Gear madness support thread

[Sedition]

Random Note from the Land of Madness

About two months ago, while skating mini ramp, I didn’t like the way my front toe-side wheel was “locking in” (e.g. slipping out) on b/s 50-50s. I switched over to Conicals, which had a much better “lock.” Historically, I haven’t liked Conicals for street skating. I decided to give them another, pro-longed, chance. After a bit, I started to get used to them, and even somewhat like them. Def a smoother ride than Classics (bigger contact patch), good lock-in on 50-50s. I didn’t like them as much on feeble/smith grinds, and f/s 5-0s (when truck is angled a bit). They also had a “lesser slappy.” But, I was liking them. So, a bit later I am back on a mini ramp. I started having some trouble with pivot to fakies, and axle stalls to fakie. I bailed a few (slammed one pivot to fake quite hard) because the conicals were locking in just a tad too much during reentry. In 2019 I broke my leg on trick to fakie, and I will never fully get over the fear that created. Sometimes it seems like it’s gone. Sometimes it just comes back with acute vengeance, totally out of the blue. Pivot fakies have always scared me a bit, and with the broken leg context, the “fear to fakie” was suddenly back—I didn’t even want to try them again. I switched back over to my Classics, but it was two weeks before I even started trying them again, but I was too scared to commit to any of them. The next session I came back wearing every pad I owned, and once I committed, started pulling them every time.

The mind, triggered by gear nuance, is, well…maddening.

I won’t be riding Conicals again.   

[LebowskisRug]

someone here got me thinking about going back to 1 setup
i tried some spitifre 97a F4 54 mm classics today and i actually dont like how sticky they are. i am like 99% sure i just like the 99a better.
my 8.38 board has these 51mm 99a classics worn down as fuck and they feel reallllly shitty at a crusty spot.
but on my egg board i have these 54mm conical full 99a f4s and they go through crust wayyyy better
i dont want to say its cause 1 has better bearings than the other because the small wheel one spins really well and it goes quite well at skateparks for me etc. but the bigger wheel one clearly feels way faster. and way better over the crust as i said which is a huge factor in getting me back to 1 setup with the wide wheel. this wheel shape seems to be really working for me on this setup too... so i thought back to my original point
why not just go back to 1 setup
no rails
not sure whether 54 or 54mm conical full will make a difference but something around there.
i like the "smaller" board with big wheels.
I am on thunder teams 148s which are 52mm but i think it will be fine. if you are going to wheel bite
i can pull out the rails setup as i need to but its not something i actually need super often i am finding. it is fun but i dont think i am getting the most out of it. the spots i am typically utilizing them at i also dont really need to have a fresh deck for because they are like 4" high.

i set up the 8.38 with tiny tiny classics beucase it feels pretty sick when you skate a perfect spot. skateparks feel money, never feel like idrag on noseslides. my board feels a nice medium size to land on without being bulky. i still get good feedback from my trucks because they are teams. the turning is not complete tic tac land becuase they are 148s but i will admit they arent loosey goosey if thats what you wanna go for. i dont really need that though i would just ride a wide setup if i really wanted loose turning liek that (its way more stable... that just feels dangerous to me to ride skinny boards death loose but maybe makes sense for smaller guys) but like just put some bigger damn wheels on thing and you can take it anywhere right? i know it wont limit my tricks or spots or aynthing. i am considering even going up to like 56 just to be really wild and have hella speed. i was riding 56mm on indy standards for 10+ years. on 8" boards. i love that small board big wheel setup!!!! then i am confident i dont need to roll with that extra setup. i think i can still do all the combos and shit. like noseslide to crook.

Why not just slowly go up in wheels. If you have 51 Classic try a 52 Radial. Its wider riding surface but the c-c width is similar. Or 53. You might not need 54+ and find that just the wheel change is a happy medium.

I remember in Jake Anderson's interview he said he was skating some realllllly crusty spots so he went up from 52 to a 54. Very few pros ride bigger than 54 and many, if not most, are on a Classic shape (probably a 70/30 or 60/40 split between classic shapes and wider conical shapes). Many pros skate all flavors of crust, normal terrain, etc on the same wheel and it might not be ideal, but if it is middle-of-the-road-enough you probably won't be at a complete loss at spots as you are now and will get used to pushing/speed reduction. In a country where cardiovascular diseases are a prominent cause of death think of it as prolonging life.

