Gear madness support thread

[DarkPools]

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

Maybe it's not your aces but your board and its WB? Maybe the board feels too short or too long, where your pop feels sluggish?

[Sedition]

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

Ace are known for many things. Pop is not one of them. An inherent problem with short wheelbases and a "lower" truck height is a compromised pop--it's just the simple physics of a lever. And that's without even getting into how super loose trucks can complicate pop.

This is one of the reasons I think Indys are the best "all-purpose" truck made---they fall right in the middle of the Ace/T2 <--> Thunder/Venture spectrum.

[swongolianbbq]

Aces with a 1/8" riser and some 55-57mm wheels has good pop tho

But just aces, no risers, 52-54mm wheels - the shorter wheelbase reduces the pop angle especially on boards with mellow kicks

I think Aces(and stage 4 indys) really shine in the ~8.75" and 9" versions with a riser and big wheels but that's just me

Some people like mellow pop angles though especially if you're older

Spanky for example on a baker OG mellow shape, Aces, and 52mm wheels for a super chill angle

Venture highs have the steepest pop angle, aces have the lowest

Thunder 145/147, venture low, Indy, lurpiv, all have pretty standard angles

The lower height of thunder lows and venture lows compensates for the wider truck wheelbase along with smaller wheels (49-51mm). The wider truck wheelbase on the low, narrow trucks compensates for the shorter wheelbase on most 7.5"-8" boards

Venture high and thunder high, especially with risers on either for that big boi pop. Aces or stage 4s with medium to small wheels for a mellow pop and quicker turn.

 Put some aces or stage 4s on a longer wheelbase deck, with bigger wheels, and everything evens out again

Correct me if I'm wrong but this makes sense to me

[Slave IV]

The kick angles make a difference too. I usually have two setups and right now I have standard Thunders on one, AF1 on another. The AF1 setup pops better to me and I think part of it is that setup has steeper kicks (also has shorter WB).

[FrAnKenFrEd]

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

Funnily enough I have the reverse problem. My pop is way better on Ace but it's likely due to what I am used to and the rest of the dimensions on my set up... as mentioned by others above.

[Rick Trapasso]

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

I'm sorry to do the opposite of what you're looking for here, but as others have mentioned Aces aren't known for their pop. That was a big reason I got off of them, tried classic 44s and af155s.

Like you said, everything felt great until I went to pop. There wasn't that crisp snap I was looking for. I needed risers on aces to manage them at all. Tried 1/8 and the ace 1/16.

Aces look nice and cruise well, but I just feel so floppy and disconnected once I start doing tricks on them.

Indys with forged plates are a good middle ground in terms of truck characteristics between ace/thunder imo. In between the wheelbase, weight (if you're on af1/thunder standards currently), and turn characteristics (more than thunder, less than ace).

They are the highest of those three options, but you could compensate with smaller wheels if absolutely necessary. Only .5mm taller than ace. I personally think the height on a more turny truck helps with pop. Still won't be as snappy as a thunder, but will pop better than ace imo.

All that with the added benefit of having the best grind (imo) is why Indys are so popular, they just aren't that exciting. Other trucks offer more polarizing, distinct experiences, more suited for specialized tastes.

I'd says MOST people to acclimate to a set of Indys.

I don't think the same is true for ace/venture.

[Jort250]

Never underestimate an 8.25 deck with 149s. Good things start to happen.

Do tell, I’ve always wondered about this

I tried 8 deck on 8.25 trucks and felt my flip tricks took a hit and grinds didn’t feel that much better

[Schinken]

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

Check out some yt Videos from Norman Woods. He rides ace and he doesn't seem to have problems with pop. I tried ace 44 once on mellow board with short wheelbase and didn't like it. Tried it on a longer wheelbase and it was much more manageable for me. Sometimes I wish I didn't sell my Aces but  too much gear only feeds the madness

[Sedition]

Expand Quote

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

[close]

I'm sorry to do the opposite of what you're looking for here, but as others have mentioned Aces aren't known for their pop. That was a big reason I got off of them, tried classic 44s and af155s.

Like you said, everything felt great until I went to pop. There wasn't that crisp snap I was looking for. I needed risers on aces to manage them at all. Tried 1/8 and the ace 1/16.

Aces look nice and cruise well, but I just feel so floppy and disconnected once I start doing tricks on them.

Indys with forged plates are a good middle ground in terms of truck characteristics between ace/thunder imo. In between the wheelbase, weight (if you're on af1/thunder standards currently), and turn characteristics (more than thunder, less than ace).

They are the highest of those three options, but you could compensate with smaller wheels if absolutely necessary. Only .5mm taller than ace. I personally think the height on a more turny truck helps with pop. Still won't be as snappy as a thunder, but will pop better than ace imo.

