Gear madness support thread

[Richard Skidder]

At a recent contest in my area I noticed that most people were on big wide wheels. I would say worn in 56mm. I’m considering stepping it up from 54 conical to 56 conical wide. Most of my best skating has been on 54s. Really want to try 56 again but I’m not really sure. I’m into getting my flat ground back. These guys had no problem flipping their boards on these bigger, wider wheels. Like I said though, they were all pretty worn in. Is it like trucks where they feel better once they get to a certain wear point? I want to change out wheels less often but not sure if I’m ready to commit to more awkward sessions at the moment.
Wheel madness has returned.

[SwitchBenihana]

That's just a trend, there is no advantage if you do normal skating of any kind and do not skate crust. It doesn't make any flips, grinds, slides, or basic transition skating any better unless you like a really hefty pop and a ton of drag while sliding. I will say it feels kinda fun for skating curbs you can just mash onto anything.

[The Huffer]

I think my madness is less madness and more consumer therapy. I love skateboards and love buying skate gear but my pile is stupidly big  (for me, no judging anyone else) at this point. I had to prematurely get get new tires for my car today so do I really need to try a DBX deck to satisfy my curiosity and make me feel good for an hour or two? No. No I do not.

Now if they release a DBX Huffer, I could be fucked....

[Sandwich Marty]

I think my madness is less madness and more consumer therapy. I love skateboards and love buying skate gear but my pile is stupidly big  (for me, no judging anyone else) at this point. I had to prematurely get get new tires for my car today so do I really need to try a DBX deck to satisfy my curiosity and make me feel good for an hour or two? No. No I do not.

Now if they release a DBX Huffer, I could be fucked....

Buying new car tires to ensure safety and performance: 🫩
Buying new skate wheels you don’t need: 😍

[The Huffer]

Yeah. Car tires really don't get me excited...

But a twin tail Bobby Worrest 8.75" sure as hell does.

[SwitchBenihana]

Unless your car tires are fucked or you have a special application most people won't notice shit from a tire change in normal conditions. Change your gear and you can at least immediately feel it. Far cheaper. I've got friends that have gone down the supplement rabbit hole and time and time again the 100's/1000's that they have spent is a placebo whereas gear differences are usually very real. Maybe placebo on impact on abilities but that is a different convo.

[Jort250]

The other day I bought a new set of Thunders as my current trucks are likely going to hit axle in the next couple months. Weirdly enough with all the truck options out there, I didn’t think this one too hard as I just grabbed the solid IKPs in the same size (8”) that I’m currently using. Not sure if anyone relates but with all the new options out there that I can’t keep up with (Slappy, Ace, Tensor, Lurpiv) out there I feel like some part of my madness has been cured ha and I’ve just gone back to my baseline that works

Back to the madness though, I’m happy with my Bones STF V3s but I could jump ship to that X Formula if they ever make those in a slim..

[rocklobster]

I think my madness is less madness and more consumer therapy. I love skateboards and love buying skate gear but my pile is stupidly big  (for me, no judging anyone else) at this point.

[SwitchBenihana]

The other day I bought a new set of Thunders as my current trucks are likely going to hit axle in the next couple months. Weirdly enough with all the truck options out there, I didn’t think this one too hard as I just grabbed the solid IKPs in the same size (8”) that I’m currently using. Not sure if anyone relates but with all the new options out there that I can’t keep up with (Slappy, Ace, Tensor, Lurpiv) out there I feel like some part of my madness has been cured ha and I’ve just gone back to my baseline that works

Back to the madness though, I’m happy with my Bones STF V3s but I could jump ship to that X Formula if they ever make those in a slim..

Even if you could try all of those how do you think any of them will solve every possible problem you know? It's not possible and easier to default to what you're used to and have accepted the shortcomings of.

I feel in skateboarding people want really hard to dislike certain products and brands like Indy and I wasn't psyched on them for a while so I sampled the field. All of the options were really fun, but just didn't end up being better overall. I've realized I like a more turn oriented truck so an Indy, AF1, or T2 over a Thunder T1 or Venture. I've always hated forged variants and while Royals were pretty damn nice for what they are I didn't feel those or Slappy were really distinct enough and the riding experience was kinda forgettable.

[Sandwich Marty]

I feel in skateboarding people want really hard to dislike certain products and brands like Indy and I wasn't psyched on them for a while so I sampled the field. All of the options were really fun, but just didn't end up being better overall. I've realized I like a more turn oriented truck so an Indy, AF1, or T2 over a Thunder T1 or Venture. I've always hated forged variants and while Royals were pretty damn nice for what they are I didn't feel those or Slappy were really distinct enough and the riding experience was kinda forgettable.

