Low Trucks vs High Trucks Debate

[CREATURE of the STREETS]

How do you do fellow kids, I've been facing a problem with my set-up for a while now. basically, I've been skating almost everyday for a year and a half. I skate street, (flat-bars , ledges, Manny pads, banks, sometimes stairs.) basically for the past year or so I've been constantly switching between thunders and Indy's and its driving me mad. I have a pair of Indy 149 standards that I skate most of the time. I also got some old beat up thunder 148s for free one time so I've been riding those too. I'm riding an 8.25 frog deck right now with a 14.25 wheelbase. ring now I've got that paired with Indy's and some rails with formula 4 og classic 54 mm wheels. the thing is, this setup is HEAVY AS SHIT. I like skating it most of the time but the problem is that I cant decide weather to skate thunders or Indy's cuz I don't have bushings for my thunders. I cant do shit when it comes to grinds with indys. as soon as I ride someone elses board with thunders, my grinds get 20x better.


IDK what to do if I should switch back to thunders or not,

[munchbox]

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[Rick Trapasso]

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

Are you saying that taller skaters benefit from lower trucks because it helps reduce their already high center of gravity?

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

Venture is the answer…

[stormbringer]

wild thread

[munchbox]

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my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[close]

Are you saying that taller skaters benefit from lower trucks because it helps reduce their already high center of gravity?

it would feel like it
not going to put on a lab coat but that sounds logical
ive done my best skating on trucks 52mm and under

closer to the ground is more stable imo

[skateboarder4life]

truck height should size up with the board IMO

[BeachChicken]

I don't feel this is a debate anyone is having. Some of the most tech skaters on earth skate Indy Cast. Some also skate Thunder forged. Some people prefer a faster pop but it's super individual and there is always trade-offs.

[Fifty8mm]

Thunders are the best trucks with the most boring marketing and image. If you feel good on thunders and don't mind them, they're the best all around.

But i would base which trucks I'm riding on the steepness of nose and tail.

Steep=indy
Mellower=thunder
Mellowest=venture

I don't mess around with ace.

[TreyPhillip]

truck height should size up with the board IMO

I just started imagining every size truck being a different height and it wasn’t very fun to conceptualize

[camel filters]

I have a feeling there's a correlation between inseam sizes and truck height but I have no idea how to prove it. But it makes sense to me, longer legs, the more room you would want to extend the popping leg before contact with the ground. WB and wheel size variances can alter the effect of the truck height also.

[moonordie]

Pls stop with all these Reedit style kind of threads.

[Sila]

I have a feeling there's a correlation between inseam sizes and truck height but I have no idea how to prove it. But it makes sense to me, longer legs, the more room you would want to extend the popping leg before contact with the ground. WB and wheel size variances can alter the effect of the truck height also.

Just when I thought all facets of madness had been exhausted, Slap comes to the rescue with an uncut gem.

[back smith]

Expand Quote

I have a feeling there's a correlation between inseam sizes and truck height but I have no idea how to prove it. But it makes sense to me, longer legs, the more room you would want to extend the popping leg before contact with the ground. WB and wheel size variances can alter the effect of the truck height also.

[close]

Just when I thought all facets of madness has been exhausted, Slap comes to the rescue with an uncut gem.

It's not a new idea, Schmitt talked about it on the Nine Club.. And not really the madness either, because it doesn't change post puberty and you can't go back and forth like with say trucks. Sure you can buy pants with a different number printed on them but..

[Rick Trapasso]

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my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[close]

Are you saying that taller skaters benefit from lower trucks because it helps reduce their already high center of gravity?

[close]

it would feel like it
not going to put on a lab coat but that sounds logical
ive done my best skating on trucks 52mm and under

closer to the ground is more stable imo

Gotcha. I was just trying to clarify what your point was.

I'm 6' 4" so it piqued my interest lol.

Currently on 52mm tall thunders, so you might be onto something.

[roba]

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I have a feeling there's a correlation between inseam sizes and truck height but I have no idea how to prove it. But it makes sense to me, longer legs, the more room you would want to extend the popping leg before contact with the ground. WB and wheel size variances can alter the effect of the truck height also.

[close]

Just when I thought all facets of madness has been exhausted, Slap comes to the rescue with an uncut gem.

[close]

It's not a new idea, Schmitt talked about it on the Nine Club.. And not really the madness either, because it doesn't change post puberty and you can't go back and forth like with say trucks. Sure you can buy pants with a different number printed on them but..

fuck schmitt, this is camel filters' idea from now on

[skateboarder4life]

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

but if you were going to scale a skateboard size up in proportion to your size then the trucks would get higher

[Rick Trapasso]

I have a feeling there's a correlation between inseam sizes and truck height but I have no idea how to prove it. But it makes sense to me, longer legs, the more room you would want to extend the popping leg before contact with the ground. WB and wheel size variances can alter the effect of the truck height also.

Yea, I've always considered this as a tall guy. But I feel wonky on tall trucks.

I do like a longer wb, and bigger wheels though.

[camel filters]

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Expand Quote

I have a feeling there's a correlation between inseam sizes and truck height but I have no idea how to prove it. But it makes sense to me, longer legs, the more room you would want to extend the popping leg before contact with the ground. WB and wheel size variances can alter the effect of the truck height also.

[close]

Just when I thought all facets of madness has been exhausted, Slap comes to the rescue with an uncut gem.

[close]

It's not a new idea, Schmitt talked about it on the Nine Club.. And not really the madness either, because it doesn't change post puberty and you can't go back and forth like with say trucks. Sure you can buy pants with a different number printed on them but..

