Unpopular Gear Opinion Thread 2026

[Richard Skidder]

148/144/5.6 is the way to go on 8.1/8.125. Especially if you’re riding Indy standards- way less tippy feeling. The outer edge of the wheel still sits just under the width of the deck with classics and just a hair short of even on conical wide.

[camel filters]

Thunder doesn't deserve the hate they get.
I can see hating them if someone is a bowl skater, but they're fine for street skating and doing a bit of coping dancing on mini ramps. Some people act like the kingpin sticking out 1mm more is devastating, but I've seen dudes who ride Thunders popping 5-0s and crooks left and right.

I also don't believe the kingpin clearance hype either but 5-0s and crooks are the last tricks you would do to test kingpin clearance. They are tricks that are 100% hanger and 0 dependency on kingpin unless I've been doing them completely wrong...

[SwitchBenihana]

It's more than 1mm. I don't hate Thunder they're just not aesthetically pleasing and not my favorite right now. Skate gear doesn't have to be love/hate. There is no winner just what you're into at the moment or have found to be the best compromise. I skated Thunder on and off for a decade but have no real desire to skate them right now.

[HyperBeam]

That's fine dude, nobody's putting a gun to your head. i'm just saying that sometimes people (myself included) skate trucks primarily because they are "aesthetically pleasing" and for other reasons not strictly related to, and possibly even adverse to, the quality of their skating. this is demonstrated ad nauseam in the gear madness thread where people are constantly trying to balance what they want to skate with what they actually like skating.

it's a real phenomenon. people deep down know what they like skating but turn away from it for superficial reasons. if that's not you, that's okay. but people who are in denial about it often say very similar things to what you are saying ("there is no best" "it's subjective" "stop comparing").

i'm just here to testify to others and encourage people who have similar experiences to get off the truck treadmill and just skate the best truck in existence the THUNDER T1

[camel filters]

Thunders are very stable and great trucks to consistently pop off of. I am just way to clumsy and landing even slightly off center means I'm tick tacking away or just tipping off. Surfier trucks I can kinda turn out of imperfect landings. That could be just me tho.

[Llewellyn Moss]

Thunders are very stable and great trucks to consistently pop off of. I am just way to clumsy and landing even slightly off center means I'm tick tacking away or just tipping off. Surfier trucks I can kinda turn out of imperfect landings. That could be just me tho.

Wow. I didn't realize until you said it, that, landing say, in a dorsiflexed foot position, a deck on Indy or Ace should have more give, thereby being potentially safer during awkward landings so your feet are less likely to curve too far upward /downward resulting in injury. Or... maybe I have it backwards. Wouldn't a tighter Venture/Thunder setup have less give, so they'd stiffen more, comparatively, and the deck flexes at less of an angle on hard/awkward landings, so your feet wouldn't bend at the ankle as much.

Huh. I have something new to think about seems every day I check Slap.

[Sandwich Marty]

Thunders are very stable and great trucks to consistently pop off of. I am just way to clumsy and landing even slightly off center means I'm tick tacking away or just tipping off. Surfier trucks I can kinda turn out of imperfect landings. That could be just me tho.

You essentially trade a stable approach for a more demanding rollaway with Thunders. I still haven’t figured out which is more important to me. Nothing worse than your trucks causing you to bail after landing because they don’t carve deep enough though.

[HyperBeam]

it's only more demanding if you are barely hanging on to a landing. but if you land with any sort of balance, thunder stability will actually help you land cleaner and with more power/momentum.

why would you subordinate your entire setup to anticipate/accommodate landing off balance and eking out a trick?

[Obijuan91]

The thing with thunder is you gotta be on point, they make things easier but also you gotta be on point. Cant stress that enough. I have a chronic injury which when flares my balance and everything’s all over the place and that’s usually about the time where I’m like “uh thunders are starting to feel funky to me again.” My unpopular opinion is I think I do love thunders and their team and vibe and all but you have to be coordinated to make the most of em.

[swongolianbbq]

Expand Quote

Thunders are very stable and great trucks to consistently pop off of. I am just way to clumsy and landing even slightly off center means I'm tick tacking away or just tipping off. Surfier trucks I can kinda turn out of imperfect landings. That could be just me tho.

[close]

Wow. I didn't realize until you said it, that, landing say, in a dorsiflexed foot position, a deck on Indy or Ace should have more give, thereby being potentially safer during awkward landings so your feet are less likely to curve too far upward /downward resulting in injury. Or... maybe I have it backwards. Wouldn't a tighter Venture/Thunder setup have less give, so they'd stiffen more, comparatively, and the deck flexes at less of an angle on hard/awkward landings, so your feet wouldn't bend at the ankle as much.

Huh. I have something new to think about seems every day I check Slap.

Lol, fuck

I can see the YouTube video now

"This truck saves you from hot pockets!!!"

Anyways to be in line with this thread,

I don't think the baseplate design on thunders is a drawback

When your nose or tail is actually flat on top of the ledge, the wheels don't always drag the way people say they do, and the baseplates on my thunders were always fully gouged up

And the thing about Thunder people always waxing everything

The area below the ledge where the wheels might contact is where I would always wax it with thunders... and it literally doesn't affect anybody. I'm not waxing the actual point of contact, more like 2 inches below it on the wall part

I think having the wheels and baseplate all connecting with the ledge might make it easier to feel locked in and set up for a flip out, but people that say, bluntslide round handrails might really like the indy baseplate slide

Changing the thunder baseplate to be more like the other trucks would be a step in the wrong direction, imo. People just noticed it and it became a thing to complain about but it doesn't seem to cause any problems for anyone on their team

Its probably the most contemporary street truck design. I do wish they had different bushings though. Like @Mbrimson88 has said before, you can always make a lower truck higher, but not the other way around

Imo indys and aces really start to shine at 8.75" axle but depending on what board you're on, stg 11 149s/classic 44s/af1 44s & 55s are really good feeling trucks.

[camel filters]

it's only more demanding if you are barely hanging on to a landing. but if you land with any sort of balance, thunder stability will actually help you land cleaner and with more power/momentum.

why would you subordinate your entire setup to anticipate/accommodate landing off balance and eking out a trick?

I mean I just go off of feeling. And those who are performance over everything else should definitely choose something like a thunder. But being railroaded after rolling away just isn't a satisfying feeling. I don't know how else to say it. I know a turnier truck is harder but my trick landed ratio on my aces is high enough on them to not feel limiting. It is worth it to say, I use an ace hard bottom bushing with stock uppers and that's the perfect amount of stableness to turn for me.