After one week on my AF1 44's here's my observations:
- Once the bushings broke-in (this is key) the turn doesn't feel noticeably different nor does the pop (depending on the deck). Once the bushings broke-in they felt a little more stable at center than classics but still a bit more squirrely than Indy. I think the slight difference in stability is more attributable to the bushings and pivots than anything else.
- Bushings are great so far! They took me about 3 full days of skating to break-in. Thunder and Indy stock usually take me about 2 hours of skating. So yeah, a little more patience is required. You have to reserve judgment on these trucks until they break-in! I did not like them at all on day one. I normally like my trucks around medium-loose so I went with two quarter turns past flush on the front and three on the back truck. Super loose with a lot of wheelbite at first but once they broke-in I decided no more adjusting was necessary. I'm 6'0" and 185lbs if that helps. Bushings are staying strangely white too, unlike turning black almost instantly on classics. After break-in they re-center reasonably well too.
- Bushing muffining, didn't happen, at all. Always happened to me on classics. The bushings knew their place and made no escape attempts.
- Height/Wheelbase are almost exactly the same as where an Indy with forged baseplates would be. No, I didn't measure, I simply lined up the baseplate holes and eyeballed it. Might be a mm or two difference but it's negligible in my opinion. I didn't have any older classics anymore to compare, sorry.
- Weight is a little heavy. I didn't weigh them but since my other trucks are Indy Ti and Thunder Hollows I expected them to feel a bit heavier. The good news is when actually riding them I didn't really notice much difference at all. Just holding one in the hand I'd say it feels a bit lighter than a standard Indy and around the same as a Venture with cast plates and solid axles.
- The grind is definitely different. I'd put them somewhere between Thunder and Venture. Closer to Thunder at the park on metal coping and waxed ledges and a little more in-between the two on curbs and rougher surfaces. If you're coming from Indy you may have to go a bit faster depending on the surface. I like it though, very controlled and consistent and they don't wear down as fast as classics.
- The pivots seem okay. Mine are still quiet and intact with no signs of falling apart way too quickly. There is definitely something in them. Either some sort of oil or grease or something. It's not a lot but I noticed a black substance being pushed out onto the stem of the truck hanger after skating the first few times. I'm usually a Riptide pivot person as part of setting up new trucks but decided to give the stock a chance. If they go to shit or start squeaking I'll update.
- The axles are great! No more stacking washers etc so they don't stick out so far. I've ridden them with some quantum bearings and the stock washers as well as with some Bones race reds without washers and all four wheels spun great while tightening them down all the way. The edge of the aluminum hanger is definitely flush with the bearings so no issues there. As far as the "oversized to eliminate bearing wobble" axle thickness, I didn't notice anything different since I tighten things down. I guess that might help out those who leave some play in their wheels but I have no idea.
I'm riding them with the new Ace 1/8" risers and 56mm wheels. I also tried out the Ace 1/16" shock pads and unlike others they didn't squish out from underneath the baseplate and maintained their shape. My preferred riser these days are the Real 3 Ply wooden ones. If anyone tries out their "Universal" pattern with Ace please let me know how they fit. If I get some myself I'll update. I was able to use Shorty's 7/8" with the shock pad and just barely got Shorty's 1" to work with the regular riser pads. You may have to go up to 1 1/8" depending on the thickness of your wood (pun intended).
In Conclusion: The Ace AF1's will be replacing Indy on one of my cruisers, my larger park setup and my "shitty Belgian streets" setup with 56mm 97A Spitfire wheels. I'll be sticking with Thunder on my smaller setups as I find my meager arsenal of flip tricks comes easier with Thunder. Yes, I'm a quiver skater. The surfaces and spots here are all so varied there's no one and done setup that works I've found.
I'll do my best to answer any questions. I hope this all helps out some.
P.S. These trucks arrive in a plastic bag and have a lot of polish or preservative on them. Unless you want blackish blue meteor shit all over your hands they require a decent wipe down. I actually dampened a microfiber and cleaned then dried them. The rag was almost completely black after I was done.
Topic: Ace trucks (Read 747405 times)