[LebowskisRug]

Random Note from the Land of Madness

About two months ago, while skating mini ramp, I didn’t like the way my front toe-side wheel was “locking in” (e.g. slipping out) on b/s 50-50s. I switched over to Conicals, which had a much better “lock.” Historically, I haven’t liked Conicals for street skating. I decided to give them another, pro-longed, chance. After a bit, I started to get used to them, and even somewhat like them. Def a smoother ride than Classics (bigger contact patch), good lock-in on 50-50s. I didn’t like them as much on feeble/smith grinds, and f/s 5-0s (when truck is angled a bit). They also had a “lesser slappy.” But, I was liking them. So, a bit later I am back on a mini ramp. I started having some trouble with pivot to fakies, and axle stalls to fakie. I bailed a few (slammed one pivot to fake quite hard) because the conicals were locking in just a tad too much during reentry. In 2019 I broke my leg on trick to fakie, and I will never fully get over the fear that created. Sometimes it seems like it’s gone. Sometimes it just comes back with acute vengeance, totally out of the blue. Pivot fakies have always scared me a bit, and with the broken leg context, the “fear to fakie” was suddenly back—I didn’t even want to try them again. I switched back over to my Classics, but it was two weeks before I even started trying them again, but I was too scared to commit to any of them. The next session I came back wearing every pad I owned, and once I committed, started pulling them every time.

The mind, triggered by gear nuance, is, well…maddening.

I won’t be riding Conicals again.   

Radials might be your new best friend. The side profile is lovely and does make a tiny difference.

[Crabby_Bastard]

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There is an 8.75 Unity with IV concave sitting at the local shop and I'm close to pulling the trigger.  I had it with the Eagle graphic, Indy 159 hollow forged and 54mm F4 Conicals and loved it.

[close]

Well done. That is my exact set-up for that deck, and damn, it feels so good (when I stray from my 8.25). Get that Unity.

Anyone skate 149 Thunders or Indies on the white eagle shape? I checked out that board at my local. Shape looks good, felt good under my feet. I just do want to buy 159s to go with it. I prefer to skate the trucks I have until they die.

[Mbrimson88]

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There is an 8.75 Unity with IV concave sitting at the local shop and I'm close to pulling the trigger.  I had it with the Eagle graphic, Indy 159 hollow forged and 54mm F4 Conicals and loved it.

[close]

Well done. That is my exact set-up for that deck, and damn, it feels so good (when I stray from my 8.25). Get that Unity.

[close]

Anyone skate 149 Thunders or Indies on the white eagle shape? I checked out that board at my local. Shape looks good, felt good under my feet. I just do want to buy 159s to go with it. I prefer to skate the trucks I have until they die.

It will definitely work well enough, so no problems there.  Others I know do that with all their setups, eg deck size up from trucks.

It works well with big wide wheels too, but any wheel will still skate ok.

[Crabby_Bastard]

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There is an 8.75 Unity with IV concave sitting at the local shop and I'm close to pulling the trigger.  I had it with the Eagle graphic, Indy 159 hollow forged and 54mm F4 Conicals and loved it.

[close]

Well done. That is my exact set-up for that deck, and damn, it feels so good (when I stray from my 8.25). Get that Unity.

[close]

Anyone skate 149 Thunders or Indies on the white eagle shape? I checked out that board at my local. Shape looks good, felt good under my feet. I just do want to buy 159s to go with it. I prefer to skate the trucks I have until they die.

[close]

It will definitely work well enough, so no problems there.  Others I know do that with all their setups, eg deck size up from trucks.

It works well with big wide wheels too, but any wheel will still skate ok.

Thank you!

[lildonut92]

I’ve never really had truck madness until recently. Now, I’m losing my mind over it. Tried venture lows, too low. Tried venture hi’s (forged plates) and it was better. But still felt a little too high off the ground. I liked how snappy they were tho. The only options that I have left that are in between those two in terms of height are: Thunders, mindy and ace lows.

In my late teens through early twenties I was strictly a forged Indy guy. This madness stemmed from me remembering that I liked Indy’s for the most part but wanted something lower. I’m a shrimp. So, feeling lower to the ground feels more natural.

With the V-lights, I felt like I was exerting too much energy to hit the tail down. My legs are short and I’m older. In order to get good pop on higher trucks, I have to have a heavy pop foot. I get so tired so fast. One of the only things I like about venture lo’s was that I didn’t have to use up my energy like that and I could skate longer.

This is mostly just me ranting. But if any short kings out there wanna provide some insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Ok]

I’ve never really had truck madness until recently. Now, I’m losing my mind over it. Tried venture lows, too low. Tried venture hi’s (forged plates) and it was better. But still felt a little too high off the ground. I liked how snappy they were tho. The only options that I have left that are in between those two in terms of height are: Thunders, mindy and ace lows.

