Gear madness support thread

[Slave IV]

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I always have 2 setups. One is my newer setup that I usually skate at parks and one is my older setup, which is just my last setup that isn't completely done yet but getting there and I usually use it for street.

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This makes sense to me. Even if my two setups are exactly the same. I thought it might be nice to have a slightly lighter weight board for at the end of a long day to switch to, but honestly it would be better to just have two identical ones. One of which I can experiment on and then test against the other. Which is what will probably kill the madness once and for all. When I inevitably can't tell a fuckin difference, or, I find something I really like

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I feel like that might make the madness worse lol. It can never be killed once and for all, only comes in waves

Haha, possibly but I think I'm close to figuring out if I want a thinner (8.12") or wider (8.4") board. I'm pretty sure I like smaller WB, or at least whatever equates to one with combo of trucks and shapes. Plus, I tend to get used to my different setups quickly. Part of it is probably that I suck so bad it doesn't even matter or now you made me think that maybe I suck so bad because I don't have a consistent setup, lol!

[Llewellyn Moss]

I've re-entered madness.

Toying with the concept of having a second setup. I've never had a second option so it'll be an experimental setup. I'm getting more ghost pop than I'd like on current setup so my thinking is get a lower truck and slightly smaller wheel, although I want to avoid getting in the weeds comparing kick angles.

Skate ledges, transition, some rails, lot of flatground on smooth surfaces.

Current: 8.25/8.38 twin/Indy 144 hollow forged XI/54 mm Spitfire CF 99a/Swiss/Mob or Pepper with stock orange Indy bushing.

That won't change.

Unless I find something I really like with the new idea to swap in: Same 8.25/8.38 twin and grip. But with Thunder for a lower truck 53 or 52mm Spitfire Radial or Conical 99 or 97.

Open to other truck brands but I'm more wondering cast or forged, standard/hollow, and how low to go on height.

Any recommendations?

[Obijuan91]

I've re-entered madness.

Toying with the concept of having a second setup. I've never had a second option so it'll be an experimental setup. I'm getting more ghost pop than I'd like on current setup so my thinking is get a lower truck and slightly smaller wheel, although I want to avoid getting in the weeds comparing kick angles.

Skate ledges, transition, some rails, lot of flatground on smooth surfaces.

Current: 8.25/8.38 twin/Indy 144 hollow forged XI/54 mm Spitfire CF 99a/Swiss/Mob or Pepper with stock orange Indy bushing.

That won't change.

Unless I find something I really like with the new idea to swap in: Same 8.25/8.38 twin and grip. But with Thunder for a lower truck 53 or 52mm Spitfire Radial or Conical 99 or 97.

Open to other truck brands but I'm more wondering cast or forged, standard/hollow, and how low to go on height.

Any recommendations?

I think if it’s ghost pop your struggling with id start with smaller wheels before changing trucks. I’m currently thinking of switching my Indy forged back on my set up after being on thunders for a bit but throwing ok some 52 mm conical or radials instead.
I miss the turn

[Schinken]

Does anyone know the difference between nhs atv and vet concave or owns maybe both and can check? A while ago I bought a vx deck and it had completely different concave. It had more mellow kicks around 19° and deep concave.  I'm afraid the vet concave is the same

[moonordie]

I've re-entered madness.

Toying with the concept of having a second setup. I've never had a second option so it'll be an experimental setup. I'm getting more ghost pop than I'd like on current setup so my thinking is get a lower truck and slightly smaller wheel, although I want to avoid getting in the weeds comparing kick angles.

Skate ledges, transition, some rails, lot of flatground on smooth surfaces.

Current: 8.25/8.38 twin/Indy 144 hollow forged XI/54 mm Spitfire CF 99a/Swiss/Mob or Pepper with stock orange Indy bushing.

That won't change.

Unless I find something I really like with the new idea to swap in: Same 8.25/8.38 twin and grip. But with Thunder for a lower truck 53 or 52mm Spitfire Radial or Conical 99 or 97.

Open to other truck brands but I'm more wondering cast or forged, standard/hollow, and how low to go on height.

Any recommendations?

Yes, don't get a second setup.

[Slave IV]

I've re-entered madness.

Toying with the concept of having a second setup. I've never had a second option so it'll be an experimental setup. I'm getting more ghost pop than I'd like on current setup so my thinking is get a lower truck and slightly smaller wheel, although I want to avoid getting in the weeds comparing kick angles.

