Breaking in new trucks

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

I haven't had to break in any freshies for a long time as I've been rotating between four pairs of broken in trucks.

Anyway, I forgot how bad it was. I like to ride pretty loose. So I came home and put in my old crushed bushings and waxed the pivot cups on my new 151s. That helped a lot. I'm tempted to pull out the mangled pivot cups from the old pair, but I think this will have to do.

Anyone else have any new truck rituals to get shit feeling good as soon as possible?

[SneakySecrets]

2 or 3 good slappy curb sessions.  Basically just going for the highest abuse/minute ratio.

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

Yeah, I made the mistake of skating some bowls first... then I went straight to the slappy spot.

[sneakpeekmeek]

I put gulf wax shavings in the pivot cup and wax the bushings and cup washers.

[jimgrude]

I usually like to attach new trucks to a skateboard deck, along with some wheels etc, then I go ride that shit like a skateboard a whole bunch. Works wonders.

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

Cute.

[Toadfish Rebecchi]

I tighten the kingpin as far as it will go and leave them over night, then back them right off before I go skating. In my head it crushes the bushings a little. It probably does nothing, but it's what I've always done.

[sammyz]

tightening king pin over night is a good trick.

also...I've never used wax in pivot cup...i always dishwashing liquid in pivot cup, and all contact points of the bushing and truck...smooths things up nicely and dont get squeaky sound

[Krooked antihero]

Let them be stock atleast for 2 sessions, skate plenty of flatground board both ways. I know couple of dudes who only change hangers when they grind thru, baseplate only when slid thru pivot cup and even then they take old pivot cups & bushings to new plate. Never tried that myself but I’ve seen that work so who knows if one day I’ll try it. Back in the day people also use to boil their bushings...

[Diocletian]

I’m always messing with trucks right from the start so with some fresh aftermarkets I usually don’t suffer from a break-in period besides just needing to get some grooves going. I can live with that, as long as they’re turning good from the start, I’m happy. I did find a new trick recently that’s better than shaving paraffin wax into the pivot cups. Just use a crayola crayon and color inside the cup and the outer rim for a minute or two. No squeaks.

[FrozenIndustries]

Let them be stock atleast for 2 sessions, skate plenty of flatground board both ways. I know couple of dudes who only change hangers when they grind thru, baseplate only when slid thru pivot cup and even then they take old pivot cups & bushings to new plate. Never tried that myself but I’ve seen that work so who knows if one day I’ll try it. Back in the day people also use to boil their bushings...

I've become a believer in leaving them stock. Even if you're switching stuff out, returning them to stock tightness lets the bushings shape up nicely and even firm up a bit if they're too loose. I've also found that tightening them up new can deform/crack bushings.

[Ok]

Expand Quote

Let them be stock atleast for 2 sessions, skate plenty of flatground board both ways. I know couple of dudes who only change hangers when they grind thru, baseplate only when slid thru pivot cup and even then they take old pivot cups & bushings to new plate. Never tried that myself but I’ve seen that work so who knows if one day I’ll try it. Back in the day people also use to boil their bushings...

[close]

I've become a believer in leaving them stock. Even if you're switching stuff out, returning them to stock tightness lets the bushings shape up nicely and even firm up a bit if they're too loose. I've also found that tightening them up new can deform/crack bushings.

FI:

Strongly agree with keeping it stock, and especially when you switch brands/models. People grabbing trucks they haven’t used before , replacing the bushings before they break their original bushings in (or before they even attempt a break in)....and then complaining.....I fucking love it, it’s amazing.
I used to switch stuff out from the jump and it’s just another thing to complain about/take away from the skateboarding.

[FrozenIndustries]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Let them be stock atleast for 2 sessions, skate plenty of flatground board both ways. I know couple of dudes who only change hangers when they grind thru, baseplate only when slid thru pivot cup and even then they take old pivot cups & bushings to new plate. Never tried that myself but I’ve seen that work so who knows if one day I’ll try it. Back in the day people also use to boil their bushings...

[close]

I've become a believer in leaving them stock. Even if you're switching stuff out, returning them to stock tightness lets the bushings shape up nicely and even firm up a bit if they're too loose. I've also found that tightening them up new can deform/crack bushings.

[close]

FI:

Strongly agree with keeping it stock, and especially when you switch brands/models. People grabbing trucks they haven’t used before , replacing the bushings before they break their original bushings in (or before they even attempt a break in)....and then complaining.....I fucking love it, it’s amazing.
I used to switch stuff out from the jump and it’s just another thing to complain about/take away from the skateboarding.

Yeah, I used to do it constantly. Last year I got some Aces for a cruiser and just left them. Couldn't believe how good they felt after a couple hours. Have achieved similar results from Ventures and Indy's since.

