Well, the day after reporting all good things on the new Ace model I had a blowout. Got up this morning to take a quick cruise down the street to the bakery to get some danish and baguette and on my first carve around a corner I both heard and felt a small pop. I absolutely thought it was a bushing turning into a muffin since it could smell the bakery but alas, when I stopped and looked down there was no muffin in sight nor any sign of any other issues. I continued on my journey without noticing anything else.
Then, when I returned to my home I took the trucks apart and discovered my front pivot had just split perfectly down the middle. Also, wow! These are the softest pivot cups I have ever seen! They're mush! I was right about the grease part too, there's a lot of it inside the pivot. It appears Ace did everything they could to make them quieter but in doing so made the least durable pivots I've ever seen. You can easily squish them all the way flat with your fingers. So yes, this is disappointing and apparently happening in some manner to many users of these new "well researched and tested" trucks. I'm just glad it wasn't the bushings. I already had three sets of Riptide's for Ace Classics on hand in case. Good news is the Riptide's fit right in the baseplate no problem. Bad new is there's a lot of play concerning the stem of the hanger, you know, the part that inserts itself into the rubbery goodness of the pivot? It's not noticeable when riding around but I know it will bother me. I'm going to email Tracey at Riptide and tell her about it so perhaps they'll adjust the mold to make them a bit beefier for the new Ace trucks. I'm going to email and hit up Ace on Instagram as well to add my voice to #pivotgate.
In the end, it's not a deal breaker by any means. I already replace the pivots on any other truck right away because I already know they suck. It's just how Ace hyped these up that sucks big balls. I'm always an early adopter and I never learn the lesson not to be. Oh well, at least I have fresh baked goods...