Skate ledges, transition, some rails, lot of flatground on smooth surfaces.

Current: 8.25/8.38 twin/Indy 144 hollow forged XI/54 mm Spitfire CF 99a/Swiss/Mob or Pepper with stock orange Indy bushing.

That won't change.

Unless I find something I really like with the new idea to swap in: Same 8.25/8.38 twin and grip. But with Thunder for a lower truck 53 or 52mm Spitfire Radial or Conical 99 or 97.

Open to other truck brands but I'm more wondering cast or forged, standard/hollow, and how low to go on height.

Any recommendations?

For ghost pop, I usually try moving my popping foot out more, closer to the edge of the tail/nose.

[SwitchBenihana]

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I've re-entered madness.

Toying with the concept of having a second setup. I've never had a second option so it'll be an experimental setup. I'm getting more ghost pop than I'd like on current setup so my thinking is get a lower truck and slightly smaller wheel, although I want to avoid getting in the weeds comparing kick angles.

Skate ledges, transition, some rails, lot of flatground on smooth surfaces.

Current: 8.25/8.38 twin/Indy 144 hollow forged XI/54 mm Spitfire CF 99a/Swiss/Mob or Pepper with stock orange Indy bushing.

That won't change.

Unless I find something I really like with the new idea to swap in: Same 8.25/8.38 twin and grip. But with Thunder for a lower truck 53 or 52mm Spitfire Radial or Conical 99 or 97.

Open to other truck brands but I'm more wondering cast or forged, standard/hollow, and how low to go on height.

Any recommendations?

[close]

Yes, don't get a second setup.

100%

If the ghost pop is switch/nollie then consider not riding a twin tail and find a twin with longer kicks.

[Llewellyn Moss]

Happens any stance so it really varies. I'll have to try the moving my foot out near the edge more.

Some days I'm sold on the idea of adding a second setup, because, well, I can financially and there aren't a ton of years left to skate so why not try different options might find something new that works.

Then I remember a trial with bushing madness that made me question sanity and reality. Which makes me think yeah, I'm good with what I got.

[Ok]

Happens any stance so it really varies. I'll have to try the moving my foot out near the edge more.

Some days I'm sold on the idea of adding a second setup, because, well, I can financially and there aren't a ton of years left to skate so why not try different options might find something new that works.

Then I remember a trial with bushing madness that made me question sanity and reality. Which makes me think yeah, I'm good with what I got.

the ‘aren’t a ton of years left to skate so why not try….’

tugged on me.
don’t. don’t do it.

this is a support thread: i support you not going nuts, and wasting precious skate time on bs

i used to be somewhat close to what worked for me, and ive moved so far away, i dont know what is what. ill try anything and its not worth it.

switching stuff can lead to some temporary stoke to get out the door and skating, but it hasn’t helped me stay skating.


that’s just my experience tho. go nuts

[Llewellyn Moss]

Thank you friends. With your suggestions and guidance I'm not going to bite on a second setup.

What I'll do in an attempt to axe the ghost pop, is go down from my 54mm CFs to 52mm, and I'll give OG Classics a shot as I want another set of wheels. I've been on 52s many times but never on OG Classics.

This way I'll have the current 54s, which are imo the coolest looking wheel with the combo of my favorite colors for the black/green swirl (the Spitfire x skate shop collab) on backup, plus a set of T-Funk 97 RF 54s.

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

If you’re over 40….permission granted to buy another set up….

On a truck selection….Ace maybe?  Don’t they push the front truck back and you’re already skating Indy’s?  Maybe V8’s? 

[Reese Bruno]

i fear madness is creeping in. at the end of its lifecycle, my 8.4 froggy is starting to feel a bit small, so im thinking about sizing up to 8.75. heres where the problems start.  i really like my v8s but im nervous about getting a board with kicks too long to push the trucks in.  i prefer to stay on a 14-14.25 wheelbase.  im thinking indys would allow me to skate the most stuff without having to do any math, but on the perfect board my v8s feel perfect.  anyways, been looking at jetskis and 8.75 t funk deck. and i noticed 6.1s are on sale right now.  do i really want to switch to indy just for convenience/less tiktacs?  lost once again...

[Llewellyn Moss]

If you’re over 40….permission granted to buy another set up….

On a truck selection….Ace maybe?  Don’t they push the front truck back and you’re already skating Indy’s?  Maybe V8’s?

