Gear madness support thread

[rikki]

I'm finally getting back into skating this spring after 3+ years being away from it.

have a dilemma building my setup; I wanna step away from the typical Reds and go more premium, so I went through the bearings gear thread, seem to be a lot of people loving Quantum Atoms/Isotopes, but I could not a read lot of long term reviews comparing them to Swiss on them for durability/feel/maintenance and instead compares on cost to performance. the kicker is I have a hookup that has Bones Swiss for the same price I can get Quantum Atoms/Isotopes.

Comparing Quantum ceramics vs tried and true Swiss to slam in 99a Full Conical F4s is driving me a bit mad, anyone skate both a ton (I primarily do concrete park/cruising, but any input is good imho) and have an opinion on what's best?

I've learned the hard way: nothing but Swiss / Swiss 6.

[ggrant]

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I'm finally getting back into skating this spring after 3+ years being away from it.

have a dilemma building my setup; I wanna step away from the typical Reds and go more premium, so I went through the bearings gear thread, seem to be a lot of people loving Quantum Atoms/Isotopes, but I could not a read lot of long term reviews comparing them to Swiss on them for durability/feel/maintenance and instead compares on cost to performance. the kicker is I have a hookup that has Bones Swiss for the same price I can get Quantum Atoms/Isotopes.

Comparing Quantum ceramics vs tried and true Swiss to slam in 99a Full Conical F4s is driving me a bit mad, anyone skate both a ton (I primarily do concrete park/cruising, but any input is good imho) and have an opinion on what's best?

[close]

I've learned the hard way: nothing but Swiss / Swiss 6.

Sounds like that's a pretty solid consensus. Just shilled out a little more for Swiss 6

[Xen]

+1 for Swiss six

[Sedition]

Despite all the madness, one thing is crystal clear: Super Swiss 6, and nothing else. Ever. Hard stop.

[Firebert]

Only bones Swiss ceramics for me

[IUTSM]

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First madness of my life; went through too many wheels within the span of two months.

Started off with wanting to try Dragons after riding Spitfire F4 for as long as they've been around. Bought the 54mm V4 Dragons and loved them at first. Spot to spot was so much faster, and I liked the rebound. They definitely don't slide as well as everyone wants you to believe. Especially felt it on flat ground tricks that required a little bit of a revert (backslide flips, 360s, etc). Went back to Spitfire F4, but tried the OG classics in 52mm 99a. Hated them. Square edge threw off all my flat ground tricks, and they felt super rough riding from spot to spot. Went back to Dragons, but this time the 52mm V1, hoping that the smaller wheel would revert better. They didn't. Went to Spitfire F4 Classics in 97a hoping that it would be a good middle ground. They were okay honestly. Definitely prefer a round edge wheel, but they still were a little sticky for my taste. They were good for 90% of things, and my flat ground improved, but still not "it". Finally landed back on Spitfire F4, but this time 54mm 99a Radials. Hoping the slightly wider wheel helps smoothen things, while having the slide of the 99a duro, and the round edge for flat ground.

[close]

And then probably it will happen the same that's happening to me: you'll want classics

[close]

classics are the best.

dragons do not slide very well, in my experience. i just want them to slide on downhill speed checks, and for me, they do not. dragons do feel excellent for my old joints/bones, and pushing to and fro is lovely.

i’ve been skating 52 v1 x97s and they are nice. haven’t taken them down a fast hill yet.

i’ve been contemplating skating a set of 55 dragons, for transportation, and then once at the skatepark, changing to 52 classic f4s.
feels precious.

[close]

Really interested in your experience downhill with x97’s.

And get two sets of bearings and just quick-switch the wheels out

[close]

@JM
@Zane

tried my x97, v1 shape, 52mm, on a rugged downhill. they were alright. speed checks worked.

then tried my 55 dragons. waaaay faster, much less speed check. uncomfortably fast in parts of the road.
for me, both wheels slide around 180, but the 90 back to straight is more difficult, for me, than say f4s.

ended up just cruising around on the dragons. they are kinda like sweatpants or slip on shoes…just lazy/easy.

if the x97s were a bigger wheel, i’m sure they would have been the move. i got these small and thin to ride on low trucks, so not exactly hill bomb optimized.

hope this isn’t as useless as it reads back to me

[close]

Thanks dog, that is most certainly useful in case I ever feel the urge to powerslide going downhill.  The powerslides I try on flat smooth concrete in the x97's, V1's are really sticky and don't work well most of the time.   I do miss the SPF Bones in that regard.  Downside of f4 99's in smooth park concrete is they are not as fast as either SPF or x97's.  (x97's are suprisingly fast on smooth concrete!)

