The Thunder Thread

[Micki Free]

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Speaking of bushings, got some thunder team hollows with the blue baseplate/bolt logo. The bushings are dark blue and feel pretty hard, if i remember correctly they were 99du.

Id hate to order replacements and would rather just go to a shop but the shops near my only carry indy/bones, which i think are different sizes? Any idea if any of these will fit without changing the geometry too much? I ride a medium-loose truck so would like something more in the 90-92 du range i think.

[close]

All Thunders come with 90A bushings, no matter what color they are. They do sell a pack of 100A aftermarket blue bushings, but those would never come stock.

Gotcha. On CCS they said 99u, and some other models also say this so thats where I got that info. But maybe its just a typo.

[Micki Free]

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Speaking of bushings, got some thunder team hollows with the blue baseplate/bolt logo. The bushings are dark blue and feel pretty hard, if i remember correctly they were 99du.

Id hate to order replacements and would rather just go to a shop but the shops near my only carry indy/bones, which i think are different sizes? Any idea if any of these will fit without changing the geometry too much? I ride a medium-loose truck so would like something more in the 90-92 du range i think.

[close]

Indy aftermarket’s are good if you use the washers that come with them. Just don’t get the red bushings and they’ll work fine.

Thanks, ill check em out.

[intendedreceivers]

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Speaking of bushings, got some thunder team hollows with the blue baseplate/bolt logo. The bushings are dark blue and feel pretty hard, if i remember correctly they were 99du.

Id hate to order replacements and would rather just go to a shop but the shops near my only carry indy/bones, which i think are different sizes? Any idea if any of these will fit without changing the geometry too much? I ride a medium-loose truck so would like something more in the 90-92 du range i think.

[close]

All Thunders come with 90A bushings, no matter what color they are. They do sell a pack of 100A aftermarket blue bushings, but those would never come stock.

[close]

Gotcha. On CCS they said 99u, and some other models also say this so thats where I got that info. But maybe its just a typo.

Yeah, that seems odd. My gut says it’s just your average “skate retailer not bothering to get their product info correct” situation, but who knows.

Have you ridden them yet to see if they’re actually that hard? Of the big four, DLX bushings do seem to be more prone to firming up due to cold weather/sitting on a warehouse shelf for too long.

[Micki Free]

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Speaking of bushings, got some thunder team hollows with the blue baseplate/bolt logo. The bushings are dark blue and feel pretty hard, if i remember correctly they were 99du.

Id hate to order replacements and would rather just go to a shop but the shops near my only carry indy/bones, which i think are different sizes? Any idea if any of these will fit without changing the geometry too much? I ride a medium-loose truck so would like something more in the 90-92 du range i think.

[close]

All Thunders come with 90A bushings, no matter what color they are. They do sell a pack of 100A aftermarket blue bushings, but those would never come stock.

[close]

Gotcha. On CCS they said 99u, and some other models also say this so thats where I got that info. But maybe its just a typo.

[close]

Yeah, that seems odd. My gut says it’s just your average “skate retailer not bothering to get their product info correct” situation, but who knows.

Have you ridden them yet to see if they’re actually that hard? Of the big four, DLX bushings do seem to be more prone to firming up due to cold weather/sitting on a warehouse shelf for too long.

Yea Ive seen that in the past on other websites too. Probably just being lazy.

As far as hardness goes your totally right about them being hard in cold weather. Ive only skated this pair for a week or so and they do feel a little harder than others ones ive had on the past, but maybe they just need some more break in time. We’ll see in a couple weeks I guess.

[LebowskisRug]

I've never had a deck that I didn't enjoy/perform well with Thunders come to think of it, including decks that felt long for me even on Indys.

[Pasta Monster]

This has bit too much going on but I like the configuration (if that’s the right word).

Today, I learned that I can just buy team hollows instead of swapping out the forged baseplates of the hollow lights with team edition baseplates. I don’t know whether to be happy about that or disappointed in myself for not knowing.

[Ok]

This has bit too much going on but I like the configuration (if that’s the right word).

Today, I learned that I can just buy team hollows instead of swapping out the forged baseplates of the hollow lights with team edition baseplates. I don’t know whether to be happy about that or disappointed in myself for not knowing.

35th ave the team hollows in a mercifully plain cw.


Although when I was into cocaine and diesel jeans and not skateboards, this early 2000s fashion look appealed to me. Sadly, when someone my age tries to reprise their old look for irony…it just ends up looking disturbing/melancholic

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

Trung will pull it off any moment now…..