Not quite there. But yeah Ace pushes wheelbase in even narrower than Indy. Some day I'll try Venture though I'm sure.

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

Depends on the board, but I remember skating Ishods twin with thunders and I ghost popped on that for sure.  I figure maybe on Aces, the positioning of the axel would lessen the ghost pop.  Smaller wheels like you’ve mentioned is prolly the easier fix….not sure if they even make them anymore but I didn’t mind Mindys at all…just heavy.

[Sedition]

I've re-entered madness.

Toying with the concept of having a second setup. I've never had a second option so it'll be an experimental setup. I'm getting more ghost pop than I'd like on current setup so my thinking is get a lower truck and slightly smaller wheel, although I want to avoid getting in the weeds comparing kick angles.

Skate ledges, transition, some rails, lot of flatground on smooth surfaces.

Current: 8.25/8.38 twin/Indy 144 hollow forged XI/54 mm Spitfire CF 99a/Swiss/Mob or Pepper with stock orange Indy bushing.

That won't change.

Unless I find something I really like with the new idea to swap in: Same 8.25/8.38 twin and grip. But with Thunder for a lower truck 53 or 52mm Spitfire Radial or Conical 99 or 97.

Open to other truck brands but I'm more wondering cast or forged, standard/hollow, and how low to go on height.

Any recommendations?

My .02 cents...

I'll echo what others said. Don't get a second set-up. It's opens a door to place that is very hard to come back from (e.g. the Madness). A completely different set-up is going to mess with your muscle memory, timing, etc. And you will be forced to "relearn" everything, every time you switch rides. And for what? Marginal gains, at best? Every single person in this thread will tell you that, despite what ever changes they made, they didn't suddenly become Yuto, GT, Busenitz, etc. Watch all of Ben DeGros videos...and the real take away from all his clips/years of madness? Despite what ever deck, truck, wheel he was riding, he could still actually do all of his tricks! THAT is the real thing Ben D. has to teach. What did you actually accomplish by switching set-ups? You wasted time, money, and effort to relearn the same tricks you could already do on a different set-up. Of course, this is not say that some level of experimentation should be verboten. It shouldn't. Everyone needs to find what generally feels good to them. But once that has been found...

Ride what feels good, and, stick with it. The rest will follow. Remember, you're not going to have a "perfect" session every time you skate. Some days you are in the "zone." Other times it's gone for quite awhile. IMHO, the best way set-up a board, after some legitimate experimentation as skills develop, is to just ride what "feel good" under your feet...not what gives you a "slightly faster initial flick of a 360 flip," etc. There are nuances with every minor equipment change that cause (marginal) +/- differences, and if you start chasing nuanced differences, looking for the perfect, the rabbit hole has no end. Sure, make some minor tweaks, one at time (e.g. changing wheel size), but adding a whole second set-up* is just going to cause problems. And yes, I say all this from personal experience, too. I can't begin to imagine the amount of time, money, and mental band-width I've wasted over the years chasing rainbows, only to always come back to what I started with. 

*Two set-ups can have their place, but IMHO, they should be VERY different things from each other (e.g. a bigger bowl/transition set-up, and general-use street board, etc.) that you are not trying to compare to/against each other...(e.g. def not something like an 8.25/14.25/Indys and a 8.28/14.1/Thunders).

[Llewellyn Moss]

Damn. That's exactly what I needed to see. Much appreciate that my dude. You should tuck that away as copypasta for the next poor soul at risk.

I'll go off into the sunset now, quietly ordering a 2mm smaller wheel.

[Rick Trapasso]

Damn. That's exactly what I needed to see. Much appreciate that my dude. You should tuck that away as copypasta for the next poor soul at risk.

I'll go off into the sunset now, quietly ordering a 2mm smaller wheel.

Try tightening your trucks a little too if you're still having issues.

You might be surprised how much that can affect things.

[swongolianbbq]

I think I've settled on what my most consistent setup is 100%

8.25" x 14.25" wb BBS
Indy standard 149
Bones swiss
53mm spitfire F4 99a classics

I don't think I ever want to fuck with hollow standards or 8.5" decks anymore

I don't really feel the urge to mess with my bushings anymore either.

I think I've deleted all the madness with axle washers, bushings, truck models and sizes, bearings, decks. The hardest one to kill is wheel madness. Ive gotten it down to where I think I'm good though. A small range. Wheels wear down anyways and each individual size isn't that important. But something like a 3mm jump in size can change everything.