In my late teens through early twenties I was strictly a forged Indy guy. This madness stemmed from me remembering that I liked Indy’s for the most part but wanted something lower. I’m a shrimp. So, feeling lower to the ground feels more natural.

With the V-lights, I felt like I was exerting too much energy to hit the tail down. My legs are short and I’m older. In order to get good pop on higher trucks, I have to have a heavy pop foot. I get so tired so fast. One of the only things I like about venture lo’s was that I didn’t have to use up my energy like that and I could skate longer.

This is mostly just me ranting. But if any short kings out there wanna provide some insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

i mean i think you got it covered, i don’t have the answers either.

(i’m older and shorter)

[Mbrimson88]

I’ve never really had truck madness until recently. Now, I’m losing my mind over it. Tried venture lows, too low. Tried venture hi’s (forged plates) and it was better. But still felt a little too high off the ground. I liked how snappy they were tho. The only options that I have left that are in between those two in terms of height are: Thunders, mindy and ace lows.

In my late teens through early twenties I was strictly a forged Indy guy. This madness stemmed from me remembering that I liked Indy’s for the most part but wanted something lower. I’m a shrimp. So, feeling lower to the ground feels more natural.

With the V-lights, I felt like I was exerting too much energy to hit the tail down. My legs are short and I’m older. In order to get good pop on higher trucks, I have to have a heavy pop foot. I get so tired so fast. One of the only things I like about venture lo’s was that I didn’t have to use up my energy like that and I could skate longer.

This is mostly just me ranting. But if any short kings out there wanna provide some insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

You can't make a tall truck lower, but you can make a low truck taller.

I have seen a few people put thin risers on Venture low trucks, which I initially thought was going against what the trucks were designed for, but as one guy clearly said, the Venture low truck is a little too low at 48mm, but the others too tall, so putting something under the low makes it just the right height for him, eg 1/8" riser brings it up to 51mm.

If you do skate any boards that are thin enough to fit Venture low trucks, then this might be an option for you, but also finding the right riser height, eg 1/8 worked fairly well for the other guy, on the Real ply risers they made for Venture trucks, but anything to get the right height shouldn't be too hard to find, without the board looking or feeling weird.


Other than that, finding the right deck to pair with certain trucks can also give a better or worse result, but then push you further down the madness rabbit hole too, depending on the findings / outcomes.  More mellow or longer fingers of flat will definitely make a taller truck feel better on the pop, as would a shorter wheelbase with Ventures, compared to Ace or Indy, for which a slightly longer wheelbase usually works better.

That said, people can adapt to almost anything given time, but trying something different or new can often feel very weird or just not seem to work at first.

What boards / wood or shapes or whatever do you skate?


* I am not short, but I have skated with and understand what people prefer from all shapes and sizes, if that helps a bit.

[lildonut92]

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I’ve never really had truck madness until recently. Now, I’m losing my mind over it. Tried venture lows, too low. Tried venture hi’s (forged plates) and it was better. But still felt a little too high off the ground. I liked how snappy they were tho. The only options that I have left that are in between those two in terms of height are: Thunders, mindy and ace lows.

In my late teens through early twenties I was strictly a forged Indy guy. This madness stemmed from me remembering that I liked Indy’s for the most part but wanted something lower. I’m a shrimp. So, feeling lower to the ground feels more natural.

With the V-lights, I felt like I was exerting too much energy to hit the tail down. My legs are short and I’m older. In order to get good pop on higher trucks, I have to have a heavy pop foot. I get so tired so fast. One of the only things I like about venture lo’s was that I didn’t have to use up my energy like that and I could skate longer.

This is mostly just me ranting. But if any short kings out there wanna provide some insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

[close]

You can't make a tall truck lower, but you can make a low truck taller.

I have seen a few people put thin risers on Venture low trucks, which I initially thought was going against what the trucks were designed for, but as one guy clearly said, the Venture low truck is a little too low at 48mm, but the others too tall, so putting something under the low makes it just the right height for him, eg 1/8" riser brings it up to 51mm.

If you do skate any boards that are thin enough to fit Venture low trucks, then this might be an option for you, but also finding the right riser height, eg 1/8 worked fairly well for the other guy, on the Real ply risers they made for Venture trucks, but anything to get the right height shouldn't be too hard to find, without the board looking or feeling weird.