Same. When I went back to Thunder I felt more stable & my flip tricks got like 20% more consistent, which is nice, but I was giving up so much freedom of movement for an aspect of skating that doesn’t even really interest me much anymore. Being able to move freely on my board and swerve around quickly makes me feel more alive than landing any technical trick ever will.

Plus I know I’m gonna get comfortable on any truck and be able to do the same tricks if I just stay on them longer than a couple of months, so why not pick the ones that feel the most fun to just ride around on? 

[The Huffer]

Buncha Daniel Gesmers around here and I like it.

[swongolianbbq]

Madness has been at bay for the longest time in a while

Could this be the end

Been real pleased with my setup

Indy 144 standard + spitfire F4 classic 53/54mm

Board can be whatever as long as it's not long as fuck, I can get used to it the same way I get used to shoes

But that truck and wheel combo, the weight, the way it flips and grinds and turns and slides and stuff, that's like the soul of it for sure

The standards feel better for me on rough ground, absorbing road vibration, and for grinds. and I think the weight makes it flip more in a way I like, I like more feedback catching tricks without having to wear paper thin shoes, being able to throw my board into stuff and know it's gonna keep going and not get as knocked around. Sounds better on grinds too.

F4 classic 53s are just my favorite wheel ever, and I got the 93a joints in 54mm for crusty streets and that's been working out great.

Gotta have the shields popped and I gotta swap in an all-black bones top bushing for the stock Indy tops and that's really it as far as fucking with it

All black grip, all black Allen bolts for sure

Sticker on the nose

I wish I could send this board through time to my 18 year old self

[Mbrimson88]

I wish I could send this board through time to my 18 year old self

This!!!

I often wonder if I would have even really known the difference back then, or been able to skate better (or worse) on one of my very specific setups I have these days.

It was well over thirty years ago and I was skating random sub 8" boards mostly from the blank bin at the local shop or second hand team rider boards, lightly used team rider trucks from guys I know in the local area, whatever other stuff I could get my hands on at the time, etc.

Things might have been a lot more simple back then too, but any which way, not really knowing too much about gear might have been pretty good, considering how deep I am in now.

All that said, I know what works, what might work and what just doesn't feel so good, so I don't think I have it half as bad as some others I skate with too, who are very much still trying to find that ideal setup or are going crazy when their gear doesn't quite match their expectations.

[swongolianbbq]

Expand Quote

I wish I could send this board through time to my 18 year old self

[close]

This!!!

I often wonder if I would have even really known the difference back then, or been able to skate better (or worse) on one of my very specific setups I have these days.

It was well over thirty years ago and I was skating random sub 8" boards mostly from the blank bin at the local shop or second hand team rider boards, lightly used team rider trucks from guys I know in the local area, whatever other stuff I could get my hands on at the time, etc.

Things might have been a lot more simple back then too, but any which way, not really knowing too much about gear might have been pretty good, considering how deep I am in now.

All that said, I know what works, what might work and what just doesn't feel so good, so I don't think I have it half as bad as some others I skate with too, who are very much still trying to find that ideal setup or are going crazy when their gear doesn't quite match their expectations.

It's crazy right?

I had no idea what wheelbase was, I think that was fuckin me up the most - I didn't know why I skated real good on some boards, and other boards were such a chore to flip.

[moonordie]

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

[swongolianbbq]

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

I went from back to back 54 classics for a long time, to trying a bunch of shit. 54, 56, and 58 radials, 54 conical fulls, 56 conicals, 54 bigheads, 54 OG classics, 52, 56, 58, and 60 classics....

And I'm back to 54 classics. Really I'm all about 53 classics but they're pretty much the same wheel as the 54. The 53s are *perfect* though


Tho my shit did look dope with 149s and 58 radials & 56 classics



And I should mention that no matter how "cured" I think I am

There's a worm that lives in my brain that wants venture lows

Historically the terrain has not been super smooth around me though, Montana, Michigan, Alaska...

And the venture worm wants smaller than 53s

[Jort250]

Expand Quote

The other day I bought a new set of Thunders as my current trucks are likely going to hit axle in the next couple months. Weirdly enough with all the truck options out there, I didn’t think this one too hard as I just grabbed the solid IKPs in the same size (8”) that I’m currently using. Not sure if anyone relates but with all the new options out there that I can’t keep up with (Slappy, Ace, Tensor, Lurpiv) out there I feel like some part of my madness has been cured ha and I’ve just gone back to my baseline that works

Back to the madness though, I’m happy with my Bones STF V3s but I could jump ship to that X Formula if they ever make those in a slim..

