Ace trucks

[Frank and Fred]

Or not.

I have 3 sets of AF1s on the go and have had zero issues with the pivot cups. I ride loose and do lots of slappies. The bushings in one set seemingly broke in differently to the others (didn't harden up) but that's the extent of any issues I have had with AF1s. 

[manysnakes]

Or not.

I have 3 sets of AF1s on the go and have had zero issues with the pivot cups. I ride loose and do lots of slappies. The bushings in one set seemingly broke in differently to the others (didn't harden up) but that's the extent of any issues I have had with AF1s.

Yeah, in my real life, most of the people I skate with are on AF1s and I've never encountered a single person who has had a problem with them other than the clicking (which, as everyone has noted, will go away).

[Dwyck]

I got my buddy af1 55s a few months ago and he digs em. Definitely gonna try them out when I axle my indy 149s

[Lou Strux]

I've never encountered a single person who has had a problem with them…

Lhotse?
That YOU?!? 

[Plan9Customs]

Nah. He’s in the pit of death.

[Frank and Fred]

I've had a set of Af1 55s for awhile now that I just can't get right in terms of bushings and looseness. All my other Ace's have settled in great with stock or with Krux bushings. Anyway, I was getting some pretty bad wheel bite on these even with an 1'8" riser (55mm wheels, 8.4 deck), so I bit the bullet and got some Ace hard bushings. I hate the idea of surrendering to hard bushings but first session in and these are great. The turn still feels amazing but they won't hit wheel bite anywhere near as easy. There is a chance they will get a bit too firm for me after they really break in but I'll just swop out the bottoms for the stock bottoms at that point.

Highly recommended for Ace truck madness tweakage.

[Slugboi22]

I've had a set of Af1 55s for awhile now that I just can't get right in terms of bushings and looseness. All my other Ace's have settled in great with stock or with Krux bushings. Anyway, I was getting some pretty bad wheel bite on these even with an 1'8" riser (55mm wheels, 8.4 deck), so I bit the bullet and got some Ace hard bushings. I hate the idea of surrendering to hard bushings but first session in and these are great. The turn still feels amazing but they won't hit wheel bite anywhere near as easy. There is a chance they will get a bit too firm for me after they really break in but I'll just swop out the bottoms for the stock bottoms at that point.

Highly recommended for Ace truck madness tweakage.

just wanted to say i love my ace hard bushings. I’ve had the hard bushings in my Af1 55s for a good while now and they still feel great! i highly recommend them

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

Hard bushings loose trucks may be the correct answer for all things truck….

[tzhangdox]

+1 on the hard bushings. Feel great for me with nut flush/half a thread barely showing. Aces don't have to be skated loosey goosey, a firm medium can be really nice and they still turn great.

The bit where the hanger meets the axle is a bit tapered, is it chill to not use an inside washer because of that or is it still a bad idea? I'm running these chode wheels right now and want to have them come in a little bit because its hot rod vibes right now

[Mbrimson88]

+1 on the hard bushings. Feel great for me with nut flush/half a thread barely showing. Aces don't have to be skated loosey goosey, a firm medium can be really nice and they still turn great.

The bit where the hanger meets the axle is a bit tapered, is it chill to not use an inside washer because of that or is it still a bad idea? I'm running these chode wheels right now and want to have them come in a little bit because its hot rod vibes right now

Check to see if your bearings have the inner metal ring part that keeps the rest of the bearing shield area off the hanger, or if it rubs.

Some bearings are fairly minimal in that area and others are thicker (wider) which help with running no washers and not having anything rub.

Sometimes bearing spacers also help with this, but that is more a personal preference than anything else.  Running bearings without shields also help with less contact in this area too.

[IpathCats]

+1 on the hard bushings. Feel great for me with nut flush/half a thread barely showing. Aces don't have to be skated loosey goosey, a firm medium can be really nice and they still turn great.

The bit where the hanger meets the axle is a bit tapered, is it chill to not use an inside washer because of that or is it still a bad idea? I'm running these chode wheels right now and want to have them come in a little bit because its hot rod vibes right now

Hard bushings loose trucks may be the correct answer for all things truck….

+1

[tzhangdox]

At first it didn't bother me too much, but I've been noticing my kingpin catch a lot more lately on back smiths. And often even when I roll away I can hear my kingpin scratching the ledge.

Does anybody have any input or experience on grinding down the kingpin by a thread or two with an angle grinder? I'm running hard bushings, but still have about a half to a full thread showing which might be making the drag worse. Contemplating putting the stock bushings in again, cranking them down and maybe grinding down the kingpin by a solid two or three threads, or maybe using a shorter top bushing?

Trying to not fuck with my trucks too much but this is probably the one thing that is bothering me the most coming from venture highs. Also not a fan of inverted kingpins so would prefer to not go down that route.

[Ol Nick]

At first it didn't bother me too much, but I've been noticing my kingpin catch a lot more lately on back smiths. And often even when I roll away I can hear my kingpin scratching the ledge.

