Gear madness support thread

[BeachChicken]

I ride my Thunders with the stock bushings, prob flush-ish which is pretty medium, but know what you mean. There isn't much room for error. What I personally love about them is the manual point and on days I'm a bit tired the lightness of the pop for simple tricks is pretty welcome. What I have never tried, which I miiiiight like, is Thunder with risers, but hopefully the new Thunders scratch that itch.

I think where the experiences is align is finding 2 trucks that are mostly perfect, accepting the differences, and being mentally willing to just put the one you're feeling/needing on and letting go of the other options. I don't love that Indy is a truck that works great for me, such a cursed brand.

[mstuntbless]

^^i resonate with this. Indy kind of sucks as a brand but the thing is…they work on a majority of boards for a majority of people.

[rikki]

It's been mentioned a couple of times here, so you and I are not the first, fakie tricks on thunders (and i guess switch for some depending on where you shift/hold your weight) are tricky compared to say a venture in terms of forgiveness (same for royals); it's all subjective and based on what your needs and style are. Do I *need* a thunder vs a venture? Personally no. I'm not good enough for it to matter and both provide enough turn for me.

I've a love/hate with thunders as I love how nimble/agile they are (but not good enough to land bolts everytime to avoid wheebite and can't/choose not to ride super tight), nothing comes close to them in that regard.

Slappys are the 'nimble' ACE/Indy vs super turny/slow carvy. Royals are just a quicker intial turning venture.

We could all skate any of them, anywhere, if we had too especially someone not riding 100% bowls or who skates supertight.

Bro you've piqued my interest with regards to Royals. I can't skate anything else than Indy or Venture (tried and tested), but I keep madnessing over which I prefer long term.

Would Royals solve my problem? I know, the question is kinda insane, but humour me at least rhetorically here. How's the pop feel with Royals? And as a dude who rides transition amidst all the ledge/curb stuff, would Royals provide a happy medium here? I love the stability and ooomph of Ventures and the surfy turn of Indys. Not looking for extremes either way. Would Royals be a compromise or a synergy? Much love.

[Xen]

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It's been mentioned a couple of times here, so you and I are not the first, fakie tricks on thunders (and i guess switch for some depending on where you shift/hold your weight) are tricky compared to say a venture in terms of forgiveness (same for royals); it's all subjective and based on what your needs and style are. Do I *need* a thunder vs a venture? Personally no. I'm not good enough for it to matter and both provide enough turn for me.

I've a love/hate with thunders as I love how nimble/agile they are (but not good enough to land bolts everytime to avoid wheebite and can't/choose not to ride super tight), nothing comes close to them in that regard.

Slappys are the 'nimble' ACE/Indy vs super turny/slow carvy. Royals are just a quicker intial turning venture.

We could all skate any of them, anywhere, if we had too especially someone not riding 100% bowls or who skates supertight.

[close]

Bro you've piqued my interest with regards to Royals. I can't skate anything else than Indy or Venture (tried and tested), but I keep madnessing over which I prefer long term.

Would Royals solve my problem? I know, the question is kinda insane, but humour me at least rhetorically here. How's the pop feel with Royals? And as a dude who rides transition amidst all the ledge/curb stuff, would Royals provide a happy medium here? I love the stability and ooomph of Ventures and the surfy turn of Indys. Not looking for extremes either way. Would Royals be a compromise or a synergy? Much love.

I wish I could say yes, because if any of us can be cured it's a step for all of us.

When you skate ventures in bowls what aren't they giving you? And don't say 'indy' What Indy are you riding? Cast/Forged (mids, doubtful)? Cast or forged vents? Big boy wheels or small tech?

Short answer, no, I don't think Royals (or Ventures) are a replacement for anyone that regularly skates bowls (Chris Miller, Yuto and Lockwood can all skate whatever the fuck they want wherever they want . They are decidedly in the Venture/Thunder camp style of truck just quicker and smoother (with less wheelbite), respectively. And most will need to tweak the bushings (which turns many off). Just buy ACE hards if you're heavier or ACE Mediums/Krux 92s if you are on the lighter side. They need a big bottom bushing.

Pop feel is very Venture to me, perhaps just a hair lighter (for the record, this one area I don't sweat/OCD much on, as I can ollie very high/have pop so I just crack the hell out of anything I'm riding and hope for the best, WB is more cricital for me here for leveling out, not the pop) - that's why they feel so non descript to a lot of people, they don't feel too pop light or too pop heavy and they don't push out or pull in too far, they're just 'there' and work well with short or long WB; they're very neutral in their approach (FWIW slappys are the same way in that regard, just turn like indy (but faster) or ACE (more stable).

