New Ace AF1 *Low* announced

[Xen]

That’s the beauty of the royals they do a little of everything.

Thunder pinch is great if all you do is krooks I suppose. But I’ve had no pinch issues on the royals or any truck for that matter.

I’m not bagging on thunders, I love the pop feel and weight, just hate the wheel bite. 54mm, even on thunder team plates, is a death knell for me lol. No joke the only way I can ride stock thunders is with polars / a deck with wheel wells and ~51mm wheels.

[darkstarwallet]

That’s the beauty of the royals they do a little of everything.

Thunder pinch is great if all you do is krooks I suppose.

That does sound enticing. I want to get consistent with krooks and also get feebles and smiths down. I've done all 3 of those tricks on Aces, I know it's not the gear holding me back but still I was curious to see how it would affect those tricks

[goodatmeth]

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Depends on how tight you ride.

The royals/stock are super loose/carvey out of the gate, very reminiscent of skating aces but with a bit more stability/less squirrelyness.

The forged mindy skate amazing but still feel like Indy (but I like them better that regular forged Indy).

Thing is, nothing skates like Ace, switching to anything can be a let down.

If you have to have some carve I’d go with the royals over thunder every time.

[close]

I creeped the Royal thread here and people were comparing the pinch to the Aces. (edit: didnt see meth's post lol)

Yeah I'd say that's true. What I meant in the post is that by using the big wheels, your pinch will be good.

Like 54mm on royal might lock you into crooks just like 51mm on thunders or 56mm on ace, which is still great in my opinion. And yes those numbers are 100% made up.

[darkstarwallet]

Yeah I'd say that's true. What I meant in the post is that by using the big wheels, your pinch will be good.

Like 54mm on royal might lock you into crooks just like 51mm on thunders or 56mm on ace, which is still great in my opinion. And yes those numbers are 100% made up.

Understandable. There's also a part of me that wants the 44 classic sapphire blue Aces cause they just look so damn cool.

You joke but I kinda want to move up to 55/56's on my other setup for that sweet sweet lock in. Also cause I like rough ground. The 54 tablets are wonderful though, I want to experiment a bit but definitely my favorite wheel so far. I don't really love the classic shape so was considering sizing down to a 52 conical full with the thunders/ace lows

[GBLange]

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Yeah I'd say that's true. What I meant in the post is that by using the big wheels, your pinch will be good.

Like 54mm on royal might lock you into crooks just like 51mm on thunders or 56mm on ace, which is still great in my opinion. And yes those numbers are 100% made up.

[close]

Understandable. There's also a part of me that wants the 44 classic sapphire blue Aces cause they just look so damn cool.

You joke but I kinda want to move up to 55/56's on my other setup for that sweet sweet lock in. Also cause I like rough ground. The 54 tablets are wonderful though, I want to experiment a bit but definitely my favorite wheel so far. I don't really love the classic shape so was considering sizing down to a 52 conical full with the thunders/ace lows

beware of the gear madness disease..

[Fs_smith_98]

I'd say the royal pinch is more on the thunder side then on the ace side, and i've skated both 3 trucks recently. Plus i feel that to me it's easier to do that little pop out from crooks on royals than on thunders, i think it is because of the bushings, they just let me deliciously bounce out of the crook, while on thunders I often still do it pretty sloppily.
But that could be just me, since at this point i probably have completely lost my mind to the madness. BEWARE OF THE MADNESS DISEASE.

[Fs_smith_98]

Oh and if you're thinking of getting thunders in the end, i would suggest getting the team baseplates, the thunders lights (forged plates) in my opinion are 80% wheelbite and 20% turn.
P.s. ace classics blue saphire are so damn sexy

[goodatmeth]

After getting sick of bones bushings blowing out, I've just come to the conclusion that regular ace top bushings work perfectly fine in the lows.

Low bottom, regular top is the way. Feels like how I'd imagine using a low ace hard top bushing.

[Xen]

I'd rather just use hard lows and have the grind clearance. You do you.

[intendedreceivers]

Doesn’t change the clearance. You’re just putting more tension on a taller, softer bushing than you would using the hard lows. Six or a half-dozen…

[goodatmeth]

Yeah there's the same clearance, nut is flush

[LebowskisRug]

The only trucks I've had that I didn't get used to crooks on were Ace Classics a while back. I honestly don't notice much after I adjust my technique with each truck. That means that I don't find that Thunders have some god pinch necessarily. The reason I ride em has to do with the pop feel and turn. I personally didn't like the lighter pop feel of Royals, the bushings, or the grind really but I could make the last two work just fine. Literally the first grind I did with them was a crook on an 18" box at a skatepark and landed it just fine with zero adjustment to approach or timing. That was with the Powell 93A prototypes on, which aren't great on skatepark coping either.

Don't overthink it. None of these trucks are going to prevent you from learning a trick. You're going to have to think about positioning, pop timing, etc. regardless. When you change a truck instead of thinking its the truck's fault think about how you can change these variables first. For me with Thunders I have to keep my shoulders less open once locked in and I don't have to really worry about the pop out. With Indys I find I have to ollie onto the ledge at more of an angle and pop out different. Ventures are mostly like Thunders but I have to lean back more because the metal grinds different.

I would focus way more on which trucks you like riding and which give you the most consistency and best pop feel if you want to do tricks that leave the ground and aren't grinds.

[SneakySecrets]

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but anyone try skating any 53mm (or bigger) wheels on the lows?  If so, how is the wheelbite?

[rocklobster]

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but anyone try skating any 53mm (or bigger) wheels on the lows?  If so, how is the wheelbite?

Rode them on some 53mm F4 and they were great, wasn't getting extra wheelbite because of the height, think it's due to the geometry that prevents the truck from articulating too much. Take my comment with a handful of salt, only rode them on 1 deck, but opening this thread has me itching to try them again.

