Drop of coconut oil, dry bike chain lube, dish soap...whatever, in the pivot cup. Usually sorts out the squeaking for me. Thunders yield more consistent flippery for me too. Question: what size trucks did you have on the 7.75? I have this feeling that width is a highly over considered measurement. 8-8.38 who cares. 8" trucks vs 8.5" trucks tho? For me, way different
My unsure-of-what-i-want-to-ride-setups are currently:
1) 7.625 x 31.5 w/ Indy 129 standards (AKA: my hanging on to the late 90s/early 2000s board)
2) 7.75 x 31.25 w/ Venture Lo 5.0 (inching up to a bigger size, barely lol)
3) 8.125 x 31.3 w/ originally Venture Lo 5.25s but now Thunder Hi 147.
I am feeling okay about the width of the board too, which I've resisted conforming to the wider boards, BUT I've had this ongoing issue with kickflips since Indys stage 9, where it seems like my back foot semi-kicks the board away upon re-entry of the flip and I land in a toe drag or semi-toe drag. This is what started my truck dilemma in 2003
All of them , I use Spitfire Bighead 52s, been my go-to since like 98.