[Threadz]

There's so many configurations regarding light Thunders these days (e.g., lights, hollow lights, titanium lights + the team variants of them all) and there's no information on Thunder's website about how much these trucks actually weigh?

It's seems a bit redundant to market and have several "light" options available if you can't even compare them not only to their counterparts but also to the competition.

And does anyone know if the hollow axels are actually stronger than the solid ones? I remember reading that somewhere on Slap before but never bothered to investigate further.

I should note that I'm a long-term Thunder rider (forged hollow lights mainly) but I've felt inclined lately to try a different/heavier/taller style to spice things up. And it'd be nice to know the differences in weight and strength among the different trucks to know if what you're purchasing is actually justified or not.

 

[Fifty8mm]

There's so many configurations regarding light Thunders these days (e.g., lights, hollow lights, titanium lights + the team variants of them all) and there's no information on Thunder's website about how much these trucks actually weigh?

It's seems a bit redundant to market and have several "light" options available if you can't even compare them not only to their counterparts but also to the competition.

And does anyone know if the hollow axels are actually stronger than the solid ones? I remember reading that somewhere on Slap before but never bothered to investigate further.

I should note that I'm a long-term Thunder rider (forged hollow lights mainly) but I've felt inclined lately to try a different/heavier/taller style to spice things up. And it'd be nice to know the differences in weight and strength among the different trucks to know if what you're purchasing is actually justified or not.

I think tactics has all that info iirc.
These are 149
Standard 363.5
Standard hollow 343.0
Titanium lights 315.4
Lights 348.6

I usually just go Team Standards.
They're still lighter than all other standard trucks. Only use  hollow axle on on the 149 but still standard baseplates. Anything lighter and it fucks with my flick.

Do it! go standard.

[Sedition]

Expand Quote

There's so many configurations regarding light Thunders these days (e.g., lights, hollow lights, titanium lights + the team variants of them all) and there's no information on Thunder's website about how much these trucks actually weigh?

It's seems a bit redundant to market and have several "light" options available if you can't even compare them not only to their counterparts but also to the competition.

And does anyone know if the hollow axels are actually stronger than the solid ones? I remember reading that somewhere on Slap before but never bothered to investigate further.

I should note that I'm a long-term Thunder rider (forged hollow lights mainly) but I've felt inclined lately to try a different/heavier/taller style to spice things up. And it'd be nice to know the differences in weight and strength among the different trucks to know if what you're purchasing is actually justified or not.

[close]

I think tactics has all that info iirc.
These are 149
Standard 363.5
Standard hollow 343.0
Titanium lights 315.4
Lights 348.6

I usually just go Team Standards.
They're still lighter than all other standard trucks. Only use  hollow axle on on the 149 but still standard baseplates. Anything lighter and it fucks with my flick.

Do it! go standard.

Just and FYI: It has long been established that Tactics tech specs are not reliable, at all. Yes, they may be accurate on somethings, but but those are few and far between.

[Fifty8mm]

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There's so many configurations regarding light Thunders these days (e.g., lights, hollow lights, titanium lights + the team variants of them all) and there's no information on Thunder's website about how much these trucks actually weigh?

It's seems a bit redundant to market and have several "light" options available if you can't even compare them not only to their counterparts but also to the competition.

And does anyone know if the hollow axels are actually stronger than the solid ones? I remember reading that somewhere on Slap before but never bothered to investigate further.

I should note that I'm a long-term Thunder rider (forged hollow lights mainly) but I've felt inclined lately to try a different/heavier/taller style to spice things up. And it'd be nice to know the differences in weight and strength among the different trucks to know if what you're purchasing is actually justified or not.

[close]

I think tactics has all that info iirc.
These are 149
Standard 363.5
Standard hollow 343.0
Titanium lights 315.4
Lights 348.6

I usually just go Team Standards.
They're still lighter than all other standard trucks. Only use  hollow axle on on the 149 but still standard baseplates. Anything lighter and it fucks with my flick.

Do it! go standard.

[close]

Just and FYI: It has long been established that Tactics tech specs are not reliable, at all. Yes, they may be accurate on somethings, but but those are few and far between.

I figured ,

 i think the flow chart goes like this
Thunder standard,lights, team hollows, hollow lights, titanium lights. 

Idk if at some point there was a team titanium. I could swear i had those.
I remember bending titanium venture axles though. They were hella light though and enjoyed them. Kept riding them till i hit axle.