[close]

fuck schmitt, this is camel filters' idea from now on

The rallity of the situation is, I've kickflipped more recently/at all than the Prof. So yes i will take the credit 

[Goggzy60]

I run lows on flat/jumping setups and highs for set ups built to grind or skate bowls.

[rawbertson.]

definitely "questions that dont deserve their own thread" or "Gear madness thread"...

both have advantages and disadvantages as others have pointed out.

High = more pop, less wheelbite
Low = more stable, quicker snap (works better for certain types of tricks & i would argue its easier to time)

notice that most trucks now are in what i'd call in the "Mid" range (52-53mm)
Thunders are mostly in this range
Ace and Venture are mostly in this range (except the lows obviously)
Indy also offers a mid

So really just the new brands Slappy and Lurpiv don't offer anything in the mid range and that is likely because they are trying to appeal to a very specific niche of skater (im guessing slappy = curb skating and lurpiv was more meant for transition skating)

[backside_frontside]

Skated Venture hi and lo. There isn't much of a difference. Sure it's noticeable at first, but after a couple sessions you get used to it. Also the difference in height is a few millimeters

[munchbox]

Expand Quote

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[close]

but if you were going to scale a skateboard size up in proportion to your size then the trucks would get higher

i really can only speak from my experience here
but scaling up has always worked backwards for me
the boards got bigger and the trucks got lower

skating 8.38s with 54 spits and standard indys
was akin to houdini walking a tightrope
my head is already meters off the ground
and being closer to it feels right to me

as i said before
i dont care to put on a lab coat
and engrave that into a stone tablet
because if indy was paying me well
i probably would just skate those
probably

[skateboarder4life]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[close]

but if you were going to scale a skateboard size up in proportion to your size then the trucks would get higher

[close]

i really can only speak from my experience here
but scaling up has always worked backwards for me
the boards got bigger and the trucks got lower

skating 8.38s with 54 spits and standard indys
was akin to houdini walking a tightrope
my head is already meters off the ground
and being closer to it feels right to me

as i said before
i dont care to put on a lab coat
and engrave that into a stone tablet
because if indy was paying me well
i probably would just skate those
probably

how tall are you? just curious

i agree feels better for stability being lower to the ground. but i've always had to go higher on bigger boards to avoid wheelbite because otherwise the same wheel size on wider trucks will bite just due to the physics of having wider trucks

[munchbox]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[close]

but if you were going to scale a skateboard size up in proportion to your size then the trucks would get higher

[close]

i really can only speak from my experience here
but scaling up has always worked backwards for me
the boards got bigger and the trucks got lower

skating 8.38s with 54 spits and standard indys
was akin to houdini walking a tightrope
my head is already meters off the ground
and being closer to it feels right to me

as i said before
i dont care to put on a lab coat
and engrave that into a stone tablet
because if indy was paying me well
i probably would just skate those
probably

[close]

how tall are you? just curious

i agree feels better for stability being lower to the ground. but i've always had to go higher on bigger boards to avoid wheelbite because otherwise the same wheel size on wider trucks will bite just due to the physics of having wider trucks

6’6 no shoes

[skateboarder4life]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

my center of gravity is where most skaters heads are
lower trucks are a necessity for me

[close]

but if you were going to scale a skateboard size up in proportion to your size then the trucks would get higher

[close]

i really can only speak from my experience here
but scaling up has always worked backwards for me
the boards got bigger and the trucks got lower

skating 8.38s with 54 spits and standard indys
was akin to houdini walking a tightrope
my head is already meters off the ground
and being closer to it feels right to me

as i said before
i dont care to put on a lab coat
and engrave that into a stone tablet
because if indy was paying me well
i probably would just skate those
probably

[close]

how tall are you? just curious

i agree feels better for stability being lower to the ground. but i've always had to go higher on bigger boards to avoid wheelbite because otherwise the same wheel size on wider trucks will bite just due to the physics of having wider trucks

[close]

6’6 no shoes

impressive! 6'4 here. usually ride a 9" deck with indys and a 1/8 riser but when i rode a 10" with the same size wheels i have to use a 1/4" riser to avoid wheelbite. felt high at first but got used to it pretty quickly and then it ended up making the board look proportionally normal. i'd love to be lower even on the 9 but i'd have to keep the trucks too tight or deal with massive wheelbite

can i ask what your normal set up is?

[Big Brother]

what even is "low" anymore?

[BeachChicken]

6 foot 3 here, but only a 30.5 inseam and size 10 shoes so shit is real weird. I will say that 14.25 is the absolute shortest WB I can make feel like I'm not constantly tipping forward or backwards when skating faster than snail's pace.

[Unkle Fleak]

You need venture v8s. And I know what you’re thinking. I don’t like venture trucks.  I’m telling you right now. It’s a totally different ball game from the nineties. Lifers step on my board and are mind blown by the stability but while still having an excellent turn at all tightnesses. They go THIS IS A VENTURE?!?
Now with the changeable wheelbase you can get all the benefits and chill your pop feel on both ends with a slight adjustment.

[Fooj]

This really all comes down to how steep the deck angle is when the tail pops.

Having the correct pairing of tail steepness/length with truck height/wheelbase will dictate if the angle is too high=heavy, ghost pop, or too low=feels dead.

Standard indys are really tall, the relatively shorter indy WB will help a bit, but you need a longer tail to avoid a steep pop angle which creates ghost pop/heavy feeling.  Forged thunders or venture lows have extended WBs but are so low that you can get away with a 6.5 tail.

As was mentioned above, im a big fan of 52-53 mm trucks, i feel like they can usually go with most tail lengths(6.5-6.8").
 OP might want to try hollow forged indys or team thunders