Other than that, finding the right deck to pair with certain trucks can also give a better or worse result, but then push you further down the madness rabbit hole too, depending on the findings / outcomes.  More mellow or longer fingers of flat will definitely make a taller truck feel better on the pop, as would a shorter wheelbase with Ventures, compared to Ace or Indy, for which a slightly longer wheelbase usually works better.

That said, people can adapt to almost anything given time, but trying something different or new can often feel very weird or just not seem to work at first.

What boards / wood or shapes or whatever do you skate?


* I am not short, but I have skated with and understand what people prefer from all shapes and sizes, if that helps a bit.

I typically skate 8’s with 14in wheelbases. I would say I like medium concave/medium kicks or mellow concave/medium kicks. 14-14.12 wheelbases are my sweet spot I’d say. However, I had an 8.0 baker years ago. Mellow concave/OG shape with a 14.25 wheelbase on forged Indy’s and that was a pretty good time. Even a couple of friends who rode around on it loved it. But even then I remember feeling like “man I’m too high off the ground this feels uncomfortable on anything other than flat ground”.

Edit: I’ve seen young local kids that are smaller than me ripping on 8.3’s and venture hi’s with 54mm conical fulls so idk what the fuck is me. I guess I just like skating to feel easier, not harder than it needs to be.

[JM]

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My prime is now, as it was back then, as well. Different applications of "prime" but still, prime.

I've generally stayed consistent with sizing, brands, shapes, etc. so I've felt constant in my efforts to progress.

At 29, I can technically do more/harder tricks on certain obstacles that I could never do in my youthful athletic prime of 19. However, at 19 I had the energy and lighter body frame to probably do the tricks I know now better but didn't quite hone the skill in for them yet.

Nowadays, it's quality over quantity. I do what I can do well. What I can't do well, I don't do as often, but both groups of tricks are generally better than I was doing them 10 years ago

[close]

well fuckin good for you fucko




jk. athletic prime for me was 33 ish. i could ollie the highest at that time.

i think it’s rad you’ve stayed skating, and kept gear close enough. i quit for drinking and work, and then the gear….well yeah, i’m obviously a mess there.

[close]

Hahah I was more so driving home the point that your "prime" can evolve as you age. Some pros have gotten better even though they were beyond their "prime."

Thanks, though! Had some older skaters set me straight on gear quality/preferences early on so I could curb the madness

[close]

Talking about people in their prime, I recall back in 2003 when Mike V came out with his assorted crew for his current brand at the time, a demo at a mostly transition based park and a small but vocal group of locals heckled him as one young local ripper was "showing him up" with most things he was skating and trying, air variations and what not.

Already kind of old for a pro and often taking a while to get some tricks, he was not put off and went through his list of tricks like a man on a mission, but some things were harder than others, that was for sure.

When he got to meet the "wonder kid" after the demo and gave him a board or something, he said something like "I can only hope you still have half of those tricks when you get to my age, cause you sure are ripping now, but give it twenty years and then see how you feel after a hard session" or something like that.

The reason that stuck with me, (besides it being on video I took) was that "wonder kid" had his day in the sun but gave up skating after a while and moved on to other things, which just goes to show, some people will peak and then be done and gone just as quickly as they came, while others will stick with it, maybe well after their prime but still keep skating, whatever the reason.


Sure I am well past it at 48 now, maybe twenty to thirty years past what could have been my prime too, but that doesn't stop me getting out and having a roll and giving it a good go still, even though my body can't take half of what I want to try now, but then other things are all kinds of awesome and I would have never thought to try this or that back then when my skateboarding priorities were different.

Sure I can get bummed sometimes thinking about what I used to be able to do, but I try to think more about what I can still do and what I might be able to try in the future, as well as being stoked for others I skate with who are still on the rise, so from that perspective, I am not so worried about the finer details.

41 here. Skating is a hell of a lot more fun. Everything landed is just a win. No worries about “that wasn’t perfect”, “that didn’t look good”. Whatever. It’s ALL good now. Ha

And, what’s rad is that I’ll be trying to learn things now that I never tried to learn because I wasn’t interested in them back in my early twenties: little tiny curb/ledge switch noseslides, better nollies, fakie back tail (fakie switch frontside noseslide), airs out of quarters, front slashes on quarters, frontside 5050 on transition, no comply 180s…

And I don’t feel embarrassed trying little stupid things because I don’t have an ego to protect anymore. It just feels good to be rolling at all. Very thankful.