[close]

my major malfunction seems to be that i really want to ‘speed check’ power slide, whatever, downhill….because im scared and going too fast. i live in a place with horrible old roads, the dragons feel awesome. until i start going too fast.
f4s are great for speed checks, and slower. if i skate a massive wheel (56 radial fulls let’s say) the f4s do well enough.
but.
if a wheel is good on these shit streets, then said wheel most likely has ‘orrible drawbacks once at the spot (too big, too heavy, too soft, etc etc).
big tiny baby i am.

i’ll to try the x97s at the park. i never skate there.

i'm on some loopholes right now, 56. they're a dope all around wheel, slide real nice but don't slide out/very controllable, and really aren't that much heavier

[Ourladyoftheflowers]

Ok maybe this is one of those things I just have to deal with. I switched from venture (my favorite truck) to Indy cause I kept hitting axel in like 5/6 months on venture. Settled on Indy’s with the blue bushings (more stability and great turn, love em now).

Only problem is now the axel is starting to peek out 5 months in. Crook of course comes first but that barely counts. Switched hangers when the crooks started barking on the (metal) skatepark ledge on my weekday sessions and when I was switching noticed the axel poking out on the back hanger.

I can’t even slappy so this doesn’t feel justified. I skate a lot of crusty ledges so I’m guessing that’s the culprit and I hate breaking trucks in. I always thought of Indy as being the longest lasting truck. Any suggestions on a truck that’s somehow more durable than Indy? Or should I just accept I’m gonna go through two sets of trucks a year?

My 2024 goal is learning slappys (might be lofty that shit seems impossible) which I’m sure will make this problem significantly worse.

[Enrico Pallazzo]

Ok maybe this is one of those things I just have to deal with. I switched from venture (my favorite truck) to Indy cause I kept hitting axel in like 5/6 months on venture. Settled on Indy’s with the blue bushings (more stability and great turn, love em now).

Only problem is now the axel is starting to peek out 5 months in. Crook of course comes first but that barely counts. Switched hangers when the crooks started barking on the (metal) skatepark ledge on my weekday sessions and when I was switching noticed the axel poking out on the back hanger.

I can’t even slappy so this doesn’t feel justified. I skate a lot of crusty ledges so I’m guessing that’s the culprit and I hate breaking trucks in. I always thought of Indy as being the longest lasting truck. Any suggestions on a truck that’s somehow more durable than Indy? Or should I just accept I’m gonna go through two sets of trucks a year?

My 2024 goal is learning slappys (might be lofty that shit seems impossible) which I’m sure will make this problem significantly worse.

I think you just gotta take pride in the fact that you’re skating frequently and hard enough to hit axle in 5-6 months, and use it as an opportunity to treat yourself to some fresh new trucks.

Venture and Indy are both on the longer end of durability for me, definitely last longer than my Aces. The only other option may be Thunder, but why give up a nice turn/grind for a couple extra weeks of grinding? Plus thunders stink.

[j....soy.....]

I switched to Venture because thunders ground out too fast....Ventures are meatier and harder ie. don't grind as well, but last longer.  Indy's are great (there I said it) but heavy and well...the t-shirts are gross....

Don't feel the need to do a slappy.....

[Ok]

I switched to Venture because thunders ground out too fast....Ventures are meatier and harder ie. don't grind as well, but last longer.  Indy's are great (there I said it) but heavy and well...the t-shirts are gross....

Don't feel the need to do a slappy.....

yes. yes. emphatic yes.


be stoked you are dusting thru trucks, and skate the ones that are the most fun. imo.

[Mbrimson88]

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Ok maybe this is one of those things I just have to deal with. I switched from venture (my favorite truck) to Indy cause I kept hitting axel in like 5/6 months on venture. Settled on Indy’s with the blue bushings (more stability and great turn, love em now).

