Ace trucks

[Sk.A.T.A.N]

Yo.

Im riding ACE Trucks for a while now and i was pretty happy with the Classics and starting to like the new AF1s too.

For whatever reason i got a problem with both versions now...

The axle seems to be moving. I dont know how to explain it properly since english is not my native language but i'll try.
Some weeks ago i noticed my wheels would somehow get stuck from time to time.
In between Sessions i got the feeling my setup slowed down somehow. Then i noticed that one wheel was sitting very tight and wasnt moving at all anymore.
I usually give them some space to wiggle so i was very confused on how this was happening. Dunno if the Axle was bent already or moving in the hanger.

This happened on a set of Classics.

Bought some brand new Classics. Came in already bent since deck had hell of a ghost turn even after broken in.

Bought another set of AF1s. Thought i was fine for now, but again wheels are getting stuck mid session from time to time.
I also noticed that nearly every trucks axle i bought since this shit is happening to me is so fucking short..
The axle nut sits barely flush on the axle and i dont got any extra washers on it. Only the two coming with the trucks.
This tilts me even more than the stuck wheels cause it adds up to the problem since there is even less space for the wheel.

Drives me crazy...

Did i just bought several bad QC trucks? Or am i missing something?

Its called axle slip, I had the same happening to me about 6 years ago on a pair of aces too, on both trucks after like 2 months of using them. 2021 and there’s still people having slipping axles. You would’ve guessed they fixed this problem by now, instead you get some cheap red rethreaders as compensation. Nice…

[STAH]

Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[Sk.A.T.A.N]

Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

Sometimes the spacers don’t match the wheels you’re riding perfectly and that little give is enough to put pressure sideways on the bearing and make it slow down. I use spacers and washers on my bones Swiss and when I tighten my wheels to the max they barelly spin.
I also don’t like to have everything tight to the max because leaving a bit of give let’s the bearing also spin against the axle, which adds a bit of speed.

[STAH]

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Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[close]

Sometimes the spacers don’t match the wheels you’re riding perfectly and that little give is enough to put pressure sideways on the bearing and make it slow down. I use spacers and washers on my bones Swiss and when I tighten my wheels to the max they barelly spin.
I also don’t like to have everything tight to the max because leaving a bit of give let’s the bearing also spin against the axle, which adds a bit of speed.

What your saying makes sense, would the spacer size only matter if it was too tall for the wheel? Where the bearings would move freely but would have friction on the axle from the spacer being too much in contact with the inside of the wheel well?

[Chronic85]

Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

As i said the axle is so fucking short the axle nut is barely on with only 2 washers.. as soon as axle slip is happening my wheel sits so tight it is Stuck.
And you can feel the sudden lack of speed mid session when it happens...
How the fuck is the axle so short that the nut is barely hanging on?

[STAH]

Expand Quote

Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[close]

As i said the axle is so fucking short the axle nut is barely on with only 2 washers.. as soon as axle slip is happening my wheel sits so tight it is Stuck.
And you can feel the sudden lack of speed mid session when it happens...
How the fuck is the axle so short that the nut is barely hanging on?

Ace AF1's have a smaller hangar than most trucks of the same axle size, about a 1/4 inch or less. So its weird that you're having that problem. I have more axle room than I would like and run 4 washers on each side. (3 truck side 1 bolt side) Maybe you got a couple bad pairs? I've heard of Ace's having quality issues in the past. My point was, if you used bearing spacers (in conjunction with washers) you're wheels would still roll. 

[Chronic85]

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Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[close]

As i said the axle is so fucking short the axle nut is barely on with only 2 washers.. as soon as axle slip is happening my wheel sits so tight it is Stuck.
And you can feel the sudden lack of speed mid session when it happens...
How the fuck is the axle so short that the nut is barely hanging on?

[close]

Ace AF1's have a smaller hangar than most trucks of the same axle size, about a 1/4 inch or less. So its weird that you're having that problem. I have more axle room than I would like and run 4 washers on each side. (3 truck side 1 bolt side) Maybe you got a couple bad pairs? I've heard of Ace's having quality issues in the past. My point was, if you used bearing spacers (in conjunction with washers) you're wheels would still roll. 