[Sedition]

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There's so many configurations regarding light Thunders these days (e.g., lights, hollow lights, titanium lights + the team variants of them all) and there's no information on Thunder's website about how much these trucks actually weigh?

It's seems a bit redundant to market and have several "light" options available if you can't even compare them not only to their counterparts but also to the competition.

And does anyone know if the hollow axels are actually stronger than the solid ones? I remember reading that somewhere on Slap before but never bothered to investigate further.

I should note that I'm a long-term Thunder rider (forged hollow lights mainly) but I've felt inclined lately to try a different/heavier/taller style to spice things up. And it'd be nice to know the differences in weight and strength among the different trucks to know if what you're purchasing is actually justified or not.

[close]

I think tactics has all that info iirc.
These are 149
Standard 363.5
Standard hollow 343.0
Titanium lights 315.4
Lights 348.6

I usually just go Team Standards.
They're still lighter than all other standard trucks. Only use  hollow axle on on the 149 but still standard baseplates. Anything lighter and it fucks with my flick.

Do it! go standard.

[close]

Just and FYI: It has long been established that Tactics tech specs are not reliable, at all. Yes, they may be accurate on somethings, but but those are few and far between.

[close]

I figured ,

 i think the flow chart goes like this
Thunder standard,lights, team hollows, hollow lights, titanium lights. 

Idk if at some point there was a team titanium. I could swear i had those.
I remember bending titanium venture axles though. They were hella light though and enjoyed them. Kept riding them till i hit axle.

There were indeed Team Titaniums at one time. But, you can make those yourself. Just throw some Ti hangers on some Team Baseplates. I think the flow chart is:

Team
Lights*
Team Hollows*
Hollow Lights
Ti

*These two might be reversed?? (e.g. Do Lights weigh more/less than Team Hollows??)

[Richard Skidder]

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There's so many configurations regarding light Thunders these days (e.g., lights, hollow lights, titanium lights + the team variants of them all) and there's no information on Thunder's website about how much these trucks actually weigh?

It's seems a bit redundant to market and have several "light" options available if you can't even compare them not only to their counterparts but also to the competition.

And does anyone know if the hollow axels are actually stronger than the solid ones? I remember reading that somewhere on Slap before but never bothered to investigate further.

I should note that I'm a long-term Thunder rider (forged hollow lights mainly) but I've felt inclined lately to try a different/heavier/taller style to spice things up. And it'd be nice to know the differences in weight and strength among the different trucks to know if what you're purchasing is actually justified or not.

[close]

I think tactics has all that info iirc.
These are 149
Standard 363.5
Standard hollow 343.0
Titanium lights 315.4
Lights 348.6

I usually just go Team Standards.
They're still lighter than all other standard trucks. Only use  hollow axle on on the 149 but still standard baseplates. Anything lighter and it fucks with my flick.

Do it! go standard.

[close]

Just and FYI: It has long been established that Tactics tech specs are not reliable, at all. Yes, they may be accurate on somethings, but but those are few and far between.

[close]

I figured ,

 i think the flow chart goes like this
Thunder standard,lights, team hollows, hollow lights, titanium lights. 

Idk if at some point there was a team titanium. I could swear i had those.
I remember bending titanium venture axles though. They were hella light though and enjoyed them. Kept riding them till i hit axle.

[close]

There were indeed Team Titaniums at one time. But, you can make those yourself. Just throw some Ti hangers on some Team Baseplates. I think the flow chart is:

Team
Lights*
Team Hollows*
Hollow Lights
Ti

*These two might be reversed?? (e.g. Do Lights weigh more/less than Team Hollows??)

@Sedition close, lights and team hollows actually weigh the same!

[LebowskisRug]

Hollow axles can be stronger because there is more surface area for the heat treatment to penetrate. In reality I dunno if this matters. I some bent my last pair of Thunder 149 standard axles stomping things off center on flat, which was surprising because I'm not that heavy and I've never bent another Thunder axle.

[Ok]

Hollow axles can be stronger because there is more surface area for the heat treatment to penetrate. In reality I dunno if this matters. I some bent my last pair of Thunder 149 standard axles stomping things off center on flat, which was surprising because I'm not that heavy and I've never bent another Thunder axle.

In the 90s thunders broke/slipped, for me, since then I’ve had the best experience with their quality

[LebowskisRug]

Funny, I broke so many Ventures in the late 90's despite being stick figure skinny that my parents lent me money to spend $8 more and get Thunders. Never had an issue with them.