If you're stateside DM me (I'm sitting on some sizes I'm not using and will cut you a deal to help your madness and depop).

[rikki]

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It's been mentioned a couple of times here, so you and I are not the first, fakie tricks on thunders (and i guess switch for some depending on where you shift/hold your weight) are tricky compared to say a venture in terms of forgiveness (same for royals); it's all subjective and based on what your needs and style are. Do I *need* a thunder vs a venture? Personally no. I'm not good enough for it to matter and both provide enough turn for me.

I've a love/hate with thunders as I love how nimble/agile they are (but not good enough to land bolts everytime to avoid wheebite and can't/choose not to ride super tight), nothing comes close to them in that regard.

Slappys are the 'nimble' ACE/Indy vs super turny/slow carvy. Royals are just a quicker intial turning venture.

We could all skate any of them, anywhere, if we had too especially someone not riding 100% bowls or who skates supertight.

[close]

Bro you've piqued my interest with regards to Royals. I can't skate anything else than Indy or Venture (tried and tested), but I keep madnessing over which I prefer long term.

Would Royals solve my problem? I know, the question is kinda insane, but humour me at least rhetorically here. How's the pop feel with Royals? And as a dude who rides transition amidst all the ledge/curb stuff, would Royals provide a happy medium here? I love the stability and ooomph of Ventures and the surfy turn of Indys. Not looking for extremes either way. Would Royals be a compromise or a synergy? Much love.

[close]

I wish I could say yes, because if any of us can be cured it's a step for all of us.

When you skate ventures in bowls what aren't they giving you? And don't say 'indy' What Indy are you riding? Cast/Forged (mids, doubtful)? Cast or forged vents? Big boy wheels or small tech?

The Venture (I ride V-hollows so forged) turn in tight trannies isn't forgiving enough for me. Yeah, I'm not Lockwood either (although he skates Thunders but y'know). I have to set them too loose for them to feel good and they end up being kind tippy, for a lack of a better word.

As per Indys, I ride forged. Wheels always around the 54-56mm zone.

But yeah, as per you saying Royals are "neutral" and "are just there" actually sounds pretty good. I'm not looking for "soul" or "personality" in trucks, I'm into function. Any tips on various Royal options with regards to forged/cast/hollow/whatnot?

Oh, and bushings are no problem, I'm used to tweaking them and even have some extra sets of Ace hards from my Ace days.

[Xen]

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It's been mentioned a couple of times here, so you and I are not the first, fakie tricks on thunders (and i guess switch for some depending on where you shift/hold your weight) are tricky compared to say a venture in terms of forgiveness (same for royals); it's all subjective and based on what your needs and style are. Do I *need* a thunder vs a venture? Personally no. I'm not good enough for it to matter and both provide enough turn for me.

I've a love/hate with thunders as I love how nimble/agile they are (but not good enough to land bolts everytime to avoid wheebite and can't/choose not to ride super tight), nothing comes close to them in that regard.

Slappys are the 'nimble' ACE/Indy vs super turny/slow carvy. Royals are just a quicker intial turning venture.

We could all skate any of them, anywhere, if we had too especially someone not riding 100% bowls or who skates supertight.

[close]

Bro you've piqued my interest with regards to Royals. I can't skate anything else than Indy or Venture (tried and tested), but I keep madnessing over which I prefer long term.

Would Royals solve my problem? I know, the question is kinda insane, but humour me at least rhetorically here. How's the pop feel with Royals? And as a dude who rides transition amidst all the ledge/curb stuff, would Royals provide a happy medium here? I love the stability and ooomph of Ventures and the surfy turn of Indys. Not looking for extremes either way. Would Royals be a compromise or a synergy? Much love.

[close]

I wish I could say yes, because if any of us can be cured it's a step for all of us.

When you skate ventures in bowls what aren't they giving you? And don't say 'indy' What Indy are you riding? Cast/Forged (mids, doubtful)? Cast or forged vents? Big boy wheels or small tech?

[close]

The Venture (I ride V-hollows so forged) turn in tight trannies isn't forgiving enough for me. Yeah, I'm not Lockwood either (although he skates Thunders but y'know). I have to set them too loose for them to feel good and they end up being kind tippy, for a lack of a better word.

As per Indys, I ride forged. Wheels always around the 54-56mm zone.