I use bearing spacers and both washers coming with the trucks and my wheels still get stuck when slip is happening. Nothing to do there i guess...
4 washers and there would be no chance to even get the axle nut on. The axle nut is barely flush now with only 2 washers...
Cant imagine losing space on the axle when going bigger sizes right?
Hopefully. I skate 9'.
Must've been bad luck on quality for at least the last 3 Sets of Aces i bought (classics and AF1s).
Scared to buy another pair now...

[Ok]

Let’s see some pics. Ace qc, anything possible, But over never seen this.

[palelight]

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Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[close]

As i said the axle is so fucking short the axle nut is barely on with only 2 washers.. as soon as axle slip is happening my wheel sits so tight it is Stuck.
And you can feel the sudden lack of speed mid session when it happens...
How the fuck is the axle so short that the nut is barely hanging on?

[close]

Ace AF1's have a smaller hangar than most trucks of the same axle size, about a 1/4 inch or less. So its weird that you're having that problem. I have more axle room than I would like and run 4 washers on each side. (3 truck side 1 bolt side) Maybe you got a couple bad pairs? I've heard of Ace's having quality issues in the past. My point was, if you used bearing spacers (in conjunction with washers) you're wheels would still roll. 

[close]

I use bearing spacers and both washers coming with the trucks and my wheels still get stuck when slip is happening. Nothing to do there i guess...
4 washers and there would be no chance to even get the axle nut on. The axle nut is barely flush now with only 2 washers...
Cant imagine losing space on the axle when going bigger sizes right?
Hopefully. I skate 9'.
Must've been bad luck on quality for at least the last 3 Sets of Aces i bought (classics and AF1s).
Scared to buy another pair now...

Had a weird thing like this happen on my last set of 44 Classics. One wheel would bind up like axle slip super randomly, even on a speed check. Turned out one of the axles was threaded pretty off-center, so the shoulder between the threaded and solid section of the axle was very asymmetrical and the bearing would bind up like it was seated crooked. Had to file the transition which fixed it completely but it drove me fucking nuts trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

[saltusnaut]

ive had a similar feeling onse on a pair of 44 classics. turned out to be the bearing seat of the wheel being wonky causing the bearing to shift and give a binding/slow feeling

[eranka]

Yo.

Im riding ACE Trucks for a while now and i was pretty happy with the Classics and starting to like the new AF1s too.

For whatever reason i got a problem with both versions now...

The axle seems to be moving. I dont know how to explain it properly since english is not my native language but i'll try.
Some weeks ago i noticed my wheels would somehow get stuck from time to time.
In between Sessions i got the feeling my setup slowed down somehow. Then i noticed that one wheel was sitting very tight and wasnt moving at all anymore.
I usually give them some space to wiggle so i was very confused on how this was happening. Dunno if the Axle was bent already or moving in the hanger.

This happened on a set of Classics.

Bought some brand new Classics. Came in already bent since deck had hell of a ghost turn even after broken in.

Bought another set of AF1s. Thought i was fine for now, but again wheels are getting stuck mid session from time to time.
I also noticed that nearly every trucks axle i bought since this shit is happening to me is so fucking short..
The axle nut sits barely flush on the axle and i dont got any extra washers on it. Only the two coming with the trucks.
This tilts me even more than the stuck wheels cause it adds up to the problem since there is even less space for the wheel.

Drives me crazy...

Did i just bought several bad QC trucks? Or am i missing something?

thats an axle slip, it used to happen on trucks all the time
just bang the tip of the axle on the longer side on something hard a couple times until the wheel is free. on the first few times it would help for a while but the looser it gets the easier for it to slip again.
 indys used to give me the worst axle slips all the time.

[Ok]

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Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[close]

As i said the axle is so fucking short the axle nut is barely on with only 2 washers.. as soon as axle slip is happening my wheel sits so tight it is Stuck.
And you can feel the sudden lack of speed mid session when it happens...
How the fuck is the axle so short that the nut is barely hanging on?

[close]

Ace AF1's have a smaller hangar than most trucks of the same axle size, about a 1/4 inch or less. So its weird that you're having that problem. I have more axle room than I would like and run 4 washers on each side. (3 truck side 1 bolt side) Maybe you got a couple bad pairs? I've heard of Ace's having quality issues in the past. My point was, if you used bearing spacers (in conjunction with washers) you're wheels would still roll. 