[Mbrimson88]

I typically skate 8’s with 14in wheelbases. I would say I like medium concave/medium kicks or mellow concave/medium kicks. 14-14.12 wheelbases are my sweet spot I’d say. However, I had an 8.0 baker years ago. Mellow concave/OG shape with a 14.25 wheelbase on forged Indy’s and that was a pretty good time. Even a couple of friends who rode around on it loved it. But even then I remember feeling like “man I’m too high off the ground this feels uncomfortable on anything other than flat ground”.

Re Baker board - yes, I know the one - have one set up for people to skate like that in the board loan pool right now actually, this one with Thunder 147s on DIY 2mm rubber risers and 52mm wheels, which skates quite well.

If you did still have the Venture low trucks, you could try something / anything as a temp riser, without having to go out and buy specific parts, otherwise as OK said, you seem to have it pretty much covered.

I would always say try / test what you have there first, before going out to buy or ordering a whole lot more stuff you might only skate once or twice and then take off again, but making thin risers from cardboard, or other things is a good (and free) step to testing Venture low trucks, hoping you have 1" bolts, otherwise7/8" might not fit,

Sometimes people get rid of everything but what they have set up, but other times people are sitting on years worth of product they can dig through and find things they can use without having to go buy a whole lot more.

[lildonut92]

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I typically skate 8’s with 14in wheelbases. I would say I like medium concave/medium kicks or mellow concave/medium kicks. 14-14.12 wheelbases are my sweet spot I’d say. However, I had an 8.0 baker years ago. Mellow concave/OG shape with a 14.25 wheelbase on forged Indy’s and that was a pretty good time. Even a couple of friends who rode around on it loved it. But even then I remember feeling like “man I’m too high off the ground this feels uncomfortable on anything other than flat ground”.

[close]

Re Baker board - yes, I know the one - have one set up for people to skate like that in the board loan pool right now actually, this one with Thunder 147s on DIY 2mm rubber risers and 52mm wheels, which skates quite well.

If you did still have the Venture low trucks, you could try something / anything as a temp riser, without having to go out and buy specific parts, otherwise as OK said, you seem to have it pretty much covered.

I would always say try / test what you have there first, before going out to buy or ordering a whole lot more stuff you might only skate once or twice and then take off again, but making thin risers from cardboard, or other things is a good (and free) step to testing Venture low trucks, hoping you have 1" bolts, otherwise7/8" might not fit,

Sometimes people get rid of everything but what they have set up, but other times people are sitting on years worth of product they can dig through and find things they can use without having to go buy a whole lot more.

I like this approach. I might have to give this a shot.

[LebowskisRug]

Lows plus a riser at 51 is only .5mm lower than forged Hi. The WB is slightly tighter, but you're splitting hairs.

I think you need to spend time getting used to it. I didn't see your wheel size, but the forged Hi with 51's is pretty low compared to an Indy with 54's (3.5mm higher trucks plus 1.5mm from the wheels) which is fairly standard for lots of people.

[Ok]

Lows plus a riser at 51 is only .5mm lower than forged Hi. The WB is slightly tighter, but you're splitting hairs.

I think you need to spend time getting used to it. I didn't see your wheel size, but the forged Hi with 51's is pretty low compared to an Indy with 54's (3.5mm higher trucks plus 1.5mm from the wheels) which is fairly standard for lots of people.

agree, getting used to it and you’ll be stoked.

i’m not an indy guy, i’ve tried, i’ll try again i’m sure. i preferred stage 10s, with a conical bushing.
failing that, forged plate indy’s and the setup you are speaking of, would work well. just start with smaller wheels.


i’ve been struggling with venture hi’s, but enjoy them noticeably more with the forged baseplate.

height of trucks, and pop, is my most important criteria for trucks and setups in general.

best of luck

[lildonut92]

Lows plus a riser at 51 is only .5mm lower than forged Hi. The WB is slightly tighter, but you're splitting hairs.

I think you need to spend time getting used to it. I didn't see your wheel size, but the forged Hi with 51's is pretty low compared to an Indy with 54's (3.5mm higher trucks plus 1.5mm from the wheels) which is fairly standard for lots of people.

Whoops I forgot to add wheel size. But I’m on 52mm f4 classics. I think I’m just gonna try to get used to the venture forged hi’s. I like the way they snap on a small wb with a short tail. The extended wheel base is interesting too. I didn’t think I’d have to adjust foot placement but I do.

[mstuntbless]

Ok so I have had a bit of shoe madness recently. I usually skate converse PL vulcs. I’ve had several pair in a row all size 10.5. Recently I just got another pair and it really feels like they are a half size bigger than all the other pairs that I have had. Could this actually be a thing or is my madness making it up?!

