It’s been a while since I’ve tried Thunders (long term Indy rider). Boredom, or madness, has me wanting to try Thunders again. I normally ride forged (or Ti) 144s, so the height/weight difference to 148 Team Hollows isn’t that significant (I often wonder how many people in this thread, who have found the height/weight/pop of Thunders to be superior to Indy, are coming off standard Indys—and what their impression of a comparison between forged/Ti Indy and Thunder would be). I normally ride 53mm Classics on the DLX 8.25/14.38 deck. Might try dropping down to 52mm Classics with Thunders (I ride a good amount of mini ramp, and 52mm starts to feel really slow to me). I’m still debating on Team Hollows, Hollow Lights, or just going for broke with Ti. Ace was to heavy/squirrel for me. Venture was too stiff, with a lesser grind. So, I’m clearly somewhere in the Indy/Thunder camps.
Coming off Indy, the two biggest drawbacks that I remember from Thunder were (a) they don’t turn as well, and (b) that baseplate issue. Yeah, it’s obvious you can do nose/tail slides on Thunders, but the margin of error seems to be less and/or technique needs to be better. Not sure if I want to re-learn my technique just to try swapping out trucks. As someone else said in this thread, “It’s nice to have trucks that don’t make you think about your trucks.” Thunders often made me think about my trucks when it came to nose/tail slides. The things I remember really liking about Thunders was feeling a bit lower to the ground, the overall stability, and a quick snap. I think the last time I had them, I put stock 90a Indy cylindrical bushing in them. After re-reading this entire thread, it seems clear the conical ones are the much better option—this time around I will give those a try (and after-market Thunders, too). I’m curious to give Thunders another fair shot, and will report back in the near future…once I figure out which ones I am going to end up getting. Enter the Madness...