[close]

I use bearing spacers and both washers coming with the trucks and my wheels still get stuck when slip is happening. Nothing to do there i guess...
4 washers and there would be no chance to even get the axle nut on. The axle nut is barely flush now with only 2 washers...
Cant imagine losing space on the axle when going bigger sizes right?
Hopefully. I skate 9'.
Must've been bad luck on quality for at least the last 3 Sets of Aces i bought (classics and AF1s).
Scared to buy another pair now...

[close]

Had a weird thing like this happen on my last set of 44 Classics. One wheel would bind up like axle slip super randomly, even on a speed check. Turned out one of the axles was threaded pretty off-center, so the shoulder between the threaded and solid section of the axle was very asymmetrical and the bearing would bind up like it was seated crooked. Had to file the transition which fixed it completely but it drove me fucking nuts trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Ace….the best and the worst.
I’ve been really fortunate, my last 4 sets of classics, and one set of af1s haven’t had any major problems. The af1s haven’t gotten really any work tho, but didn’t come with obvious defects.
As a company, they seem committed to not making sure things are right.
An ermico ace? Oof. Be so rad. (I know some people claim ermico qc isn’t the best, but I prefer USA and haven’t had a problem with cast ventures or thunders over the last 10+ years).
Ace, more so than maybe other truck designs, really needs better manufacturing.

[logjammin]

I made a really unusual truck crisis decision to scoop some standard 149 Indy's from my local, along with those IKP baseplates. One of the hangers ended up having a smaller pivot nub on it compared to the other one, so it had tons of play in the pivot cup, reminded me of my first pair of AF1's where both hangers had that issue. China made trucks have such a horrible consistency compared to Ermico, I don't care what anyone says.

Nonetheless, I ended up just bringing them back and getting some AF1's again, which I don't know why cause I didn't even like them that much and gave my old pair away. I guess I just want the extra strength vs the classics. Shop got hooked up by the dist with a huge bag of AF1 pivot cups with no grease inside them, so I immediately took the stock ones out and cleaned off the pivot points on the hangers and put the dry ones in there. Tried to skate them stock and sure enough, top washers clicked like a mofo. Took them off and also replaced the stock bottom washers with the Array sleeved ones and that helped. These AF1's really do wheelbite so much more than classics, but whatever I'm just going to skate these and deal with it. Truck madness needs to chill the fuck out, getting tired of it...just skate!

[big_kev_215]

I made a really unusual truck crisis decision to scoop some standard 149 Indy's from my local, along with those IKP baseplates. One of the hangers ended up having a smaller pivot nub on it compared to the other one, so it had tons of play in the pivot cup, reminded me of my first pair of AF1's where both hangers had that issue. China made trucks have such a horrible consistency compared to Ermico, I don't care what anyone says.

I had the same pivot nub issue with the pair of 149’s I bought at the end of last year.  I thought one of the pivot cups was just messed up but it was that actual part of the hanger on one truck coming to too small of a point compared to the other and rattling around in the baseplate.  Never heard of anyone else having that issue so I thought I was just crazy.  NHS was easy to work with to replace them though.  Ended up just skating Ace 44 classics instead. 

The set of 169’s I just got for my current setup also feel very loose/wiggly in the pivots cups.  I’m hoping it’s not a big deal to get used to but I can already envision myself just throwing 55 classics on there. 

[logjammin]

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I made a really unusual truck crisis decision to scoop some standard 149 Indy's from my local, along with those IKP baseplates. One of the hangers ended up having a smaller pivot nub on it compared to the other one, so it had tons of play in the pivot cup, reminded me of my first pair of AF1's where both hangers had that issue. China made trucks have such a horrible consistency compared to Ermico, I don't care what anyone says.

[close]

I had the same pivot nub issue with the pair of 149’s I bought at the end of last year.  I thought one of the pivot cups was just messed up but it was that actual part of the hanger on one truck coming to too small of a point compared to the other and rattling around in the baseplate.  Never heard of anyone else having that issue so I thought I was just crazy.  NHS was easy to work with to replace them though.  Ended up just skating Ace 44 classics instead. 