I'd be fine on 52s or 54s, and probably bigheads instead of classics, and not notice a difference, depending on what the shop has. I'd probably prefer bigheads if I have to get 52s though. I'm not against skating classic 99 formula either if I have to

I think I'll probably end up skating a lot of 54mm 93a classics though that's probably my favorite wheel right now.

Wheels are kinda like shoes cause they wear down quicker so I can always try something a little different here and there that isn't going to fuck up my skating. Bigheads, classics, classic fulls. 52, 53, 54mm. 93, 97, 99, 101a. Anything in that range should be totally fine

If the shop doesn't have 8.25 x 14.25wb I know I can always still fuck with a blue eagle or b16

But I'm unwilling to substitute standard indys for hollows anymore. It just changes like, the soul of the setup.

------

As for shoes, with my wide ass foot

I'm pretty set on Jordan 1s. Classic style/matches my clothes well, has some skateboarding heritage, I can find them on sale at a buncha places, but most importantly they fit my foot and have a lot of lateral stability that I don't have in other shoes. Bonus is that they last, and have that lateral strap coming up for the bottom three laces in the exact spot I put the most wear on. Same spot my foot spills over the outsole on skinnier shoes. And they got hella good boardfeel and an airbag in the heel. I put FP kingfoam flat 5mm or 7mm insoles in.


Top: dunk
Bottom: aj1

 I can get away with blazers and dunk SBs and stuff fine but they don't last me nearly as long in the heelflip/Ollie area. I'm gonna get some angelus leather paint so I can paint over the swoosh, or paint over a colorful shoe I got on sale or something. Like if it's the black blazers with the white swoosh, I can just paint over the swoosh black so it isn't like a big advertisement. I'm gonna try the white paint over the red swoosh on some AJ1 mids I'm currently skating.

I'll skate the Jordan 1s till they're pretty fucked up, then save em as chill/beater shoes to wear to shows and stuff

I'm interested in the reboot iPaths and the LRAB cupsoles though but I'll probably just stick to AJ1s

Trying to get my shit minimal style like a cartoon character or something always wearing the same shit

[Rick Trapasso]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Jordan 1's are better skate shoes than dunks imo

[swongolianbbq]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Jordan 1's are better skate shoes than dunks imo

After skating both, I wholeheartedly agree

[jums]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Jordan 1's are better skate shoes than dunks imo

They're the same shoe with different paneling.

[swongolianbbq]

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I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Jordan 1's are better skate shoes than dunks imo

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They're the same shoe with different paneling.

Dunks(non-sb *or Pro B) have a full midsole, whereas aj1s have a 3/4 midsole and nothing but rubber under the forefoot. Aj1s have an airbag in the heel, dunks do not. Aj1 outsole tooling is way wider than dunks(even in the heel) and bean-shaped. SB dunks have a 3/4 midsole like aj1s, just without the airbag. Aj1 toebox is longer/flex point is further back. Ankle padding in aj1 is a firmer foam than dunks(non-sb high)

[Rick Trapasso]

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I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Jordan 1's are better skate shoes than dunks imo

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They're the same shoe with different paneling.

.....Nah

[codswallop]

Any die hard Venture high or Indy forged (both roughly same height) riders switch and why? Having madness symptoms and want to get ahead of it.

[Reese Bruno]

Any die hard Venture high or Indy forged (both roughly same height) riders switch and why? Having madness symptoms and want to get ahead of it.

I was considering switching from venture back to Indy. Then I tried my friends board and it felt really squashy every time I popped anything. Like dull. That night I ordered a set of 6.1s. still awake

[Schinken]

Changed from indy to venture to thunder to indy.
 I still enjoy venture trucks but there is one thing that drives me to independent. You can run independents tighter/ with harder bushings and you still get lots of turn. With ventures you have to ride them pretty loose to get a decent amount of turn but you loose a lot of stability in the center. The pop feels lower but it's not problem once I have something to jump onto.

[SwitchBenihana]

Any die hard Venture high or Indy forged (both roughly same height) riders switch and why? Having madness symptoms and want to get ahead of it.

These trucks are absolutely nothing alike despite the height. I went from Indy forged to Venture in 2021 during the big craze. There's nothing new I can say about how either truck performs but Ventures always had top bushing issues and were just less fun to ride all around. The pop is closer to a standard Indy in terms of heaviness, but it accomplishes it in a different way. With an Indy I feel I can move my feet on the kicks and pop a lot of different ways but with Venture you either have heavy or really heavy. Way less fun on transition.