All that with the added benefit of having the best grind (imo) is why Indys are so popular, they just aren't that exciting. Other trucks offer more polarizing, distinct experiences, more suited for specialized tastes.

I'd says MOST people to acclimate to a set of Indys.

I don't think the same is true for ace/venture.

Once again, every word of this.

[Rick Trapasso]

Expand Quote

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

[close]

Check out some yt Videos from Norman Woods. He rides ace and he doesn't seem to have problems with pop. I tried ace 44 once on mellow board with short wheelbase and didn't like it. Tried it on a longer wheelbase and it was much more manageable for me. Sometimes I wish I didn't sell my Aces but  too much gear only feeds the madness

Yea, sage elsesser and christian malouf to name a couple others. It's not IMPOSSIBLE to pop on aces or anything, and a longer wb def helps. But it's also important to consider that there are professionals we are talking about.

There are people riding all types of setups in all sorts of conditions and ways. You name it, and there is a guy ripping on it somewhere.

At the end of the day it comes down to the individual and their personal preferences. But that doesn't mean there aren't generalities that apply to most people.

[swongolianbbq]

And lots of footage of Durao on aces popping insanely high

I think he's on indys now but yeah

People who are really naturally talented probably won't notice a difference as much as I would

So I like to just skate generic shit so I'm kinda used to whatever and not as picky

8.25 deck
149 standards
54mm "classic" shape

Personally I get more pop on the indys

Could be a combination of the height, truck wheelbase, and the bushings being harder than aces for more tension on flip tricks

I switched to ace hard bushings in my af1 55s eventually and really liked them like that, but the truck pinches weird on crooks cause it turns inward so much, and I didn't like having to always replace the axle nuts with normal ones every time I got new trucks. Also my setup didn't really look like "my board" if that makes sense. I didn't want to have to spend more money, buy aftermarket bushings and axle nuts, just to get a truck to work for me

When I went back to indys my kickflips, hardflips and frontside flips all improved greatly, which is probably because of muscle memory or something and less because of qualities of the truck itself, just that I am used to it already

[tzhangdox]

I think the type of setup that gives someone more "net pop" varies so much.

The conventional wisdom is that ventures give you more pop because they have a heavier pop and further axle to axle distance which should give you more yield.

Personally they feel too heavy for a lot of tricks on a lot of boards for me. A lighter popping truck often helps me get my tricks higher with less work because I'm able to concentrate on jumping, sliding/flicking and doing the actual trick instead of putting all my effort into getting the tail to hit off the ground properly.

Maybe I'm in the minority here. But I kinda preferred the pop on aces over ventures on many "normal" ish boards. I just skate ventures for other reasons, and try to optimize my board for it.

If aces are causing your tricks to not suck up to your feet, you could try experiment with board dimensions and wheel size to make it more similar to your thunder setup on paper. But at the end of the day it won't be the same.

[Sedition]

...you could try experiment with board dimensions and wheel size to make it more similar to your thunder setup on paper.

Wisdom from SLAP of Old: "If you are trying to make X skate like Y, just ride Y and be done with it."

[Ok]

i don’t skate ace trucks very often, because of my pop problems.
moving the popping foot, closer to the trucks, and away from the tip of nose/tail.
the best pop
i’ve gotten with aces has been with 14” wb, and 54-56 wheels (big wheels imo). lots of folks go the other way, riding boards with a longer wb. didn’t work for me.
ace classic 55s pop better than the rest, but are large and in charge.
most ace setups feel pretty dead to me. but the few i had with tight wb and big wheels popped really good. super well actually.
i can’t remember why i quit them, most likely didn’t like how it looked. that’s been the downfall of many a setup that worked well for me

[bluedohdohs]

Dude yeah that cut out round the board looks sick meticulous but sick
I def feel it with shoes although honestly I really liked the lynxs, kinda bummed me out cause i was really about them and then couldn’t find em anywhere lol
I think they have some now but I was skating the Sablones I got a pair of 933s I’ve only had one session and they felt wild but i also had  the new bushings as well as the 53mm lock in fulls i had just put in so that could’ve been it but i was landing alot of kick flips and heelflips and a couple ugly ass tre flips but honestly felt alright considering i still feel a lil rusty but i landed primo like 3 times i think and didnt feel shit so that was cool lol wacked the hell out my ankle right before the lights shut off though lol
Funny thing today though I was driving and noticed some doh dohs tucked in my seat i got for some kids at the diy and realized they were the blue cones lol I’m gonna try em out next time i have an outdoor session which might be before another indoor session - to Richard

I left your one line here, mainly because that iceberg is so very big, even if you have only seen the tip of it so far.

In general though, I think people can go through it with anything, be it their deck, trucks, wheels, bearings, bushings, bolts and even grip, as well as shoes, pants, socks, caps, so you name it, it has surely been on someone's list at some point in time.