The set of 169’s I just got for my current setup also feel very loose/wiggly in the pivots cups.  I’m hoping it’s not a big deal to get used to but I can already envision myself just throwing 55 classics on there.

I checked other Indy's in the shop when I took mine back and there were definitely others that had tons of play in the pivot, including some new stock 215's. And yeah, even though Ace classics have their own issues I've never had this specific one. Having all that wiggle room is a recipe for warped baseplates or just straight up breaking on a slappy. 

[europa1991]

Had the same problem that some of yall seemed to have with the AF1s still being way too loose and prone to wheel-bite after a couple weeks so I switched the top bushing with a bones hard bushing. Kept the stock bottom bushing and standing on it felt a bit more stable so we’ll see.

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

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That would explain why my AF1 55s aren’t hotrod-ing on a 8.38 deck!

[close]

No 8.5 axle truck would anyway.

Skated both Indy & thunder 149’s and AF1 55’s on 8.25 which don’t hot rod let alone 8.38. They sit perfectly flush…

I see, that would explain it then. Difference between classic 44s and AF1s is pretty minimal in terms of size. AF1s seem like they are taking longer to break in though....

[STAH]

Had the same problem that some of yall seemed to have with the AF1s still being way too loose and prone to wheel-bite after a couple weeks so I switched the top bushing with a bones hard bushing. Kept the stock bottom bushing and standing on it felt a bit more stable so we’ll see.

interesting...... let us know how that goes. I'm curious my self but I live in Vancouver. Sucks being a skater that lives in a rainforest.

[fs1/2cab]

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Is it even possible for axle slip to effect you, if you use washers and bearing spacers? If so then how?

[close]

Sometimes the spacers don’t match the wheels you’re riding perfectly and that little give is enough to put pressure sideways on the bearing and make it slow down. I use spacers and washers on my bones Swiss and when I tighten my wheels to the max they barelly spin.
I also don’t like to have everything tight to the max because leaving a bit of give let’s the bearing also spin against the axle, which adds a bit of speed.

[close]

What your saying makes sense, would the spacer size only matter if it was too tall for the wheel? Where the bearings would move freely but would have friction on the axle from the spacer being too much in contact with the inside of the wheel well?

My wheels also got stuck all the time. I replaced the spacer with the inner ring of an old bearing. That ring has a little play inside the wheel, of course. But I take that over wheels that get stuck. Hope that explanation makes sense, english isn't my first language.

[europa1991]

Did a little tinkering around today and found that keeping the “broken in” stock bushing on my front truck and then replacing my top bushing with an old stock bushing from a pair of Classics I still have… does wonders for the stability. Can’t promise that others will feel that way but hey I had a blast today for the first time in awhile. Also found that for me the AF1s are a dream on wheelbases between 14.38-14.5. Anyways if anyone wants a set of white bones hard bushings dm me and I’ll send them to you for free

[excitableboy]

Got some 33s yesterday. I detest getting new trucks (doesn't everybody?) but grinded my Indys down to the axle and I was curious about these. They are a fair bit higher than the Indys I had and I made the mistake of getting new wheels as well (53mm, while my old wheels were probably close to 45mm). Long story short I now feel like I am steering a boat. Worst session in a long time, but I expected as much. Should have probably stuck with a lower truck and smaller wheels or not change both at once. I tend to think fussing over gear is mostly in the head and never pay attention to any of it so I hope to just do that and get used to it. Can't get over how high the trucks/big the wheels look though! It's like a mega ramp setup to me.

[Mr. Stinky]

I had what I thought was axle slip on some 44 Classics and it turned out it was just a defective nut.  (We've all had a defective nut from time to time, amirite fellas?) The nylock wasn't grabbing the threads on the axle well enough to keep the wheels from torqueing it while I was carving or something.  I was so exasperated trying to pound the axle back into place without it actually seeming to move that I finally made the connection between the nut on that wheel being unusually easy to turn with my fingers and the direction the wheel spins when you're rolling forward.  In the end a different nut was all it took.  Just one person's experience, but who knows if it might apply to you?

Also had the weird bearing seating issue with a wheel, but popping the bearings in that wheel and swapping them with each other seemed to fix it.

