yeah i personally cant stand when ppl are like "this truck pairs nicely with this board" because imo there is always an advantage and disadvantage to doing everything.
consider nigel rides almost completely flat PS deck - he doesnt need any dogshit to make him do 3 flips or sw heel tailside better. he can ollie on it nicely into rails, thats for sure. that board probalby produces super consistent results once you are used to it. compared to a more "spoon like" (mbrimson 
BBS shape.
just cuase we dont like it doesnt mean it doesnt work for someone else or you couldnt get used to it. i love that cambre or what have you on the bbs boards though
My point was that as a mid height, mid weight, mid wheelbase extending truck with good pinch a Thunder usually works with decks of varying kick steepness and wheelbase. Spec wise they're pretty middle of the road whereas an Ace or Venture might be more polarizing hence why there are so many posts on here about people asking the precise specs of what they pair Ventures with.
This is mostly only useful for recommending stuff to a new skater or someone coming off shaped boards back to popsicles. I was mostly just stating it since that's probably why I actually like them- they're the most vanilla of the trucks. They're not the best and not magic or some shit and they have got weaknesses of course.
For me with Indys or Ventures I really dislike steeper kicks, which somewhat limits what I want to ride.
I think more than anything, people will often describe their own experiences with board setups, which sometimes do work for others but other times don't work that well for others, but the "perfect setup" can vary greatly depending on how someone skates, what they are used to, even when someone is fit and has been skating a lot, compared to if someone has been out for a while, or injured or whatever.
Nowdays I just don't have the muscle strength to do half of what I used to do, so a more mellow board with wider Independent trucks = easier pop works way better for me. Others might find that is very average, so a lower, not as wide truck with a steeper board will work better for them, or some other combination that I would think is not that nice for me to skate.
Re the spreadsheet banter...
I had a spreadsheet for a long time. Deck measurements. Notes about shape. Notes about what I did/didn't like about each. I started this years ago, when I was trying to find my "Grail Set-Up," which I eventually did find. Last year I deleted the entire thing. Why? Because it itself had become part of the madness. I had long ago found what works the best for me, and the spreadsheet just became a place I'd look for potential data tweaks when I was bored/injured/rainy days/etc. My only real regret in deleting it? It was a great resource in helping others when they had questions about a specific (DLX) deck measurements/shapes, but @Mbrimson88 usually has my back on that one, so, not a total loss.
Ha yeah too many boards and a bit too much time to "try everything" or at least compare them and then work out what is what in terms of sizes, shapes and everything else to do with these things.
At least to be in a position where people can try all those options at the indoor skatepark is a good thing. It would be a bit weird if I kept one of everything set up just in my own shed or something, but I do have at least one of all the options I prefer there as well.
Topic: Gear madness support thread (Read 90751 times)