THUNDER 159s

[ALABAMAMAN]

my homie had a set to try out. they skate pretty nice but kinda made your board look like a mega ramp board
but they looked really rad when he was 5050 the park rail.

[brokenheadphone]

You mean the 151s right? Those are 8.75'' wide to my understanding...on an 8.5'' to 9'' wide deck, they wouldn't look that weird. I'm guessing you mounted them on a deck that was too small for the trucks.

I think most of the mega ramp guys use Indy 215s, which are 10'' wide...for whatever reason those guys seem to prefer a setup where the board is smaller than the trucks and the axles and wheels stick out from the deck.

[ALABAMAMAN]

You mean the 151s right? Those are 8.75'' wide to my understanding...on an 8.5'' to 9'' wide deck, they wouldn't look that weird. I'm guessing you mounted them on a deck that was too small for the trucks.

I think most of the mega ramp guys use Indy 215s, which are 10'' wide...for whatever reason those guys seem to prefer a setup where the board is smaller than the trucks and the axles and wheels stick out from the deck.

nah there 159s player. Hardy is the homie and they sent them to him to try out. his board is 8.4

[toque]

I want to get off the Indy program but right now theyre the only company making 159s.  I hope these thunders are available soon

[256 Ply]

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You mean the 151s right?

[close]

nah there 159s player. Hardy is the homie and they sent them to him to try out. his board is 8.4

[brokenheadphone]

If there are actual Thunder 159s (i.e. wider than the 151) in the works, Thunder may want to think about changing the name to something else seeing as the 151s that are starting to show up in shops are the same size as an Indy 159 (8.75'').

And Indy isn't the only company making a truck that is ~8.75'' wide.

I've got these on a 9'' deck, they're 8.75'' wide, same size as Indy 159s:

http://www.skateslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Polar-Bear-Features.jpg

Made with much more attention to detail than Indys, seem to ride well too. I'm an Indy fan btw.

Ace also has the 55s - which are a hair under 9'' - pretty close to an Indy 159 in size.

[toque]

I'll have to check out those 151s.  The ace 55s are even wider than an indy 169.  The polar bear trucks look awful

[brokenheadphone]

The ace 55s are even wider than an indy 169. 

The polar bear trucks look awful

No, Ace 55s are 8.875'' wide, just a hair over the Indy 159s. Indy 169s are 9.125'' wide. You must be thinking of Ace 66s or some other truck.

Have you handled the Polar Bears in person? I was skeptical until I got a pair in the mail. I would've returned them if they looked like crap. The casting is a lot cleaner than Indy or any other big brand, better bushings than most trucks, faced hangers, better reinforcement, and stainless steel axles. They are better made than Indy and it only takes about a minute of handling them to figure that out.

If you don't like the turning geometry or the corny name/logo, that's another story.

Not that I'm going to give up Indys anytime soon altogether either, I've got them on two of my setups.

[toque]

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The ace 55s are even wider than an indy 169. 

The polar bear trucks look awful

[close]

No, Ace 55s are 8.875'' wide, just a hair over the Indy 159s. Indy 169s are 9.125'' wide. You must be thinking of Ace 66s or some other truck.

Have you handled the Polar Bears in person? I was skeptical until I got a pair in the mail. I would've returned them if they looked like crap. The casting is a lot cleaner than Indy or any other big brand, better bushings than most trucks, faced hangers, better reinforcement, and stainless steel axles. They are better made than Indy and it only takes about a minute of handling them to figure that out.

If you don't like the turning geometry or the corny name/logo, that's another story.

Not that I'm going to give up Indys anytime soon altogether either, I've got them on two of my setups.

I've skated ace 55s and Indy 169s and the 55s definitely stick out more.  I haven't really gotten the measuring tape and the magnifying glass out to measure that carefully but the difference is obvious when riding around.  Every company wants to measure their trucks different and makes slightly different sizes for some reason.  No matter how well those polar bear trucks are made it'd be fucked to look down at my setup and see longboard trucks every time.  You post on silverfish?

[geezer]

You guys realize 159 is just a number Indy made up, right?  It's not really a size other than what they call their 8.75" truck

[brokenheadphone]

I've skated ace 55s and Indy 169s and the 55s definitely stick out more.� I haven't really gotten the measuring tape and the magnifying glass out to measure that carefully but the difference is obvious when riding around.� Every company wants to measure their trucks different and makes slightly different sizes for some reason.� No matter how well those polar bear trucks are made it'd be fucked to look down at my setup and see longboard trucks every time.� You post on silverfish?

Hmm, maybe there is some variance among different lots of Aces, I know they went through a few hiccups in the manufacturing because people were posting picks of weak trucks with bent axles. Maybe it has to do with the threaded part of the axles or what width wheels you were skating? Who knows. I will maybe give them a shot at some point. I know there is one blogger that actually went through the trouble of measuring around 30 pairs of trucks with a pair of calipers.

The Polar Bears are not longboard trucks. Other than the double drilled baseplate, there is nothing "longboardy" about them other than that they're made by a longboard company out of Canada that decided to make a regular truck. They do have taller than normal bottom bushings compared to most of today's trucks but that's not any different than a lot of trucks that skaters were riding in the 80s. They don't feel weird or super squirrelly/carvy like longboard type trucks either. When you're ~200lbs or more, you appreciate things that are durable. I actually corresponded by email with one of the guys that designed the Polar Bears...he mentioned that they were trying to make a durable truck that was good for skating park transitions, pools, etc. They weren't trying to make a longboard truck. I guess Ace was trying to do the same thing with their design throwback to Stage 3 Indys?

I do post of Silverfish occasionally, but only in the Park section. I don't even own a longboard, nor have I ever ridden one. I like the park forum because they're some knowledgeable older dudes that hang around there. As a 90s street skater trying to get back into it and learn more transition oriented skating this time around, there is some worthwhile info over there.