[FrozenIndustries]

Got some 33s yesterday. I detest getting new trucks (doesn't everybody?) but grinded my Indys down to the axle and I was curious about these. They are a fair bit higher than the Indys I had and I made the mistake of getting new wheels as well (53mm, while my old wheels were probably close to 45mm). Long story short I now feel like I am steering a boat. Worst session in a long time, but I expected as much. Should have probably stuck with a lower truck and smaller wheels or not change both at once. I tend to think fussing over gear is mostly in the head and never pay attention to any of it so I hope to just do that and get used to it. Can't get over how high the trucks/big the wheels look though! It's like a mega ramp setup to me.

Were you skating Indy lows? Current Indys are 55mm high and Aces are 52mm.

[excitableboy]

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Got some 33s yesterday. I detest getting new trucks (doesn't everybody?) but grinded my Indys down to the axle and I was curious about these. They are a fair bit higher than the Indys I had and I made the mistake of getting new wheels as well (53mm, while my old wheels were probably close to 45mm). Long story short I now feel like I am steering a boat. Worst session in a long time, but I expected as much. Should have probably stuck with a lower truck and smaller wheels or not change both at once. I tend to think fussing over gear is mostly in the head and never pay attention to any of it so I hope to just do that and get used to it. Can't get over how high the trucks/big the wheels look though! It's like a mega ramp setup to me.

[close]

Were you skating Indy lows? Current Indys are 55mm high and Aces are 52mm.

Yes I believe so. This is how little note I take of this stuff - I didn't realize they were lows until today. Sloppy I know. I do recall having skated Thunder highs in the past and i got used to that, too. So I'll give it a chance.

[Ok]

It’s be sick if I was this chill about gear.
Instead I’m fried with multiple setups, tons of different parts. It’s not cool.

[FrozenIndustries]

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Got some 33s yesterday. I detest getting new trucks (doesn't everybody?) but grinded my Indys down to the axle and I was curious about these. They are a fair bit higher than the Indys I had and I made the mistake of getting new wheels as well (53mm, while my old wheels were probably close to 45mm). Long story short I now feel like I am steering a boat. Worst session in a long time, but I expected as much. Should have probably stuck with a lower truck and smaller wheels or not change both at once. I tend to think fussing over gear is mostly in the head and never pay attention to any of it so I hope to just do that and get used to it. Can't get over how high the trucks/big the wheels look though! It's like a mega ramp setup to me.

[close]

Were you skating Indy lows? Current Indys are 55mm high and Aces are 52mm.

[close]

Yes I believe so. This is how little note I take of this stuff - I didn't realize they were lows until today. Sloppy I know. I do recall having skated Thunder highs in the past and i got used to that, too. So I'll give it a chance.

It's funny because Aces feel low to me until I step on some venture lows or whatever. But yeah, that with the new wheels would be jarring.

It’s be sick if I was this chill about gear.
Instead I’m fried with multiple setups, tons of different parts. It’s not cool.

Dude just give the extra stuff away and make yourself skate one...oh wait, we know how that ends. I feel your pain.

[excitableboy]

It’s be sick if I was this chill about gear.
Instead I’m fried with multiple setups, tons of different parts. It’s not cool.

It does seem like a pain in the ass to get all particular about it. Mind you I'm a cheap bastard so that's probably why I'm not. Got these Indys from a friend (a gear nut who kept changing up at the time), put them on a cruiser and started skating them properly years ago. I must've had them for maybe a decade or so. I seem to recall they came out when Koston changed to Indy? Could be totally wrong about that though. I'd just keep skating them but I can't adjust them anymore, the kingpin screw is ground down and looks melted together with the axle. They got looser and looser and as tolerant as I am to wheelbite it just got ridiculous. I feel vaguely guilty almost for retiring them so I must be a gear nut after all.

[Lurkey]

Christian Maalouf posted the hollows today

[Firebert]

there were definitely others that had tons of play in the pivot

Same here both ways, I have a set of forged titaniums that have the too small, too pointy pivot as well as a pair with a bigger pivot cavity in the baseplate.

[IpathCats]

Christian Maalouf posted the hollows today

!