[Ok]

I meant to answer the op: breaking in trucks can be harsh. Especially cold weather. Another reason to never buy new shit. I do like to put a small drop of oil/speed cream/whatever on the pivot cup. Ventures can have a super loud (squeaky) pivot cup. Haven’t tried hobgoblins. I rock back and forth on the board in the house. I used to loosen, dramatically/over tighten the trucks when not riding them to try and compress the bushings, but that just breaks the bushings. Don’t. What works the best for me is just skating. Like for distance/transportation. Truly broken in trucks feel the best with their stock shit. 

I am also a hypocrite and will use bones hardcore bushings, from time to time, in old sets of venture lo’s. I didn’t like bones in Indy’s/thunders tho. I still do not support/encourage fucking with stuff straight away as it just seems to cause more problems.

Just take a few days off from totally ripping and just skate around and sight see.

Cold weather is extra fucked. And below 30 you might need to have some type of super soft bushings or loosen up.

I like the idea of taking old parts and transferring them over: bushings, cups washers, but when I’m changing trucks it’s usually because I’m being a dipshit and trying some different set up, and not because I ‘need’ something new.

Can’t imagine any of this is helpful. But it’s totally not your fault when you don’t shred on new trucks. If  they were broken in you would have had it for sure

[fang]

Mid 90s until 2004ish, I usually tightened front truck 2 turns, back truck 3 turns then never thought about it again. Now I usually skate at stock for a fee sessions, then tighten the 2 and 3

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

Bushings from the old trucks (same exact model and size) and a bit of wax in the pivot cup worked wonders. Now the real work begins on getting those hangars grooved in.

[yourbreakfsat]

Slappies make bushings break in faster.

I also put wax in the pivot cups, and use the bushings from my previous trucks if they're still good.

[Banned from the room]

I  try to never need new bushings. That's the worst. Trying to recreate perfect performance is a pain.

The tennis courts near here are perfect for sanding down top bushings. I'm lucky to have tons of broken bones from trash collecting.

I have way too many bottom bushings. Ill cut them or give them away maybe

[johnes]

I just take the washers off my mini logo trucks and tighten the nut flush to the kingpin and boom, broken in/loose right away.

[Weezil]

last pair of Indys I got were good to go right out've the box. just skated them till I hit axle.
last pair of aces I got took a like a month of slappies and cruising to get them feeling good.
finally, last pair of ventures i bought would not loosen up, the replacement pair I got after I slipped axle on the last pair seems to be good to go right out've the box like Indys usually are for me. dunno if its the white bushings or what.

I really hate breaking in trucks, but hate slipped axles so I've been trying new shit more than I like to. definitely a bonus when they feel good out of the box without having to fuck with them, then it's just about getting them nice and grooved in. that's where I liked ace, soft metal that grooved quick but didn't just melt away once I got a groove going.

[Willie]

I tighten the kingpin as far as it will go and leave them over night, then back them right off before I go skating. In my head it crushes the bushings a little. It probably does nothing, but it's what I've always done.

I’ve always done something similar: crank it down and try to skate for a few minutes then loosen to to where I can actually turn.

My last Indys (stage 10, orange bushing) never got turny enough, last Thunders (pee yellow bushings) were perfect from the get go.

[Mcidraque]

2 or 3 good slappy curb sessions.  Basically just going for the highest abuse/minute ratio.

[Croquet temper]

My stocky Indy bushings cracked immediately, first session. I put in the blue 92a conical bushings in at “stock” tightness and it’s instant perfection. They should really just come with those bushings.

[Merlin Brando]

Def use all the old bushings pivots and even hangers (if you can) and then wax all the points where the bushings or washers touch the baseplate, hangers and bolts... lightly just to have a small layer... works wonders for creakiness and makes it a bit smoother returning to centre


first post... looong time lurker that finally needed to add my input

[Esmith5488]

I normally have a bushing preference that’s not stock and I’ll throw riptides in. I’ll do more turning and surfing around in the first session but I also know that first session will be annoying

I can remember fresh indys back in the day would get stuck in one direction on day one

[ok boomer]

I usually do 2 or 3 hill sessions and cruise through my city. Then session 4 I start doing tricks besides ollies.
My theory has always been that it breaks the bushings in, doing a lot of carves, plus by then adjusting (tightening) trucks , has made more sense to me. Day 1 is the pits

[Firebert]

Aftermarket orange bushings + riptide pivots make fresh trucks a pleasure for me. Indys grind so fast and smooove.

[dirtjers]

I feel like new trucks used to be a way bigger deal - like weeks of agony. Say what you will about the move to China, but Indy has drastically improved in this area. I've been skating my set since January and I haven't really touched them past the first few sessions.

One thing I would recommend is replacing the top (roadside) washers with the ones that come with the aftermarket Indy bushings. They're nowhere near as sharp, and therefore way more crooked grind friendly on the top bushing.

I really like the stock bushings that come with them these days - but lots of people swap them - so you'd be killing two birds with one stone.

[YungJugg]

Yeah I find the Indy bushings break in way quicker nowadays, but I still swap in my old ones when possible.

[Firebert]

One thing I would recommend is replacing the washers that come with the aftermarket Indy bushings with stock ones. They're bigger, and therefore more friendly on the bushings.