts on the FN forum that people were sanding down the extractor a bit but i dont know i dont want to mess things up, i love this pistol especially when im using anything above 124gr…but 115gr is the cheap stuff…
@@OverlandATX how many rounds have you fired through it? I haven't seen any of the posts about sanding down the extractor, but it's super easy to pop out and inspect. Personally I'd clean it out with isopropyl alcohol really well, inspect it and check for burrs, nicks, gouges and anything else that may impede the operation of the extractor. Perhaps some hardened grease on the spring? I've had weirder issues on some of my pistols. But definitely I'd deep clean the groove, extractor and spring before making any changes to the extractor.
@@OverlandATX I took mine apart for cleaning this afternoon and noticed something also. When you install the recoil spring, do you install the U notch groove facing towards the barrel, or towards the frame? The opening of the U notch should face the barrel. If you look at the recoil guide rod, there is a steel "cap" that pops on the guide rod and holds the springs. The u notch facing the barrel locks the guide rod solid, and you can actually feel the difference in how the pistol cycles. It's much more authoritative with the U notch facing the barrel.
@@ByronETAWheels I literally just picked up my reflex from the shop, got some suppressor height sights to cowitness my holosun…and thanks for the tip! I had the u notch facing down the frame but I just flipped it towards the barrel! Also, I had responded with a link earlier but looks like my comment got removed by YT… I don’t feel comfortable messing with the extractor, once I have time for the range next week I’ll see how it does and then I can update you on that!
It's a good board, regardless of the cell chosen. Even at the low end, if you follow my setup guide you will enjoy it for a long time! I also have a channel discount code which will save some cash for you, if you choose to purchase one.
I am so glad I ran across this video. I just bought my reflex yesterday. It to is shooting low left as I seen on other videos. I knew that the rear sight was too low. Thank you for listing the sight size and the one that will interchange with it!! I like the gun a lot. Thanks again!!!
I don't think it would be an issue, but I don't have the optics ready version. The SIG sights fit well enough and work well enough I never had the desire to put an optic on it.
10:19 "You don't want to disconnect it here unless you are capable of shunting it." My replacement part came disconnected here with only one wire coming out. Do you have any advice on how I can figure out how to become capable of 'shunting' it? 'Shunt connector' brings up a lot of different content on google.
Did the replacement part have the harness with it? It should have. Shunting it is grounding it safely to prevent a static charge from arcing. 0.020" safety wire should do the trick. Replacements should be shipped with the lower harness, which automatically shunts the circuit when you disconnect it.
@@ByronETAWheels Thanks! The part appears complete with the smaller wire and connector emerging from under the buckle sleeve to run under the seat. What I'm hearing you say is that I need to have this small wire connected to the seat (and the seat to the car) before I connect the larger connection on the pre-tensioner. This allows it to prevent an arc at that larger connection. Let me know if I misunderstand, thanks. Also, is that an aftermarket wheel that's flat on the bottom? It looks factory, but it's different than my 05 V's all round wheel.
@@doubleKlutch Yes the small wire first ! Regarding the wheel: I have had a few different setups for the wheel. My favorite is made by "things love frank" on Instagram. The CTS 1 vs world Facebook group has a dealer also. Take a look at my interior pics I did about 2 years after that video was made. 😎 I miss that car a lot.
According to my calipers, the front dovetail is 0.207" so if the x ray front dovetail is the same, or slightly larger you should be good to go. If it's slightly larger, you can just use a jewelers file and remove material from the new sight base until it's the correct width.
Love the video man. Found them on google. Not many people have balls to play with the guts of the gun like us. Here i am stuck trying to figure out where the fire control retaining pin spring goes on this thing. By chance do you know?
Hi there, I have a backfire zealot currently and was wondering if I will need to buy a new pulley to use these wheels or if the pulleys on my zealot will fit them already.
@@ByronETAWheels The Options with the pulleys cost a little extra so I was hoping to save a little by not paying for them if the ones on my board already work. Do you think I'll need them?
@@alfiehoward7714 got ya. They are a standard style Abec adapter. It's worth it to me however to keep spares for my boards. 1 year later and lots of abuse and they still ride true for me. I absolutely love them.
Excellent review sir. How long ago did FN fix the sight issue? I’d like to get one, but would be worried I’d be buying an ‘old stock’ one. Also, any information on FN adding a manual safety to the Reflex?
I fixed the sight issue myself. All firearms to a degree require a small custom touch of some sort. Nobody thinks twice about swapping grips for example. I'm still a bit irritated they miffed the rear sight height, but it does appear as though newer production numbers have the proper height sights.
@@ByronETAWheels thank you! Do you think the SAO trigger is too light for appendix carry? Some people said the trigger is so light that it’s not safe to CC?
@@hixnada8278 definitely not, but it does take some getting used to. I highly recommend adding in some snap caps while at the range to simulate a malfunction. I say this because you have to fully rack the slide to recock the hammer. Unlike a striker fired pistol, there is no second strike capability. So plan for that in your manual of arms and manipulation drills while training with it. As for the trigger, the hinged trigger design is pretty effective and the internal locking of the trigger mechanism is QUITE stout. I have a video where I disassembled the slide, and it's a really well designed pistol. I'll dig it up and link it for you. I personally prefer to carry it in my crucial Concealment covert IWB about the 1:30-5 position depending on how I'm dressed and what I'm doing. I highly recommend upgrading the clip to a DCC monobloc style as soon as is practical should you go with that holster. It's a personal preference thing for me however, not a requirement.
