I'm about 3-4 sessions in on some AF1 55s, after 3 years on Ventures only (minus a brief stint on lurpivs and like two sessions on some thunders) and I'm pretty happy so far.
They're quite stable on center, more than I expected. The recessed wheelbase hasn't thrown me off too much, though when I land a bit off center the hangers articulate a lot more and I get thrown off easier, not as stable in that regard when rolling away. So I probably will end up setting them up with a 14.38-14.5 at some point (I skate ventures, and currently these on 14.25).
Had to get the hard bushings which feel perfect with the nut flush, the stock ones are a little too soft unless I have some threads showing which I don't want. I'm definitely running these tighter than your average ace rider probably, but I can still turn way sharper than my ventures which I ran looser than these, because lets face it ventures are still more stable.
They grind super nice on concrete and metal coping. Handles curbs and rough ledges wayyyy better than ventures. Those of you that say af1s dont grind well I don't know what you guys are on about lol.
Because the hangers articulate a lot more before hitting wheelbite, they don't quite hold a pinch the same as ventures. Probably a little worse overall, but can probably mitigate that by making some adjustments in how you sit on the crook. A benefit of this geometry (besides the turn of course) is that they seem to climb onto curbs much easier. On ventures there's some harder slappy tricks where I have to force my truck up onto the curb whereas these I can put my feet closer to the bolts/middle and it climbs up much more effortlessly. At first I was overshooting a bit.
I prefer the manual point on these a little bit more than on ventures too, which I found a little too stiff to lift.
Kingpin clearance is a lot worse sadly, not a dealbreaker, but not happy about it.
Recessed axles means more baseplate and less wheel contact on nose/tailslides, feels really nice.
The pop feel is very different, but kind of nice. I've figured out pretty much all my flatground tricks on it, some are slightly worse and some are slightly better. Basically had to scoot my popping foot a bit in, closer to the bolts than the tip of the tail to make the pop feel a little heavier and more similar to my ventures.
Don't feel like I've lost out on pop. Never thought that the heft of ventures gave me more pop, as my jump+technique definitely the limiting factor and any truck delivers enough yield, but ventures probably gave me a more consistent, reliable snap if I put some effort into it. On aces I can achieve that too if I want, though maybe ever so slightly less predictably, but I can also do some flip tricks a lot more easily because instead of popping very hard, I can just give it a light tap. All in all the pop feel is different, but adapted to it pretty quick, its a bit better for some things a bit worse for others but I'm happy with it overall.
Probably will keep my venture setup around and set the aces up on a bigger board but definitely pleasantly surprised, was expecting to struggle more with adjusting.
Topic: Ace trucks (Read 747278 times)