[Sativa Lung]

Ok so I have had a bit of shoe madness recently. I usually skate converse PL vulcs. I’ve had several pair in a row all size 10.5. Recently I just got another pair and it really feels like they are a half size bigger than all the other pairs that I have had. Could this actually be a thing or is my madness making it up?!

Grab a tape measure and find out. It's definitely possible, production is typically not entirely consistent across the life of a shoe so there's going to be some variation inevitably. I've had different pairs of busenitz fit completely differently, but there was like 3 years between purchases.

[Mbrimson88]

Ok so I have had a bit of shoe madness recently. I usually skate converse PL vulcs. I’ve had several pair in a row all size 10.5. Recently I just got another pair and it really feels like they are a half size bigger than all the other pairs that I have had. Could this actually be a thing or is my madness making it up?!

For the most part, shoes in the same style, same colour, even same runs should fit exactly the same.

Some different runs of the same shoes will fit differently, sometimes a larger or smaller sole is fitted to the same upper in shoes I have bought way too many of, so the whole run of that shoe at that time was off (Vans Half Cab Classics) but I have also noted that different runs sometimes have an upgraded shape or other things have changed with them, so who knows what is going on there, but no it is not your madness and yes it does happen.

For some shoes, I add a thin cheap insole, like the ones from department stores, just to get a little more snug fit, which does help, but if a shoe is too long, then some things, flip tricks especially really suffer.


If you are able, go check out the half size down in the same shoe, or compare your new ones in length to the old ones and just see.

There was a run of Vans Sk8 low that I got a few pairs of that I swear they have a full size up from my normal size so they are ridiculously big, compared to all the other Sk8 low shoes I have had in the past.  The shoe is definitely longer than my others too.

[mstuntbless]

What you’re saying is making sense. I bout a couple pairs of the dial tone shag suede PLs and that stash lasted me like 8 months. That color way isn’t available anymore so I went with white suede this time and the run must be off or something because there is definitely some extra room. I buy the same thing over and over again to avoid shoe madness but this is a situation where the same thing isn’t feeling the same. I did hold up my old shoes to my new ones and the new ones are definitely a little bigger.

[SupremePizza]

Currently riding 5.6 ventures on a 8.38 Gx and setup an old  Girl 8.25 on 139 Indy forged hollows so I could always keep a board in my car. Took it out for a short lunch time sesh yesterday. I run loose ventures but had to tighten these a significant amount and my tricks just did not feel as confident as they do on ventures, however I landed my first nollie flip on this setup of old parts and now I'm trying to figure out whether this happened due to the combinations of gear or pure luck

[diplodocus]

I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

[Frank and Fred]

I'd recommend going back to what you know and sticking to it. You have to have your trucks dialed in.

I've also  gone back and fore between Thunder and Ace for a long time but I think its time to commit. I could get used to either but dancing between the two does not do me many any favors. Since I mostly like skating a variety of weird transitions and curbs with loose trucks and my favorite deck shape has a long 14.75" WB,  Ace is it is...

I will keep my ground to axle Thunder 151s on display for sentimental reasons...

[LebowskisRug]

I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

The Limos I've seen aren't that steep. I'd try a lot generic/standard shape and don't drill it. Find a shape that works, which should be easy since Thunders pair well with anything almost.

[Ok]

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I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

[close]

The Limos I've seen aren't that steep. I'd try a lot generic/standard shape and don't drill it. Find a shape that works, which should be easy since Thunders pair well with anything almost.

i agree with this advice.

redrilling is the problem, imo. that shit just doesn’t work well.

just to add to the conversation: i’ve tried a lot a lot a lot of different stuff, and will continue to do so. it’s not helpful to my skating, but it is fun to be curious, to an extent. i forget where home is tho.
i do not buy the matching of a wheelbase number, to a truck. the best (only)ace pop, for me, has come from 14” wb’s and big wheels.
i skate ventures and thunders on whatever wb, and the pop, or lack there of, has much more to do with the shape/steepness. imo. in general, i significantly enjoy the leverage with both thunder and venture.

