wider vs smaller trucks advantages for transition

[Gandito405]

ive been wondering about downsizing my trucks and if there's any advantage like pinch or grind i ride ace 66 and have been thinking about getting some 60s but dont want to waste my money/break in ace bushings.

[animalflesh]

ive been wondering about downsizing my trucks and if there's any advantage like pinch or grind i ride ace 66 and have been thinking about getting some 60s but dont want to waste my money/break in ace bushings.

Nah just stick with the 66, I don’t see the point in sizing down if ur skating transition the board shapes just get worse and the leverage points and wheelbases suck

[hikyle2]

On transition it will feel weird for a few sessions, your back truck hits the coping later than you think it's going too if you are used to wider trucks.  I like trucks atleast as wide as the board as it makes it a little more effortless instead of trying to be precise with the smaller area to hit and it fucks with me if my truck misses the coping because I came up a little short.

[Frank and Fred]

Could also depend on what you mean by transition. If you like small tight round wall, a smaller truck could fit the need better and if you like big old vertical swing sets, a wider truck might be better. Pool coping? I'd stick to the wider truck you already have...

[geezer]

One thing I noticed in sizing up from a smaller truck and keeping the same wheel size was it's a little easier to grind. The angle from your wheel to where it hits the truck will be slightly flatter with a wider truck, so it disperses the force a little better on something like a 50-50. Same sort of thing will happen if you go from a wide wheel like a conical full to a narrow one like a classic. I'm no expert on das pinch though, so I can't speak to that.

[Xen]

Depends on your board/wheels and the type of tranny you are skating? Bowls? Pipe? Mini? Small bowls?

Over the years I've maxed at 8.75" for everything, allows me to ride 8.474/8.5s (street) up to 8.8s pretty comfortably for bowls/park.

Bigger trucks, even on street, just like on coping, can sometimes give you too much room and you can find yourself sliding around on the lips/rails/curbs too much.

Most double sided curbs max out around 8.5" wide so an 8.75"/159 + wheels is just the right fit to sit on top.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

I find 159's, or equivalents in other brands, to be my sweet spot. Much bigger and the lock-in feels shaky, much smaller feels like my weight isn't distributed correct.

Currently riding 149s on an 8.4 street/park/bowl hybrid, and I definitely miss the extra .25" or so when I roll-in to something big

The Ace 66s i have are super fun, but just touch bigger than perfect imo

[dr.prestige]

I like a narrower truck than the board width for skating transition, you get better leverage width-wise that way. Whenever I skate trucks wider than the board width and do an axle stall the griptape flaps away from the bottom of my foot and I feel like I'm about to eat shit because I'm nearly in primo stall position while my board is in a sideways axle stall. Maybe that's just a me problem. Also I notice that with smaller trucks I get into the grinding position I want to get into quicker and more confidently, with wider trucks it can take a little more time to get the truck in the position I want, like for example with a frontside grind getting the coping to contact with my back truck heel-side wheel.

[diplodocus]

It really depends on the tricks you're doing. Like others have said, sometimes too much truck is a bad thing, and it can be hard to find a good pinch point for tricks. The advantage of skating trucks smaller is that it is easier to get leverage over the ledge of the board. This can help with pivot fakies, anything where you need to "tip" it back in.

[Ok]

right now i’m on 6.1s, and an 8.38. it’s super fun, but i can’t speak to it as a forever setup.
i don’t skate transition much, so im not really helpful. my experience with 8.75 trucks is usually street stuff, and i do like wider trucks for a few reasons, but mainly stability and less turn. indy 159s, venture 6.1s, ace classic 55s, thunder 151s, i’ve enjoyed them all. a lot. more than most 8.5 trucks actually (which doesn’t make sense to me). this makes me feel like some of these truck geometries are scaled to fit 8.75 ideally. i enjoy the ollie on the wider trucks, and hills. i also feel ok on some of my very limited stalls on coping.

wider trucks turn slower. some of the og pool gods use 149s or 139s, for quicker turning. it is noticeable when you try it.

for me, i’ve not seen advantage in 169s etc. they just felt heavy as shit, but i’m a weakling.
i also routinely extol the virtues of venture 5.0 lo’s so don’t listen to anything i say.

[rikki]

I used to think that a wide setup (8.5/149 is "wide" for me) was the only way to ride transition. But last summer I switched to riding mostly 8.25/8.38 and 144 trucks on both street and tranny, and my transition game didn't suffer one bit. On the contrary, I felt more agile on the setup. Note that my transition riding doesn't include huge shit like vert, inverts or any ridiculous acrobatics.

Having said that, on the rare occasion when I pad up and ride the local deep-as-fuck death bowl I do prefer an 8.5 and matching trucks. But I've also seen local young rippers absolutely destroy that bowl on stuff like 8.125s.

As others before me said, there's no one single definition of transition. And you get used to anything. It's all a matter of personal taste and preference.

[ggrimmedd]

Smaller trucks are always lighter and nimble, but lot less of grind clearance in them, personally I think they suit smaller people that rides smaller decks, I find them harder to lock and harder to get speed in especific moments.

Bigger trucks are always heavier but the clearance are better, you can sit on grind/crosslock them easily, smoother carve and definitely stability is better (even more if you pick a 0.5 difference from the board, leaving the outer wheel parallel with the board).

My pick for transition specific setups is always 9" to 9"2 trucks and 8.5 deck. keeps stable, reliable and smooth. The only cons I'm facing right now is the weight, my wrist is kinda fucked and suffers on airs and grabs

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

Ben d has done videos on this….i think he preferred the narrowed trucks on ramp because the lock in didn’t move around and maybe the rail hit easier on smiths? 

[marcusbutler]

I think it's all about preference. I used to skate 8" board with 7.6" indys or thunders. Then I moved to skating the same size board with 8" trucks. I noticed an immediate difference. Locking in to 5-0's felt better. Off topic, but skating flatbars and ledges felt better as well. I would often miss my truck getting into feebles and krooks with the smaller trucks. But with the little bit of room I never miss a lock in. I then set up a board with 9" aces. It was a cruiser with soft 54mm soft cruiser wheels. That was too much length for me. Locking into a 5-0 felt terrible. My feet were too small and could never get a good pinch standing on the grind. If you do a back or front 5-0 grind you pressure would be on your heel. With the 9" truck it felt like it was too far back on my heel.

[Frank and Fred]

Regarding locking in on coping. Wider trucks put my wheels closer to the edge of the deck. It makes it easier to know where everything is. When trucks are too narrow I will sometimes over power the lock in or my wheel is in the wrong position and shooting out onto the deck. I mostly do stand up 5 Os and smiths, frontside. And a lot of backside carve grinds (no lock in required on these but wider trucks make these feel way better).  It's really about deck width to truck width ratio. Same width and up to a 1/4" wider is my personal guideline. On street I'll occasionally go down to a 1/4" under.