On my list when setting up a board more recently, basics always include a sticker under the trucks on the deck, wheel wells in the front, but also now scraping the edge graphic off all the way round, machining off the wheel graphics, messing with the bushings and that is only the beginning...

[swongolianbbq]

Punctuation batman

[Sedition]

Well, I hope this doesn't open a new rabbit hole. In addition to wanting to try 8.75 T-2s....I've also wanted to try 8.75 Slappys...so those are now on the way, too. 

[moonordie]

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

Can't be that guy since probably Aces are indeed fucking your pop.
My suggestion in one word: Lurpiv.

[AnimalChinaski79]

Expand Quote

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

[close]

Check out some yt Videos from Norman Woods. He rides ace and he doesn't seem to have problems with pop. I tried ace 44 once on mellow board with short wheelbase and didn't like it. Tried it on a longer wheelbase and it was much more manageable for me. Sometimes I wish I didn't sell my Aces but  too much gear only feeds the madness

Norman Woods has insane pop! 

[Rick Trapasso]

Expand Quote

Need someone to tell me that my Aces aren’t the reason my pop sucks lately. I love how Aces feel until I go to pop and flip my board, then it feels like I’m fighting my board somewhat vs how it just seems to “work” on Thunders

[close]

Can't be that guy since probably Aces are indeed fucking your pop.
My suggestion in one word: Lurpiv.

If i decide to try something else once I axle these 149 standards it would be lurpivs or Slappy's. Standard version of both. I had the OG "rheocast" lurpivs but got scared to keep riding them after I saw people's hangers snapping. I did enjoy my time on them though.

I've never owned a pair of Slappy's.

Both of them being smaller skater owned companies appeals to me too. And Sinclair is an east Coast dude which is an added bonus.

Lurpivs marketing has a cool aesthetic too imo, for whatever that is worth haha. I feel like the footage I see from the lurpiv riders has been sick as well. The slappy video didn't really hype me up that much iirc.

[rikki]

As I've mentioned here before, I've grown to enjoy Indy 149 Standards in the past months and experienced the least truck madness in a long while. And, as many pals have voiced out, they really feel like trucks with a lot of mojo for a wide variety of skateboarding. In a nutshell: I really do not have a lot of reasons to skate other trucks at the moment.

Well, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just regripped my deck and... swapped the 149 Standards for an old pair of 149 Titaniums, to be skated during the weekend.

Why? Well, I guess I just gotta know. Once again. My brain's ROM doesn't provide solid info about the Titaniums from the past that could be adequately calibrated into my skating of today. Let it be known that I have skated the Titaniums a whole lot in the past and there must be a reason I've swapped them away. So here I go again.

Will there be a difference? Will I feel a sudden satori moment? Will my pop feel lighter but still adequately mojo'd? Or will I experience ASS five minutes into the session? Why am doing this to myself?

I guess we're all on the spectrum somehow.

[swongolianbbq]

Yo, I was all hyped on switching to 14" wb from 14.25"

But then I read about how it might be the same exact mold, just with more "fingers of flat"

That kinda bums me out, I figured it would just be shorter in the middle for some reason silly me

I guess if 14.25 is most common the molds for 8.25" are probably based around that, and getting 8.25 x 14" decks would just be a regular one but with the holes drilled slightly inward

I like shorter overall boards though and I really want to learn inward heels with my shortass legs.. and maybe I'll like it having less ramp and more flat on the kicks who knows but it doesn't make the shape of the concave any more comfortable for me

Bummed I sold my 3 spare baker OG mellow 8.25s and an extra easy rider oval

Cause I might like flatter concave

I just wanted to get my legs closer together cause I feel like my legs look like this - /\

And I see folks way taller than me skating 14.25 wb decks and the proportions with their long ass body makes the board look really easy to throw around

Anyways. Sad that it doesn't seem to be a different mold/proportions and most likely just holes in a different spot.

I skate BBS decks, can anyone confirm what I'm talking about here?

Was interested in the 8.25" x 14" generator blanks, Real easy rider, the occasional Sci-Fi, Hardbody basalt... I know primitive makes em too

If the concave and everything is exactly the same as the 8.25" by 14.25", just with the holes drilled inward 1/8" on either side, I may as well just keep skating 14.25s

I don't want to try a real true fit mold or something and always have to strictly try and find those boards especially travelling

[Slave IV]

2 decks that are the same except one shorter in the middle (wb) means that one would also have more fingers of flat.

[swongolianbbq]

2 decks that are the same except one shorter in the middle (wb) means that one would also have more fingers of flat.

I mean like the exact same shape of kicks, concave, fingers of flat, but imagine just slicing out 1/4" from the middle of the board and putting it back together

[Slave IV]

Expand Quote

2 decks that are the same except one shorter in the middle (wb) means that one would also have more fingers of flat.