[Sedition]

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Random Note from the Land of Madness

About two months ago, while skating mini ramp, I didn’t like the way my front toe-side wheel was “locking in” (e.g. slipping out) on b/s 50-50s. I switched over to Conicals, which had a much better “lock.” Historically, I haven’t liked Conicals for street skating. I decided to give them another, pro-longed, chance. After a bit, I started to get used to them, and even somewhat like them. Def a smoother ride than Classics (bigger contact patch), good lock-in on 50-50s. I didn’t like them as much on feeble/smith grinds, and f/s 5-0s (when truck is angled a bit). They also had a “lesser slappy.” But, I was liking them. So, a bit later I am back on a mini ramp. I started having some trouble with pivot to fakies, and axle stalls to fakie. I bailed a few (slammed one pivot to fake quite hard) because the conicals were locking in just a tad too much during reentry. In 2019 I broke my leg on trick to fakie, and I will never fully get over the fear that created. Sometimes it seems like it’s gone. Sometimes it just comes back with acute vengeance, totally out of the blue. Pivot fakies have always scared me a bit, and with the broken leg context, the “fear to fakie” was suddenly back—I didn’t even want to try them again. I switched back over to my Classics, but it was two weeks before I even started trying them again, but I was too scared to commit to any of them. The next session I came back wearing every pad I owned, and once I committed, started pulling them every time.

The mind, triggered by gear nuance, is, well…maddening.

I won’t be riding Conicals again.   

[close]

Radials might be your new best friend. The side profile is lovely and does make a tiny difference.

Oh, I have absolutely been toying with them...and they are really growing on me.

[Sedition]

41 here. Skating is a hell of a lot more fun. Everything landed is just a win. No worries about “that wasn’t perfect”, “that didn’t look good”. Whatever. It’s ALL good now. Ha

And, what’s rad is that I’ll be trying to learn things now that I never tried to learn because I wasn’t interested in them back in my early twenties: little tiny curb/ledge switch noseslides, better nollies, fakie back tail (fakie switch frontside noseslide), airs out of quarters, front slashes on quarters, frontside 5050 on transition, no comply 180s…

And I don’t feel embarrassed trying little stupid things because I don’t have an ego to protect anymore. It just feels good to be rolling at all. Very thankful.

This is the way.

[Mbrimson88]

I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

Did you drill in the nose or the tail?

Guessing the nose, but you might have found that drilling in the tail on that sort of board might have actually worked better.

I have done both on different boards, just to see what it was like, sometimes working amazingly well, other times not so much.

If you are pretty much done with it, there would be no harm to try drilling in the tail and putting the front truck back where it was originally and just see how that feels on the Thunder trucks.

You might be surprised.


Any which way, as others had said, it is a big difference, from a very light pop on Ace to a much heavier pop feeling on Thunder (or Venture too) but on different boards, any truck can work a whole lot better - just getting used to it and if you have things you can mess with, no worries of making it unskateable if you are already at that point of it just not working for you, trying a few options might be good to see what really works better than the current situation and issues you have having with it.

[diplodocus]

I'd recommend going back to what you know and sticking to it. You have to have your trucks dialed in.

I've also  gone back and fore between Thunder and Ace for a long time but I think its time to commit. I could get used to either but dancing between the two does not do me many any favors. Since I mostly like skating a variety of weird transitions and curbs with loose trucks and my favorite deck shape has a long 14.75" WB,  Ace is it is...

I will keep my ground to axle Thunder 151s on display for sentimental reasons...

I agree, I was on Aces for the last 4 years or so. Having my trucks the same was my "homebase". As long as I got a board with the wheelbase I like, I was golden. For some reason, I am bummed and wish the Thunders did work. I really did like the things they did better than Ace, just couldn't figure out the pop.

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I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

[close]

The Limos I've seen aren't that steep. I'd try a lot generic/standard shape and don't drill it. Find a shape that works, which should be easy since Thunders pair well with anything almost.

This is news to me, maybe I've been going about my madness wrong. But I usually did not like anything greater than 14.38 on Thunders. Any shape to recommend? Seems like Baker is the only one that makes a "mellow" shape.

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I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

[close]

The Limos I've seen aren't that steep. I'd try a lot generic/standard shape and don't drill it. Find a shape that works, which should be easy since Thunders pair well with anything almost.

[close]

i agree with this advice.

redrilling is the problem, imo. that shit just doesn’t work well.

just to add to the conversation: i’ve tried a lot a lot a lot of different stuff, and will continue to do so. it’s not helpful to my skating, but it is fun to be curious, to an extent. i forget where home is tho.
i do not buy the matching of a wheelbase number, to a truck. the best (only)ace pop, for me, has come from 14” wb’s and big wheels.
i skate ventures and thunders on whatever wb, and the pop, or lack there of, has much more to do with the shape/steepness. imo. in general, i significantly enjoy the leverage with both thunder and venture.