But yeah, as per you saying Royals are "neutral" and "are just there" actually sounds pretty good. I'm not looking for "soul" or "personality" in trucks, I'm into function. Any tips on various Royal options with regards to forged/cast/hollow/whatnot?

Oh, and bushings are no problem, I'm used to tweaking them and even have some extra sets of Ace hards from my Ace days.

I get you on the ventures in bowls in tight pockets, that's my issue with thunders, I have to get them super loose and risk more wheelbite in those tight corners. Ace/Indy/Slappy carve right out (that's what they are made to do). There's one pocket at my local that I can get pitched from if I'm using anything but ACE/Indy/Slappy for some reason, it's so tight that at speed a lean isn't enough, I need deep carve/forgiveness. Especially with BIG wheels.

Royals only come in 3 flavors, they are ALL 52mm tall, so mind your wheel size (I usually don't go past 54mm wheels on 52mm trucks and only ride 51 or smaller on thunders):

Standard (these are the same weight as a comperable sized Indy TI)

Ultra Light (hollow pin/axel) - stupid light, much much lighter than venture hollow but not as light as say a team hollow thunder, but REAL close

Inverted Kingpin (also a standard axle)

[Weezil]

^^i resonate with this. Indy kind of sucks as a brand but the thing is…they work on a majority of boards for a majority of people.

I feel this too. I gave up on trying to make anything else work, I can do ventures and might switch back if they release aftermarket bushings and stuff but I feel like there's a reason pros that dont have a truck sponsor all ride indy, they're just good trucks that turn good and grind good. for me was it's easy to buy more stock bushings too, seems like every aftermarket company caters to indy too if you indys aftermarket stuff isn't available.

other thing was with ace and venture I started wanting to buy risers even though I switched to those brands because they were lower than indy, I figured with a riser I'm back at indy height I might as well skate indys. either way I haven't thought about my setup in a while so that's cool too.

[mstuntbless]

Yea dude I set up Indy hollows and this is why madness is never ending. Tried out ventures for like 8 months and it was fine…but man the solid pop and grind from the standard height of an Indy is really something I missed.

[rikki]

I get you on the ventures in bowls in tight pockets, that's my issue with thunders, I have to get them super loose and risk more wheelbite in those tight corners. Ace/Indy/Slappy carve right out (that's what they are made to do). There's one pocket at my local that I can get pitched from if I'm using anything but ACE/Indy/Slappy for some reason, it's so tight that at speed a lean isn't enough, I need deep carve/forgiveness. Especially with BIG wheels.

Royals only come in 3 flavors, they are ALL 52mm tall, so mind your wheel size (I usually don't go past 54mm wheels on 52mm trucks and only ride 51 or smaller on thunders):

Standard (these are the same weight as a comperable sized Indy TI)

Ultra Light (hollow pin/axel) - stupid light, much much lighter than venture hollow but not as light as say a team hollow thunder, but REAL close

Inverted Kingpin (also a standard axle)

Hey thanks, much appreciated. This is all tempting and the lightness of the trucks is especially intriguing. The height could be the only issue, but I'm used to the 52mm height on Venture Hi's and could always slap on a 1/16 shock pad.

Let's see. Currently in a nice phase with my tumultous relationship with Forged Indys, though, so I might keep at that for the time being, but it's great to know about other potential options.

[BeachChicken]

I thought the Royal Pop was noticeably lighter than Venture. Good truck but the grind wasn't better and oddly the baseplate slide wasn't great so there wasn't anything they did for me that Venture or Thunder didn't. Turn is cool, but I can get acceptable turn on anything.

Fun fact quite a few Royal sponsored skaters skate Thunder raws even when they film VX because you can't tell a diff. So if you're used to one the other shouldn't be too crazy.

I personally dislike Forged Indy. They felt a bit too light for me and unpredictable. If I were you I'd try a nice cast Thunder next.

[rawbertson.]

LOL yeah i could actaully get some Royals on sale from Empire in Canada for like $50 but I want to get stuff from my Local so i am not gonna bother with royals unless they are blowing them out at the distributor or something then maybe ill get him to bring in a set for me lol

Yeah I think I just decided I am not a huge fan of that mega turny truck, I can ride it but i seem to like the way thunder and venture skates more, and the wheelbite is not bothering me at all on 58mm... so i dont think there is really even a point for me to go to slappys unless i want to replace my indys down the line (that i hardly ever skate). I am pretty interested in getting the slappys still but i feel like its probably gonna feel pretty close to the indy all said and done (with some minor imporvements - but probably not crazy enough for me to just dump my current set...)