[close]

I mean like the exact same shape of kicks, concave, fingers of flat, but imagine just slicing out 1/4" from the middle of the board and putting it back together

Yeah, but then that board would be shorter overall, obviously.

[swongolianbbq]

That's what I want lol

31.5" length would be dope

It seems weird to me to take a standard 8.25 and drill the holes in an 1/8" on either side, and cut a little off the kicks to make them the same exact length, but the spot where the concave ends before the kicks begin is still in the same spot as it would be on a standard 8.25

Hopefully that's not the case, I guess I'll get an 8.25 x 14 BBS blank and try it side by side with my 14.25 one, only way to really know what's going on. I was hoping someone on here had like a Primitive or Hardbody 8.25 short they could compare to a GX, SciFi, Heated Wheel, etc 8.25 standard

I bet I would really like the dlx true fit molds, which place the concave and kick tapers in the same spots as they would be on their standard shapes, just a shorter board

I'm wary of getting consistent on something that might not be consistently available

An 8.25 just drilled for 14" wb isn't going to make me magically better at skating and I have a stack of 14.25" decks right now anyways

I was just hoping it would be worth it to search for 14" boards... but if the concave and kick taper is in the same spot as a 14.25 it isn't worth it to me, and will affect pop timing and shit too

Looks like there's nothing left for me to pick at, and I just need to start doing yoga and eating right cause I clearly can't blame my setup being 1/4" too long on why I can't inward heel 😆

[Slave IV]

That's what I want lol

31.5" length would be dope

It seems weird to me to take a standard 8.25 and drill the holes in an 1/8" on either side, and cut a little off the kicks to make them the same exact length, but the spot where the concave ends before the kicks begin is still in the same spot as it would be on a standard 8.25

Hopefully that's not the case, I guess I'll get an 8.25 x 14 BBS blank and try it side by side with my 14.25 one, only way to really know what's going on. I was hoping someone on here had like a Primitive or Hardbody 8.25 short they could compare to a GX, SciFi, Heated Wheel, etc 8.25 standard

I bet I would really like the dlx true fit molds, which place the concave and kick tapers in the same spots as they would be on their standard shapes, just a shorter board

I'm wary of getting consistent on something that might not be consistently available

I get you and not sure of the answer other than if that's how they did it, main reason I could guess at is it's cheaper and easier for them that way. Which isn't the right reason.

[swongolianbbq]

Leg-lengthening surgery incoming

I wish I could just commit to running 139s and 51mm wheels but it ruins the whole ATV-aspect of my setup

There's an old clip of Jerry Hsu skating a grey eagle (14.38" wb) at a bank spot

That should really put into perspective that my technique is the problem not the board cause Jerry's like 5'4" right? I know spanky is like the same height as well. I think I just need to give up on trying to tweak my setup

[Ok]

the only nollie hard flips i ever landed were on the clyde 23 board, and a shills world board, both very short. i think the clyde was sub 31.
shorter boards can help for some of those.
funny i used to kind of have an idea for inward heelflips. now, clueless. i’m real comfy chucking and posing fakie/nollie inwards, putting em down is something different.

in general ive enjoyed boards with more fingers of flat. the rallity is i’m not sure how much it helped my skating, the last fingers of flat setup i tried (olive
eagle with v8s) had nooooooo pop. for me.
but fingers of flat looks accurate, pleasant to me. skated a lot of short boards that i liked too.

the cautious but.
when i’ve gotten into the weeds chasing dimensions, i have gotten really fucked up. like i’ve had setups i could ollie well at all, and i thought i was going to be a switch tre king, based off of specs.
and one of my all time favorite shapes ever (griffin gass shape) i tried just because i was bored and thought it was silly with a crazy long wb, and then it was the tits. my legs were spread out tho. ayyyye.

[swongolianbbq]

I feel that, thanks for sharing

I definitely can flick a perfect fakie inward heel, I just don't have the balls to jump on it. Never landed one. Easier to learn fakie than regular for sure. I don't think the board being literally only 1/4" shorter is gonna change anything. Magic carpeting 139s with smaller wheels might though but I just can't get down with the small trucks for most of what I like to do. I don't wanna have a buncha different setups like a damn ski quiver or something. Don't have the time space or money

I think I need to try a baker 8.25 OG again, something about the pointy kicks makes the board feel lighter and more manageable. If I'm ever gonna get switch 360 flips back(last time I had them consistently down was ~2006), it'll probably be on one of those.

I think I'm officially giving up on the board dimension madness after learning how the whole fingers of flat/wheelbase drilling situation usually happens

Blue eagles, baker b16s, and pretty much anybody's BBS 8.25 should be perfectly fine for the rest of forever, I just need to take care of myself and try harder hahah

So I'm left back at my government-issue style board again

8.25 to 8.5 BBS, 14.25 wb
Indy standard 149s
52 to 54mm spitfire classics