I guess I meant the kicks are steep? I'm not quite sure to be honest. I tried using my level on my iPhone and the nose and tail measured to 19 degrees on the Limo. The quasi twin I was on before had 16/17 degrees on the nose and tail. My good ace pop was on 14.38 and 14.25 on pointy mellow. I just want to get the Thunders to perform as closely to the Aces as possible, in terms of flatground.

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I switched to Thunder from Ace a few months ago. I like how the thunders perform, but the change to wheelbase of my trucks and subsequently the change of wheelbase in my boards is fucking with me. On top of that, the steepness of the kicks is also fucking with me. I'm not sure what my preferences are anymore.

Currently riding a 8.38 Limo, drilled to 14 in WB from 14.25, with Thunder team hollows I've never ghost popped anything more in my entire history of skating. The board has a steep concave with a short tail. The pop feels all fucked up. Coming from Aces where the pop took less energy, I can't really adjust to the delayed pop-slide/flick of the steep kicks and thunders. My popping leg is all weak too from lots of injuries to that side.

Idk what to do. Say fuck it to the limo board and get something smaller? Go back to Ace? Help me fellow mad folks.

[close]

Did you drill in the nose or the tail?

Guessing the nose, but you might have found that drilling in the tail on that sort of board might have actually worked better.

I have done both on different boards, just to see what it was like, sometimes working amazingly well, other times not so much.

If you are pretty much done with it, there would be no harm to try drilling in the tail and putting the front truck back where it was originally and just see how that feels on the Thunder trucks.

You might be surprised.


Any which way, as others had said, it is a big difference, from a very light pop on Ace to a much heavier pop feeling on Thunder (or Venture too) but on different boards, any truck can work a whole lot better - just getting used to it and if you have things you can mess with, no worries of making it unskateable if you are already at that point of it just not working for you, trying a few options might be good to see what really works better than the current situation and issues you have having with it.

You are right I did drill in the nose. I might try drilling the tail, but have skated it the correct way and backwards (nose as the tail) and while it did feel better with a longer tail, it still was pretty hard for me to skate it. Literally only flatground though, everything else feels fine. I was on the Thunders for about 2 months and couldn't really figure it out.

So just for clarification, the LIGHT pop on an aces is in terms of the effort and strength needed for the tail to hit the ground? The heavier pop means that it takes more effort and strength but yields more pop. I'm confused on which would pop quicker? Cause the speed and effort are related?

[Mbrimson88]

You are right I did drill in the nose. I might try drilling the tail, but have skated it the correct way and backwards (nose as the tail) and while it did feel better with a longer tail, it still was pretty hard for me to skate it. Literally only flatground though, everything else feels fine. I was on the Thunders for about 2 months and couldn't really figure it out.

So just for clarification, the LIGHT pop on an aces is in terms of the effort and strength needed for the tail to hit the ground? The heavier pop means that it takes more effort and strength but yields more pop. I'm confused on which would pop quicker? Cause the speed and effort are related?

Just cropped everything else out, mainly to just answer the last bit.

So when I had drilled in boards in the past, I had often experimented with a six hole baseplate first, so before drilling anything, I would put the two deck bolts through the last two holes in the truck which meant it brought the baseplate in 3/8" and then I stood on it and rolled around a bit doing a few manuals or ollies.

This really made the tail feel way lighter, in that the point of leverage was sitting in further than it was before, so on Ace the same point of leverage is in more than on Thunder trucks.  This is often why some truck will feel "right" for the board and others can cause the point of lift to feel too light or too heavy.

Without getting too deep into that sort of thing, definitely not going to figure out angles or whatever else in terms of math, but just standing on a board and feeling it out, there is a world of difference.  Some boards that were just not going to work at all for me in the current position suddenly worked really well after drilling in 3/8" or even smaller amount as it created the feeling of being lighter in the tail.


I think this would be a fun experiment, if nothing more, but as I had said, if the board as it is just doesn't work for you, as well as you drilling in boards in the past, try it on the tail of this board and see if it makes it better, or too light, or see at what point it could work, more so than just giving up on the deck or trucks or trying to find other things that work, without having a play with it, etc.


* That might not have answered your question on the feeling of pop, but trying it and seeing / feeling what it is like to skate it might mean more than words at this point.

I had even just used simple wood screws to put the baseplate in a bit before drilling out the whole board, which also works - not for a full session, but just to see what it feels like to stand on or roll around a bit, then drill out where I put the screws into the board if it feels like it works.