[BeachChicken]

Slappys seem great. I know lots of dudes that have had them and liked them, but none that have gone through a set and gotten a second set if that makes sense. One moved back to Indy and another went with Thunders and prefers those. They're obviously nice, but not transformative. No truck really is for me. I'll ride a Venture over a Thunder simply because I like the brand more and the stability, but there's things I do worse on them and at the end of the day those nuances lead to enjoyment.

[Kevve]

Anyone notice a real difference between 8.5 & 8.625?

Thinking about going from Indy Indy 159 w. A 8.75 deck to 149s & 8.5/8.6 to shave off weight.

[Mbrimson88]

Anyone notice a real difference between 8.5 & 8.625?

Thinking about going from Indy Indy 159 w. A 8.75 deck to 149s & 8.5/8.6 to shave off weight.

There is some, but it comes down to how you like your board really.

Some brands have very similar shapes just scaled a little bit up or down, other brands have completely different shapes for the 8.5 to 8.6 to 8.75 boards, so it can be tricky sometimes, eg Polar have very small increments in size difference, whereas DLX have significant differences in board shapes between 8.5, 8.6 and 8.75, just to name two I have had a lot of experience with in the past.

Also the difference in truck can be good or bad, eg just the little extra can sometimes throw off how a board feels, eg I like 159s on 8.6 and 8.75 boards, but they feel too wide on 8.5 boards.  Running 149s on 8.38 and 8.5 is perfect for me, but they feel too narrow on 8.6 and definitely on 8.75 boards that I have tried them on.  That is just me though, as I know others who love 149s on wider boards.


I guess if you have options, then sure try different combos of each.  Even different types of truck can change things a lot, from standard, to forged hollow to ti axles, that could be the main weight difference right there - also experimented with all three just to see what they feel like, in 159s especially, where I noticed a little more weight on the bigger board on standard trucks, especially on the DLX China board I tried.

[diplodocus]

This might not be madness related per say. But why don’t truck brands publish the team page anymore? I need to know which riders to nerd over and over analyze

[Xen]

This might not be madness related per say. But why don’t truck brands publish the team page anymore? I need to know which riders to nerd over and over analyze

https://www.thundertrucks.com/team/

It says "THUNDER TEAM ON INSTAGRAM" and no idea how updated/accurate that is.

Couldn't find other...tho indy does have a 'logo' section now: https://independenttrucks.com/our-logo

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

I’m pretty sure I pay attention to trucks more than stance when watching videos…..possibly more than tricks….

[diplodocus]

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This might not be madness related per say. But why don’t truck brands publish the team page anymore? I need to know which riders to nerd over and over analyze

[close]

https://www.thundertrucks.com/team/

It says "THUNDER TEAM ON INSTAGRAM" and no idea how updated/accurate that is.

Couldn't find other...tho indy does have a 'logo' section now: https://independenttrucks.com/our-logo

I knew I Thunder has one and so does royal and Ace. Looking back on my post it was more of a dig at Indy. Show us your cowards!

[mstuntbless]

Yo just wanted to hop on here to follow up! I went back and looked at all my footage throughout the years…what did I progress the most on? What did I feel the most comfortable on? 8.5/14.5/32 with 149 hollow Indy’s. I switched back to that exact setup. Are my Ollie’s high? Absolutely not. Can I poke them out and make them look stylish? No. However I feel confident going into 50s front side and back side. For some reason I can treflip on flat and do all my flip tricks. My crook is there as well as nose/tailslide. I think it’s time to give this setup two solid weeks. I skated this setup with ventures and was able to get a higher Ollie so I’m giving my self time to adjust the pop because I know I can get there with Indy’s on the same setup. Wish me luck pals…I’m giving it the old two weeks of commitment with this logic.

[Sedition]

Normal Ride: 8.25/14.38, IV stamp, 144 forged, 53mm Classics.

Current Ride: 8.5/14.5 BLKLBL (e.g. steeper kicks), 159s forged, 53mm Conicals.

There is nothing I should like about that current set-up....but I am currently LOVING it. The good part, I am not feeling any desire, obsession, etc. to switch out other parts, or compare set-ups. I am just rolling away on this LBL set-up unti it dies, or the desire to try something else come along. For now? Me and board, we mad cool together. It's tight.

[camel filters]

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This might not be madness related per say. But why don’t truck brands publish the team page anymore? I need to know which riders to nerd over and over analyze

[close]

https://www.thundertrucks.com/team/

It says "THUNDER TEAM ON INSTAGRAM" and no idea how updated/accurate that is.