[Ok]

Funny, I broke so many Ventures in the late 90's despite being stick figure skinny that my parents lent me money to spend $8 more and get Thunders. Never had an issue with them.

TBC I feel all 90s trucks broke. Feather lights would break, in different/interesting ways. Often.



Are baseplates interchangeable on thunders? My hollow light 147s are loooow, and my team 149s and high. Thinking of doing some swapping. I was probably tripping but when I tried before it looked off, and I never set em up.

[Richard Skidder]

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Funny, I broke so many Ventures in the late 90's despite being stick figure skinny that my parents lent me money to spend $8 more and get Thunders. Never had an issue with them.

[close]

TBC I feel all 90s trucks broke. Feather lights would break, in different/interesting ways. Often.



Are baseplates interchangeable on thunders? My hollow light 147s are loooow, and my team 149s and high. Thinking of doing some swapping. I was probably tripping but when I tried before it looked off, and I never set em up.

It works for sure!

[gsosa]

Bummed that I just set up some new Thunders (I was about to hit the axle on some 148s and they got taken at a Mexican airport but thats another story) and moved up to 149s which honestly feel awesome, but these are honestly so fucking fire I am bummed I'm no longer on 148s and/or they didn't make 149s. I love Akwasi as a skater and Im stoked that he's gotten a collab so I wouldve loved to be riding these beauties.

[Xen]

I dig those, but teal bushings against those colors are kinda weak imo.

[goodatmeth]

Best look at the ikp so far?

[tuesday]

^nice

[Richard Skidder]

First time trying risers on Thunders and without any other modifications ( ie: stock bushings/washers etc) I’ve found the truck feel I’ve been looking for. With a 54mm on 148 on 8.125 wheelbite wasn’t an issue for me but I just felt too low with the forged plates (Thunder Light). They feel so much more responsive now.
1/8 Dooks risers are slotted now and fit Thunders perfectly.

[Ok]

First time trying risers on Thunders and without any other modifications ( ie: stock bushings/washers etc) I’ve found the truck feel I’ve been looking for. With a 54mm on 148 on 8.125 wheelbite wasn’t an issue for me but I just felt too low with the forged plates (Thunder Light). They feel so much more responsive now.
1/8 Dooks risers are slotted now and fit Thunders perfectly.

I don’t fuck with wheels that big, in part, because I like thunders (and lo ventures). I’ve seen some setups, pros and others, with 56s and such on thunders, wild.
Anyways, I was thinking about this the other day: people worried about breaking in trucks, must not skate thunders. First day with em and I’m not worried (I find this for the venture lo’s as well, but those turn less). Thunders, no mods, great pop. I’m not even sure if I ollie/pop my highest with thunders, probably not, but it is consistent, and I need that.
Turn isn’t juicy like ace/indy, but if I’m trying to land shit, then thunders seem to give me a better chance.
Now I just need to find a deck to match 147s with. I’ve never gotten the best combo.

As an aside, one of my two best sessions of my life, was on thunders. I mean this shit was 20 fuckin years ago, and I can remember some of it (I don’t remember key facts about loved ones so this is noteworthy). What I cannot recall is if they were thunder lows, or HI’s. For sure were 145s (it was a long ass time ago and I was skating e-cues and a 7.5 so yeah). Anyways, the interesting takeaway for me from a nerd perspective is that the geo just works for me: from one of my best days ever, to feeling good whenever I step on them and try a kickflip.

The older I get, the longer these blathering posts get.

[Mbrimson88]

Best look at the ikp so far?

The funny thing with that is they look like stock everything else (black washers on team edition trucks) and just an added inverted kingpin, almost like an afterthought, which looks different to the other test models that Ishod, Ben de G and people had before.

I could be totally wrong on that though, but now that Thunder does have the hex baseplate it would be easy for anyone to hammer out the normal kingpin and put in something else.

So I wonder if he did this himself, or if someone somewhere did it for him, eg in DLX or a shop?


I am not man enough to DM him and ask.

[Willie]

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Speaking of bushings, got some thunder team hollows with the blue baseplate/bolt logo. The bushings are dark blue and feel pretty hard, if i remember correctly they were 99du.

Id hate to order replacements and would rather just go to a shop but the shops near my only carry indy/bones, which i think are different sizes? Any idea if any of these will fit without changing the geometry too much? I ride a medium-loose truck so would like something more in the 90-92 du range i think.