Only problem is now the axel is starting to peek out 5 months in. Crook of course comes first but that barely counts. Switched hangers when the crooks started barking on the (metal) skatepark ledge on my weekday sessions and when I was switching noticed the axel poking out on the back hanger.

I can’t even slappy so this doesn’t feel justified. I skate a lot of crusty ledges so I’m guessing that’s the culprit and I hate breaking trucks in. I always thought of Indy as being the longest lasting truck. Any suggestions on a truck that’s somehow more durable than Indy? Or should I just accept I’m gonna go through two sets of trucks a year?

My 2024 goal is learning slappys (might be lofty that shit seems impossible) which I’m sure will make this problem significantly worse.

[close]

I think you just gotta take pride in the fact that you’re skating frequently and hard enough to hit axle in 5-6 months, and use it as an opportunity to treat yourself to some fresh new trucks.

Venture and Indy are both on the longer end of durability for me, definitely last longer than my Aces. The only other option may be Thunder, but why give up a nice turn/grind for a couple extra weeks of grinding? Plus thunders stink.

Sure some trucks will grind through faster than others, but if you are skating the rough terrain that eats trucks, any trucks, this is just part of the game and accepting that is how it goes is just one of the many things that come with the territory.

I don't think any truck brand would hold up more, or any version of any truck, even though some people have said the Indy mid hanger is the thickest of all, but you really don't want to go down that road, unless you are keen to see what they are like.

Maybe a little clear coat on anything you are skating more regularly will ease the gnar factor of edges of things eating trucks.  It works for pool and similar other rougher concrete edges, concrete sealer or any clear coat sort of stuff, as people put on curbs too.

Just a thought anyway.

[Uncle Flea]

My ace classics lasted the longest idky cuz the metal was obviously softer.

I too do two Ventures a year I can't break the truck no matter how much axle is showing. Usually I just get sick of looking at it. . Indys i really like newer. They last little longer.

I think my 6.1s are going to last over a year maybe. Lots of surface area my trucks like to shimmy on the block when 50. I love it

[Mooseknuckle666]

Ventures on 8.25 wheelbases?

[j....soy.....]

it's not the end of the world...the trucks are a bit lower to begin with, and the trucks have other great benefits.  That said, if wheel base bugs you, it is what it is.....might want to skate Indys.....

[mstuntbless]

Ventures on 8.25 wheelbases?

 
Do you mean 14.25?

[Crailslideyoface]

Ventures on 8.25 wheelbases?

What is this? A wheelbase for ants?

[Coffee]

The madness finally hit me today. I’ve been riding the same 8.125” shape with 8” trucks on and off for about 5 years. Today I was setting up for a trick and looked down and realized I couldn’t see my wheels from the top and it fucked me up. Seriously almost 5 years and it never bothered me but now I can’t deal with it. Going back to an 8” deck next time I hit the shop.

[smg1138]

The madness finally hit me today. I’ve been riding the same 8.125” shape with 8” trucks on and off for about 5 years. Today I was setting up for a trick and looked down and realized I couldn’t see my wheels from the top and it fucked me up. Seriously almost 5 years and it never bothered me but now I can’t deal with it. Going back to an 8” deck next time I hit the shop.

I rode the same kind of setup for years. Something you could try is putting 3 washers on the inside of each wheel to push them out a little. I do that on most of my setups to give us much grinding space as possible and keep the axles from poking out.

[Mbrimson88]

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The madness finally hit me today. I’ve been riding the same 8.125” shape with 8” trucks on and off for about 5 years. Today I was setting up for a trick and looked down and realized I couldn’t see my wheels from the top and it fucked me up. Seriously almost 5 years and it never bothered me but now I can’t deal with it. Going back to an 8” deck next time I hit the shop.

[close]

I rode the same kind of setup for years. Something you could try is putting 3 washers on the inside of each wheel to push them out a little. I do that on most of my setups to give us much grinding space as possible and keep the axles from poking out.

Yeah that was my go to for a long, long time.

AH black eagle or similar 8.125 or other 8.18 sized boards on 139s, more often than not with wider wheels to make it feel a little more comfortable and as you said, three washers on the inside as a matter of principle.