[close]

Even if you could try all of those how do you think any of them will solve every possible problem you know? It's not possible and easier to default to what you're used to and have accepted the shortcomings of.

I feel in skateboarding people want really hard to dislike certain products and brands like Indy and I wasn't psyched on them for a while so I sampled the field. All of the options were really fun, but just didn't end up being better overall. I've realized I like a more turn oriented truck so an Indy, AF1, or T2 over a Thunder T1 or Venture. I've always hated forged variants and while Royals were pretty damn nice for what they are I didn't feel those or Slappy were really distinct enough and the riding experience was kinda forgettable.

Yeah that’s where I’m at right now. IMO Indy trucks tend to be more fun/balanced at 8.25 and up so those are out and Ventures aren’t really my thing so it essentially becomes one choice (Thunder 147 solids) by default. Things might be different if I was aiming for more out of my skating right now but I’m comfortable with my current bag of tricks and am not going for any longest grind records or entering SKATE contests etc. That being said, I’ll have a bad day in a few weeks and probably be right back here saying whatever I’m riding isn’t my thing and be asking for recommendations

Expand Quote

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

[close]

And I should mention that no matter how "cured" I think I am

There's a worm that lives in my brain that wants venture lows

Historically the terrain has not been super smooth around me though, Montana, Michigan, Alaska...

And the venture worm wants smaller than 53s

What does it about the Venture Lows for you? I’m on those right now. I don’t hate but I don’t love them.

[codswallop]

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

FINISH HIM

[Mbrimson88]

Expand Quote

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

[close]

And I should mention that no matter how "cured" I think I am

There's a worm that lives in my brain that wants venture lows

Historically the terrain has not been super smooth around me though, Montana, Michigan, Alaska...

And the venture worm wants smaller than 53s

What does it about the Venture Lows for you? I’m on those right now. I don’t hate but I don’t love them.

I wonder how many people might go through this if they don't have the brand or the product to skate, but then if they do finally get something, will it live up to expectations or maybe not be quite as good as they might have thought it was going to be.

This might be the madness in a nutshell, so I guess we are in the right thread, but to bring it down on the specific truck, Venture lows are a finely tuned tech truck, very low, very long wheelbase in the forged option, still fairly normal feeling in the regular cast option, but absolutely smaller wheels and often a little tighter / firmer feeling for bushings to make things work well.

I have a few sets on boards for people to try and even did a DIY V8 option on one set just to make them work on a smaller board with normal wheelbase, that they just didn't seem to work on for me - DLX 8.06 shape - which now works great with cast Venture lows and 50 mm wheels, but that is just one example.

Maybe more so for something to skate on nice smooth surfaces, definitely not crusty rough ground, but at our indoor park, with ledges, manny pad and flat bars, that board works very well.


Coming from taller trucks that I need to turn a lot more, it is almost the other end of the scale, but worth setting one up if you have the time and money to do so.  If it is too low, some people do put risers on their Venture low trucks too, which one guy said works for him depending on the board or the wheels he has on it, eg newer 54 mm wheels, adds risers, then as they wear down to 52 or so, he takes the risers off, but that could be a whole different version of madness...

I guess I just like having a number of setups for people to jump on and see how they work, so it is interesting to experiment with them in that regard.

[swongolianbbq]

They were my first trucks I ever had, they stabilize a smaller deck, best crook pinch, etc

[Chalupa]

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

I settled on an 8.25” with 148 T-II, and 56mm Radials, but am still deciding on grip and bearings. It’s between Pepper XG and Galaxy G5. For bearings, I’m still trying to decide between Swiss 6, Quantum Isotopes, and SKF, but I’m also considering buying SKF ceramics.

The madness is going to come back when I wear down the Radials and can’t get another set, but I’ll worry about it then. My flatground has gotten noticeably better since switching from Radial Full. I wonder why they have regular Radials in 93 every drop while there is only one or two releases of the 99 per year.

Madness costs a lot of money. I sold a bunch of decks and trucks at a fraction of what I paid for and gave away the rest. Even though I pissed away hundreds of dollars, I’m just glad that I won’t be taking three popsicle setups with me every time I go skate to try to figure out what I like best.

[Plan9Customs]

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

Probably will. I’m partial to 53s, but the classic shape is definitely the best all around wheel(imo).

[swongolianbbq]

It’s between Pepper XG and Galaxy G5. For bearings, I’m still trying to decide between Swiss 6, Quantum Isotopes, and SKF, but I’m also considering buying SKF ceramics.