[close]

All Thunders come with 90A bushings, no matter what color they are. They do sell a pack of 100A aftermarket blue bushings, but those would never come stock.

[close]

Gotcha. On CCS they said 99u, and some other models also say this so thats where I got that info. But maybe its just a typo.

[close]

Yeah, that seems odd. My gut says it’s just your average “skate retailer not bothering to get their product info correct” situation, but who knows.

Have you ridden them yet to see if they’re actually that hard? Of the big four, DLX bushings do seem to be more prone to firming up due to cold weather/sitting on a warehouse shelf for too long.

[close]

Yea Ive seen that in the past on other websites too. Probably just being lazy.

As far as hardness goes your totally right about them being hard in cold weather. Ive only skated this pair for a week or so and they do feel a little harder than others ones ive had on the past, but maybe they just need some more break in time. We’ll see in a couple weeks I guess.

I’ve been skating 149 Team Standards and the bushings get so stiff below 45 degrees I basically can’t ride them anymore. Tic tac city. Had to break out my old setup with Ventures.

Never had that problem to the same extent on any other truck.

[Ok]

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Speaking of bushings, got some thunder team hollows with the blue baseplate/bolt logo. The bushings are dark blue and feel pretty hard, if i remember correctly they were 99du.

Id hate to order replacements and would rather just go to a shop but the shops near my only carry indy/bones, which i think are different sizes? Any idea if any of these will fit without changing the geometry too much? I ride a medium-loose truck so would like something more in the 90-92 du range i think.

[close]

All Thunders come with 90A bushings, no matter what color they are. They do sell a pack of 100A aftermarket blue bushings, but those would never come stock.

[close]

Gotcha. On CCS they said 99u, and some other models also say this so thats where I got that info. But maybe its just a typo.

[close]

Yeah, that seems odd. My gut says it’s just your average “skate retailer not bothering to get their product info correct” situation, but who knows.

Have you ridden them yet to see if they’re actually that hard? Of the big four, DLX bushings do seem to be more prone to firming up due to cold weather/sitting on a warehouse shelf for too long.

[close]

Yea Ive seen that in the past on other websites too. Probably just being lazy.

As far as hardness goes your totally right about them being hard in cold weather. Ive only skated this pair for a week or so and they do feel a little harder than others ones ive had on the past, but maybe they just need some more break in time. We’ll see in a couple weeks I guess.

[close]

I’ve been skating 149 Team Standards and the bushings get so stiff below 45 degrees I basically can’t ride them anymore. Tic tac city. Had to break out my old setup with Ventures.

Never had that problem to the same extent on any other truck.

I recall you as one of the very few that claimed venture before the current wave.

[LebowskisRug]

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Best look at the ikp so far?

[close]

The funny thing with that is they look like stock everything else (black washers on team edition trucks) and just an added inverted kingpin, almost like an afterthought, which looks different to the other test models that Ishod, Ben de G and people had before.

I could be totally wrong on that though, but now that Thunder does have the hex baseplate it would be easy for anyone to hammer out the normal kingpin and put in something else.

So I wonder if he did this himself, or if someone somewhere did it for him, eg in DLX or a shop?


I am not man enough to DM him and ask.

Look at the shape of the hanger "hole" where the bushings go. I dunno the term for it but Indy's are round and Thunders have an obvious D shape. This hanger is slightly less angular there so you can tell the difference.

The set I saw pics of looks the same there, but the differences are only really obvious from the front looking at the hanger and especially the baseplate near the hanger nub.

Doesn't matter since it seems these are never coming out.

[Ok]

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Best look at the ikp so far?

[close]

The funny thing with that is they look like stock everything else (black washers on team edition trucks) and just an added inverted kingpin, almost like an afterthought, which looks different to the other test models that Ishod, Ben de G and people had before.

I could be totally wrong on that though, but now that Thunder does have the hex baseplate it would be easy for anyone to hammer out the normal kingpin and put in something else.

So I wonder if he did this himself, or if someone somewhere did it for him, eg in DLX or a shop?


I am not man enough to DM him and ask.

[close]

Look at the shape of the hanger "hole" where the bushings go. I dunno the term for it but Indy's are round and Thunders have an obvious D shape. This hanger is slightly less angular there so you can tell the difference.

The set I saw pics of looks the same there, but the differences are only really obvious from the front looking at the hanger and especially the baseplate near the hanger nub.

Doesn't matter since it seems these are never coming out.

The only ikp I would really be interested in is for 147/145. I don’t have a problem with 148s and up.