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

I agree that by the time you wheelbite you’re going backwards….

[saltusnaut]

Im pretty sure that i can get a new set of hollows and use the hanger on the low baseplate to get a low with both hollow axle and kingpin.
Is this true? thought id ask here before ordering stuff

[goodatmeth]

Im pretty sure that i can get a new set of hollows and use the hanger on the low baseplate to get a low with both hollow axle and kingpin.
Is this true? thought id ask here before ordering stuff

100% yes

[IpathCats]

Im pretty sure that i can get a new set of hollows and use the hanger on the low baseplate to get a low with both hollow axle and kingpin.
Is this true? thought id ask here before ordering stuff

I dont think so? I cant imagine the lows and reg heights have the same hanger, that wouldnt make any sense. Unless the reg height had super thick baseplates and the lows were just normal lol. The hanger would have to be different.

[goodatmeth]

Hangers are exactly the same. They did it the smart way and only changed the baseplate and bushings. That's also why the kingpin clearance is incredible on the lows.

[IpathCats]

Hangers are exactly the same. They did it the smart way and only changed the baseplate and bushings.

What? how is this possible? that would drastically change the geo if the baseplate is the same thickness. You would have to lean the hanger back a good bit.

[logjammin]

AF1's 100% have the same height hangers on hi's and lo's. The only difference is the baseplates, therefore yes, a hollow AF1 hanger of any size can be used on a hi or lo baseplate.

The lo's have better kingpin clearance than the hi's, and they shrink the wheelbase. So to kinda make my AF1's turn into classics, I'm running stacked Ace risers (1/16" Ace shock pads under the 1/8" Ace shims) which brings them to 54mm height. Paired with 52mm wheels, pretty much zero wheelbite and insane turning. I did this mainly because I liked how the classics turned better, and the AF1's offer better strength so I get the best of both worlds now.

[goodatmeth]

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Hangers are exactly the same. They did it the smart way and only changed the baseplate and bushings.

[close]

What? how is this possible? that would drastically change the geo if the baseplate is the same thickness. You would have to lean the hanger back a good bit.

They sunk the pivot cup deeper into the baseplate and lowered the part the bottom washer sits on. Great design

[IpathCats]

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Hangers are exactly the same. They did it the smart way and only changed the baseplate and bushings.

[close]

What? how is this possible? that would drastically change the geo if the baseplate is the same thickness. You would have to lean the hanger back a good bit.

[close]

They sunk the pivot cup deeper into the baseplate and lowered the part the bottom washer sits on. Great design

Interesting!

[Ok]

Anyone still skating these?

Also, are the af1 trucks able to be used without the inside speed ring/washer?

Please and thanks

[logjammin]

Nah, I thought they were a good solution for shortening the wheelbase back to Ace classic territory and just putting a riser underneath to bring them up to 52mm and better kingpin clearance. But something just kept feeling off and they didn’t turn as well. I got brave and tried them with just Ace 1/16” shock pads one day and 51mm wheels I had stashed and the wheelbite was gross. I also had a low baseplate with a loose kingpin after barely skating them that long. I thought their super secret formula for a cast truck was supposed to prevent that

[intendedreceivers]

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Hangers are exactly the same. They did it the smart way and only changed the baseplate and bushings.

[close]

What? how is this possible? that would drastically change the geo if the baseplate is the same thickness. You would have to lean the hanger back a good bit.

It honestly doesn’t mount together that well, like, you can definitely tell you’re putting a hanger designed for one baseplate on another. They skate fine, though. Definitely my favorite low trucks on the market. I like the Lows with the hard bushings, buy just barely tightened. Gives you most of the turn with less wheelbite at the end.

Indy Stage 4 hangers fit on the Stage 11 plates better than AF1 hangers fit on the Low plates, yet it works somehow.

[Xen]

Nah, I thought they were a good solution for shortening the wheelbase back to Ace classic territory and just putting a riser underneath to bring them up to 52mm and better kingpin clearance. But something just kept feeling off and they didn’t turn as well. I got brave and tried them with just Ace 1/16” shock pads one day and 51mm wheels I had stashed and the wheelbite was gross. I also had a low baseplate with a loose kingpin after barely skating them that long. I thought their super secret formula for a cast truck was supposed to prevent that

I did the same thing, but in addition to the small wheels and Ace pads, I used the hard bushings...worked ok, but the lack of turn was meh and couldn't wait to break them in. Shelved the idea.

[Ok]

I, by a significant amount, prefer lower trucks. Dunno why.
After ‘hating’ af1’s, I’m getting close to liking them. So instead of just using them, I want to try the next thing. Because I’m a dumbass.

[logjammin]

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Nah, I thought they were a good solution for shortening the wheelbase back to Ace classic territory and just putting a riser underneath to bring them up to 52mm and better kingpin clearance. But something just kept feeling off and they didn’t turn as well. I got brave and tried them with just Ace 1/16” shock pads one day and 51mm wheels I had stashed and the wheelbite was gross. I also had a low baseplate with a loose kingpin after barely skating them that long. I thought their super secret formula for a cast truck was supposed to prevent that

[close]

I did the same thing, but in addition to the small wheels and Ace pads, I used the hard bushings...worked ok, but the lack of turn was meh and couldn't wait to break them in. Shelved the idea.

Yeah I think due to more bushing=more turn, when both bottom and top are that short you just can’t get much out of them. The geometry still offers the best turn a low truck could possibly have though.

[Esmith5488]

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but anyone try skating any 53mm (or bigger) wheels on the lows?  If so, how is the wheelbite?

I’m on 53 conical fulls and have had 0 issue on the lows but I am running the hard bushings