I think about XG vs G5 too.

I feel like the XG works better with thicker shoes that have less board feel

I've been settled on swiss six for a long time, they're the shit

And pepper definitely seems like the best quality grip out

Expand Quote

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

[close]

Probably will. I’m partial to 53s, but the classic shape is definitely the best all around wheel(imo).

I feel exactly the same way

I'm keeping it 53 or 54 classics fo lifeeee

[surfjunior]

Just skated for like 4 and a half hours. Setup feels good, but I decided to remove the bones top bushing bcuz it was causing my kingpin nuts to back out. So im back to the stock indy bushings for the top and bottom with 2 threads showing.

Other than that im confident that ive finally have my setup sorted out. But ive been getting these thoughts to make a 90's style setup with an egg and tiny wheels. Idk why, im a zoomer and have never lived through that era. lol.

[swongolianbbq]

Just skated for like 4 and a half hours. Setup feels good, but I decided to remove the bones top bushing bcuz it was causing my kingpin nuts to back out. So im back to the stock indy bushings for the top and bottom with 2 threads showing.

Other than that im confident that ive finally have my setup sorted out. But ive been getting these thoughts to make a 90's style setup with an egg and tiny wheels. Idk why, im a zoomer and have never lived through that era. lol.

I'm about to build one, all I have so far is the wheels though (43mm spitfires)

I did notice my kingpin nuts backing out a little when I ran them looser, I'm probably just gonna put some loctite on there. If I run them a half turn tighter they weren't backing out at all but I had to loosen them up after watching the jkwon Jerry footage again hahah

I definitely feel like I shouldn't mess with my setup anymore, and my madness should be concentrated on building period correct boards from different eras that I missed.

[Sedition]

Expand Quote

Probably will. I’m partial to 53s, but the classic shape is definitely the best all around wheel(imo).

[close]

I feel exactly the same way

I'm keeping it 53 or 54 classics fo lifeeee

This is the correct answer for wheels. Hard stop.

[moonordie]

Expand Quote

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

[close]

FINISH HIM

[SwitchBenihana]

Expand Quote

Got a heavy madness episode which it finally got reduced only to wheels.
Everything else is perfectly sorted out.
I have the feeling that some 54mm classics will end it

[close]

I settled on an 8.25” with 148 T-II, and 56mm Radials, but am still deciding on grip and bearings. It’s between Pepper XG and Galaxy G5. For bearings, I’m still trying to decide between Swiss 6, Quantum Isotopes, and SKF, but I’m also considering buying SKF ceramics.

The madness is going to come back when I wear down the Radials and can’t get another set, but I’ll worry about it then. My flatground has gotten noticeably better since switching from Radial Full. I wonder why they have regular Radials in 93 every drop while there is only one or two releases of the 99 per year.

Madness costs a lot of money. I sold a bunch of decks and trucks at a fraction of what I paid for and gave away the rest. Even though I pissed away hundreds of dollars, I’m just glad that I won’t be taking three popsicle setups with me every time I go skate to try to figure out what I like best.

They constantly have radials they're just always in a generic graphic whereas some of the other shapes get more rider specific graphics. I used to only ride Radials for no real reason just had a set 8-9 years ago and stuck with em. Switched to Classics for a bit and those were great but they wear really fast the first 2mm so I always need them bigger than I want to ride for the first 4-6 weeks.

I thought I'd hate Conical Fulls but I'm actually really digging them. IMO wheels and bearings can't be a big enough difference to be first tier madness they're more just what kind of frosting do you want on your cake of insanity.

As for Pepper G5 on normal decks, XG on DBX so it wears into G5 and you don't need to re-grip. Speaking of DBX getting one has really helped my madness because I'm stuck with it long enough to stop caring about other stuff since I paid out the ass for it. Eventually it just becomes "my board" for better or worse. I hope more brands do em so I can support smaller companies more. Shit I'd buy a DBX shop deck.

[swongolianbbq]

I broke my DBX boards pretty quick

But then again I was trying to re-learn and learn new flip tricks and landing shitty

I've got two of the 8.3" x 14" wb twin tail powell flight decks right now and I'm really digging those, except for that I gotta blank off the corny graphic, but I like blanks anyway. BBS blanks or like, baker/antihero pretty much

I should probably put XG on the flights cause them sumbitches gonna last a long time and XG helps with random slippery basketball shoes

[moonordie]

Since I'm switching to classics 54mm I thought it was a good idea to show them setup side by side with radial full 54mm