Then when 144s came out, I switched up to those and could ride smaller / normal shaped wheels with only a washer or two on the inside which brought the wheels out a bit more and was comfortable for me.

Other people who had tried it said it messed with them too much, as they were way more comfortable on 139s than on 144s, so even that difference from 8 to 8.25" trucks can be a good thing for some people like me, or a bad thing for others I know.

If you are set on that truck size, then changing boards is often easier than getting a new set of trucks to go on the slightly wider board.

[Plan9Customs]

The madness finally hit me today. I’ve been riding the same 8.125” shape with 8” trucks on and off for about 5 years. Today I was setting up for a trick and looked down and realized I couldn’t see my wheels from the top and it fucked me up. Seriously almost 5 years and it never bothered me but now I can’t deal with it. Going back to an 8” deck next time I hit the shop.

Run 2 speed rings on the inside and that’ll push your wheels out the 1/8” so they’re flush with the deck.

[Sedition]

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The madness finally hit me today. I’ve been riding the same 8.125” shape with 8” trucks on and off for about 5 years. Today I was setting up for a trick and looked down and realized I couldn’t see my wheels from the top and it fucked me up. Seriously almost 5 years and it never bothered me but now I can’t deal with it. Going back to an 8” deck next time I hit the shop.

[close]

I rode the same kind of setup for years. Something you could try is putting 3 washers on the inside of each wheel to push them out a little. I do that on most of my setups to give us much grinding space as possible and keep the axles from poking out.

[close]

Yeah that was my go to for a long, long time.

AH black eagle or similar 8.125 or other 8.18 sized boards on 139s, more often than not with wider wheels to make it feel a little more comfortable and as you said, three washers on the inside as a matter of principle.

Then when 144s came out, I switched up to those and could ride smaller / normal shaped wheels with only a washer or two on the inside which brought the wheels out a bit more and was comfortable for me.

Other people who had tried it said it messed with them too much, as they were way more comfortable on 139s than on 144s, so even that difference from 8 to 8.25" trucks can be a good thing for some people like me, or a bad thing for others I know.

If you are set on that truck size, then changing boards is often easier than getting a new set of trucks to go on the slightly wider board.

This is why I only ride .25/.50/.75 decks…so trucks match up. Can’t deal with the bastard children (.01/.3/.6/etc.).

[Mbrimson88]

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The madness finally hit me today. I’ve been riding the same 8.125” shape with 8” trucks on and off for about 5 years. Today I was setting up for a trick and looked down and realized I couldn’t see my wheels from the top and it fucked me up. Seriously almost 5 years and it never bothered me but now I can’t deal with it. Going back to an 8” deck next time I hit the shop.

[close]

I rode the same kind of setup for years. Something you could try is putting 3 washers on the inside of each wheel to push them out a little. I do that on most of my setups to give us much grinding space as possible and keep the axles from poking out.

[close]

Yeah that was my go to for a long, long time.

AH black eagle or similar 8.125 or other 8.18 sized boards on 139s, more often than not with wider wheels to make it feel a little more comfortable and as you said, three washers on the inside as a matter of principle.

Then when 144s came out, I switched up to those and could ride smaller / normal shaped wheels with only a washer or two on the inside which brought the wheels out a bit more and was comfortable for me.

Other people who had tried it said it messed with them too much, as they were way more comfortable on 139s than on 144s, so even that difference from 8 to 8.25" trucks can be a good thing for some people like me, or a bad thing for others I know.

If you are set on that truck size, then changing boards is often easier than getting a new set of trucks to go on the slightly wider board.

[close]

This is why I only ride .25/.50/.75 decks…so trucks match up. Can’t deal with the bastard children (.01/.3/.6/etc.).

Ha yeah for sure!!!

Some of the sizes work well with different wheels, eg wider truck, wider wheel to maximise width, or axle washers this side or that side.

The funniest thing no matter what is trying things like certain pro setups, eg Peter Hewitt with 159s on the 8.38 board and saying there is no wheel sticking out at all - no matter what I set up, there is always wheel sticking out, no washers or one washer inside, with his regular Classic or Radial shaped wheels, but that's ok - when he can skate like that, compared to how I skate on anything even my best day pales in comparison, so whatever works I guess.