I see why people like them but they're not for me. I'd recommend not to choose trucks just based on one attribute like height. Look at all the people on here loving T2, which are 54mm, but they claim Indy are too tall at 55mm. It's more than just the height that makes them prefer the T2.

[Ok]

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Any die hard Venture high or Indy forged (both roughly same height) riders switch and why? Having madness symptoms and want to get ahead of it.

[close]

These trucks are absolutely nothing alike despite the height. I went from Indy forged to Venture in 2021 during the big craze. There's nothing new I can say about how either truck performs but Ventures always had top bushing issues and were just less fun to ride all around. The pop is closer to a standard Indy in terms of heaviness, but it accomplishes it in a different way. With an Indy I feel I can move my feet on the kicks and pop a lot of different ways but with Venture you either have heavy or really heavy. Way less fun on transition.

I see why people like them but they're not for me. I'd recommend not to choose trucks just based on one attribute like height. Look at all the people on here loving T2, which are 54mm, but they claim Indy are too tall at 55mm. It's more than just the height that makes them prefer the T2.

i’ve had some miserable setups that were based off of chasing numbers and dimensions.

i skate ventures more than any other truck. my favorite ventures were 5.0 los. 5.2 lo’s are almost as good. i’ve never loved the hi’s. my favorite hi’s have been forged hollow 5.0 hi’s, 6.1 cast, and 5.6 titanium. cooked.
got v8 5.2s and just gonna try and chill with those whilst i skate thru some bigger boards i have.

stage 10 indy’s i like.
never really liked 11s. would probably like 144 forged. 139 cast.
indy’s are weird to me: i skate the way i want, using indy’s for one or two sessions, than i hate them. a lot.
if i wasn’t a baby, the way the 159s feel is great, but that’s too big and looks uncool.

[Rick Trapasso]

@Sedition suggested I repost this exchange in this thread, so here ya go.

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Not sure why they wouldn’t throw an inverted kingpin in these.   An almost perfect truck, but you do get kingpin hang up on smiths particularity on skatepark ledges.   

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Believe it or not, there is not a single trick done with an inverted kingpin that wasn't done first with a regular one. (Aside from coming loose on their own)

Just grind it down and use wax as our forefathers did.

It's that simple.

[close]

You can make that argument anytime anybody wants to modify/improve a part of their setup.

The process of grinding the kingpin down is a pain in the ass. It also sucks if you need to adjust your trucks.

[close]

I feel you. I just can't help but feel the recent Renaissance of the IKP is really being pushed for by people that would be better off just spending more time skating than thinking about their setup.

And I'm saying this as someone who has historically over thought his setup. I even went through an IKP phase with a krux pin on some ace classics a while back, just because I was having trouble smithing this concrete ledge. It slightly helped, but in the end just improving my technique and working my regular trucks in left me with a better smith on that ledge than the IKP aces I concocted.

Not to mention all the fussing with jb weld and self loosening and not being able to see how tight they were.


And to add to all of this (definitely rambling now), every pro I've ever wanted to skate like has gotten the full lifespan out of a truck despite a regular kingpin getting mangled, and been able to do any trick I could ever dream of doing. You just kinda tighten a bit as you go, after the break in period of course, and before the pin and nut have fused.

By all means, people should/can experiment with their setup, but sometimes I read things from others that make me think about the depths of my madness over the last 8 years or so and how I tried nearly every truck/board/wheel shape combo from 8.25 -8.6 and I just ended up skating 8.38 14.5wb dlx, 149 Indy standards, and 56mm f4 classics in the end.

The most vanilla ass setup.

Tinkering and experimenting can be fun, but for myself (and others from what I've read in the madness thread) it winds up being more of a point of stress rather than exploration and enjoyment. So if I'm trying to say anything it's that you should make sure worrying about your setup doesn't impact the enjoyment you get while skating. If tinkering with you setup, tread lightly and make sure you still enjoy your session.

Having a child has greatly shifted my perspective on how I engage with my more limited time on my skateboard lol.

End rant, sorry for that. <3

[close]

10000% agree.

And, you should repost this in the Madness thread.

[swongolianbbq]

Anyone ever just use a flanged 3/8 24 nut instead of a kingpin nut & washer