Couldn't find other...tho indy does have a 'logo' section now: https://independenttrucks.com/our-logo

[close]

I knew I Thunder has one and so does royal and Ace. Looking back on my post it was more of a dig at Indy. Show us your cowards!

Took a look at Ace's team page and find it hilarious Vinnie Bahn is still on there but not Corey Glick or Cyrus Bennett who had their latest ad in Thrasher.

[BeachChicken]

Cyrus is on the main page.  IIRC Corey, Jerry, etc get free Ace because they ship their decks with Pepper and the distro sends a box

[mstuntbless]

Normal Ride: 8.25/14.38, IV stamp, 144 forged, 53mm Classics.

Current Ride: 8.5/14.5 BLKLBL (e.g. steeper kicks), 159s forged, 53mm Conicals.

There is nothing I should like about that current set-up....but I am currently LOVING it. The good part, I am not feeling any desire, obsession, etc. to switch out other parts, or compare set-ups. I am just rolling away on this LBL set-up unti it dies, or the desire to try something else come along. For now? Me and board, we mad cool together. It's tight.

Stick with it!! Something said in this thread is to throw logic out the window and go with feeling. If it feels good under your feet then that is the answer. Settling into a life of monogamy with my setup, things are getting serious. Might have the in-laws over for thanksgiving.

[FrenchSkater]

What do you think of Tensors trucks ?

I'm talking about the raw model, those which have a height of 55 mm and which look a little like the ventures but a little more discreet (The "All terrain trucks" it seems to me)

I've read some positive and negative reviews, but I was wondering what it's worth. They are really not expensive ($39 per pair)

I have the impression that the bushings give a soft feeling, and that interests me too. Maybe it's as good as the big popular brands who knows..I'm really curious about these trucks.

[BeachChicken]

Tensor went out of business so I probably wouldn't fuck with them if I were you.

[garbage_wagon]

Imma save you all from your madness, just follow these easy steps

GFB
159s
x97 54mm

What is GFB?

[BeachChicken]

I was on Venture for 9-10mo then had a few kinda meh months and pondered returning to Thunders. Had a set of Indy's I was going to leave at the park and bolted them to the deck I was riding and it felt really damn nice and normally I'd assume the combo would be too short. Well, I spent the next month constantly rotating between the 3.

I was determined that Thunders were home base and then I blew out another bushing and said fuck it I'll try those Indy's one last time. I was mentally exhausted from switching and adapting. First 2 sessions had ups and downs, but mostly since then everything has been pretty damn nice. I had a few sessions of struggle when I switched to a much steeper deck and there are still aspects I don't love, but all the decks of the same shape I have on ice are more mellow so I'm fine with learning to put up with it for now.

I had that old Venture setup the other day and was tempted to skate it so I brought it to the park with the intent of leaving the deck. In a few min on it I was like "ya I remember why I liked this, and x trick is currently feeling better, but god damn do I not have the energy to put up with adapting everything right now I just simply don't care enough" and left the deck as the park as planned and have desire to start swapping shit again.

I fully intent on trying Ventures again hell maybe on the next board because they pop sorta similar to Indy cast for me and I know things will be a bit off at first, but that's just how it goes and it's not actually holding me back.

[garbage_wagon]

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Imma save you all from your madness, just follow these easy steps

GFB
159s
x97 54mm

[close]

What is GFB?

[close]

https://skatesamples.com/products/shaped-decks?variant=45132303597873

Nice. Thank you.

[camel filters]

Cyrus is on the main page.  IIRC Corey, Jerry, etc get free Ace because they ship their decks with Pepper and the distro sends a box

Ive definitely seen a Glick Ace ad in a mag recently.

[diplodocus]

Normal Ride: 8.25/14.38, IV stamp, 144 forged, 53mm Classics.

Current Ride: 8.5/14.5 BLKLBL (e.g. steeper kicks), 159s forged, 53mm Conicals.

There is nothing I should like about that current set-up....but I am currently LOVING it. The good part, I am not feeling any desire, obsession, etc. to switch out other parts, or compare set-ups. I am just rolling away on this LBL set-up unti it dies, or the desire to try something else come along. For now? Me and board, we mad cool together. It's tight.

I'm on 159 forged and I'm surprised how much I like them at the moment. They really just work. I can see why Indy is homebase for a lot of people.

My madness has been getting too crazy. I bought like 4 trucks this year. I'm really just gonna stick with Indy for a while since everything seems to be fine. I don't have to "think" too much about my set-up.