Just set up a board for a friend from old parts, with 144s on my old 8.38 and it feels so tippy - even with all washers on the inside, but that's the way he likes it, whereas 149s on the 8.38 just fit so well for me.

[JM]

Tail is getting razor, and it’s at the fifth ply now. But the deck doesn’t feel soggy and still plenty snappy.

Skating indy, and I moved the 1.5mm down from standard baseplate to the forged, so that I might get the same pop timing… but it still feels like I really have to smash the hell out of the tail to have a solid popped Ollie (leveled out without foot coming off at all).

Deck is DLX 8.38/14.5 WB.
Wheels are 52 new, and at about 51 now.

Should I go back to standard hangar?
Try 53 or 54 wheels?
Just suck it up and concentrate on always popping hard?
Set up new deck?

The goal is just to have a crispy pop, with no dangly back foot. Yuck.

[jums]

I was skating a ledge next to a fountain and my board briefly went into the water, like under 5 seconds. I took it out bounced it around… rolls fine… bearings don’t feel or sound fucked. They’re like they were before going into the water. Should I clean and lube them? This happened about a week ago.

[JM]

I was skating a ledge next to a fountain and my board briefly went into the water, like under 5 seconds. I took it out bounced it around… rolls fine… bearings don’t feel or sound fucked. They’re like they were before going into the water. Should I clean and lube them? This happened about a week ago.

It’s entirely possible that no water got inside the bearings because of the surface tension/cohesion (provided you skate normally with shields on like the good lord intended).

If there was going to have any rust happen, it would have happened by now… and cleaning them wouldn’t do anything at this point.

But, it’s promising you mentioned lube, because the lube would have also protected all the internal surfaces from water sticking on them… so the hope is you had well lubed bearings and the 5sec dunk did nothing.

[jums]

Yeah, shields on. They roll the same pre water bath. I’ll leave them alone.

[Mbrimson88]

Tail is getting razor, and it’s at the fifth ply now. But the deck doesn’t feel soggy and still plenty snappy.

Skating indy, and I moved the 1.5mm down from standard baseplate to the forged, so that I might get the same pop timing… but it still feels like I really have to smash the hell out of the tail to have a solid popped Ollie (leveled out without foot coming off at all).

Deck is DLX 8.38/14.5 WB.
Wheels are 52 new, and at about 51 now.

Should I go back to standard hangar?
Try 53 or 54 wheels?
Just suck it up and concentrate on always popping hard?
Set up new deck?

The goal is just to have a crispy pop, with no dangly back foot. Yuck.

The one thing I find with the DLX 8.38 shape is I go through the tail faster than some other boards, but as with anything, when is the right time to swap out, or keep it going?

If you have a new one ready to go and can afford it, I say set up the new board and pass the other one on to someone else which might make both of you happy.

If nothing else at least it could be a good backup board if it is still not soggy, but the number of times I have kept an old board set up and skating it for way longer than I needed to, just because I wanted to get the most out of it, finally realised when I did set up a new board how good it felt, I have to keep reminding myself I don't need to skate it to death any more and it most definitely is not helping riding something past when I should, for the sake of skating something better that I have waiting, if that makes sense.

In summary, if it is not quite skating as it should, for whatever reason, swap it out ASAP.

That is my thought on it anyway.

[Mbrimson88]

Yeah, shields on. They roll the same pre water bath. I’ll leave them alone.

More than anything, even just checking each wheel is spinning as it should, take the wheel off and check the inside of each bearing - don't need to take shields off, just look at the inside of the wheel or the back of the bearing, so if it is wet in there, sooner or later things are going to rust and the bearing will stop.  If they are all clean and dry, or at least looking exactly how they should, then put it back together and away you go.

Seen a number of boards that people say their bearings are noisy or whatever, take the wheels off and there is a lot of rust, dust and mess in there, but they can never recall if or when their board got wet, so it is worth checking while things are still going well enough, before they get rusty or things go wrong.

[Sedition]

In summary, if it is not quite skating as it should, for whatever reason, swap it out ASAP.

That is my thought on it anyway.

This.

[JM]

@Sedition @Mbrimson88

Well, that settles that. Thank you

When the Doctors speak, you’d be a damned fool not to listen