Does anybody have any input or experience on grinding down the kingpin by a thread or two with an angle grinder? I'm running hard bushings, but still have about a half to a full thread showing which might be making the drag worse. Contemplating putting the stock bushings in again, cranking them down and maybe grinding down the kingpin by a solid two or three threads, or maybe using a shorter top bushing?

Trying to not fuck with my trucks too much but this is probably the one thing that is bothering me the most coming from venture highs. Also not a fan of inverted kingpins so would prefer to not go down that route.

Makes sense to me. Probably shorter top bushing is the best way to go but so far I’ve trimmed kingpin nuts, bushing washers, and axles with a shitty little dremel. I bet it’s pretty quick to knock off a small but meaningful amount real quick with a grinder. I know plenty of people do it. Ace top bushings are kinda tall so putting in a venture, Thunder, Minilogo, krux top should account for the drop in kingpin.

Right now I have an Ace top on a Venture 5.0 to see how it felt as a cruiser and the kingpin nuts are barely on. I’d estimate you could drop the kingpin by almost the height of the nut with a venture top (which are relatively short) bushing in there and not have to go overboard with cranking down the nut.

[saltusnaut]

I found a good deal on both classics and af1. last year i skateb both 44 classics and 66 af1and I enjoyed both setups alot.
Ive since then switched to less steep kicked boards and indys but I miss ace turning.
Because ive only skated af1 on bigger heavier setups I cant really compare the pop feel fairly between af1 and classics.
Help me decide what to get

[tzhangdox]

I found a good deal on both classics and af1. last year i skateb both 44 classics and 66 af1and I enjoyed both setups alot.
Ive since then switched to less steep kicked boards and indys but I miss ace turning.
Because ive only skated af1 on bigger heavier setups I cant really compare the pop feel fairly between af1 and classics.
Help me decide what to get

Af1s have way less qc issues so unless you never wear through or break anything, definitely get af1s imo

[tzhangdox]

Expand Quote

At first it didn't bother me too much, but I've been noticing my kingpin catch a lot more lately on back smiths. And often even when I roll away I can hear my kingpin scratching the ledge.

Does anybody have any input or experience on grinding down the kingpin by a thread or two with an angle grinder? I'm running hard bushings, but still have about a half to a full thread showing which might be making the drag worse. Contemplating putting the stock bushings in again, cranking them down and maybe grinding down the kingpin by a solid two or three threads, or maybe using a shorter top bushing?

Trying to not fuck with my trucks too much but this is probably the one thing that is bothering me the most coming from venture highs. Also not a fan of inverted kingpins so would prefer to not go down that route.

[close]

Makes sense to me. Probably shorter top bushing is the best way to go but so far I’ve trimmed kingpin nuts, bushing washers, and axles with a shitty little dremel. I bet it’s pretty quick to knock off a small but meaningful amount real quick with a grinder. I know plenty of people do it. Ace top bushings are kinda tall so putting in a venture, Thunder, Minilogo, krux top should account for the drop in kingpin.

Right now I have an Ace top on a Venture 5.0 to see how it felt as a cruiser and the kingpin nuts are barely on. I’d estimate you could drop the kingpin by almost the height of the nut with a venture top (which are relatively short) bushing in there and not have to go overboard with cranking down the nut.

Thanks! Luckily I have a shitload of venture bushings, so that might work out perfectly.

In general what does a shorter top bushing do to the geometry? What differences in turn, response, pinch etc should I expect?

[Ol Nick]

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At first it didn't bother me too much, but I've been noticing my kingpin catch a lot more lately on back smiths. And often even when I roll away I can hear my kingpin scratching the ledge.

Does anybody have any input or experience on grinding down the kingpin by a thread or two with an angle grinder? I'm running hard bushings, but still have about a half to a full thread showing which might be making the drag worse. Contemplating putting the stock bushings in again, cranking them down and maybe grinding down the kingpin by a solid two or three threads, or maybe using a shorter top bushing?

Trying to not fuck with my trucks too much but this is probably the one thing that is bothering me the most coming from venture highs. Also not a fan of inverted kingpins so would prefer to not go down that route.

[close]

Makes sense to me. Probably shorter top bushing is the best way to go but so far I’ve trimmed kingpin nuts, bushing washers, and axles with a shitty little dremel. I bet it’s pretty quick to knock off a small but meaningful amount real quick with a grinder. I know plenty of people do it. Ace top bushings are kinda tall so putting in a venture, Thunder, Minilogo, krux top should account for the drop in kingpin.

Right now I have an Ace top on a Venture 5.0 to see how it felt as a cruiser and the kingpin nuts are barely on. I’d estimate you could drop the kingpin by almost the height of the nut with a venture top (which are relatively short) bushing in there and not have to go overboard with cranking down the nut.

[close]

Thanks! Luckily I have a shitload of venture bushings, so that might work out perfectly.

In general what does a shorter top bushing do to the geometry? What differences in turn, response, pinch etc should I expect?

Should be good. The bottom bushing isn’t changing so geometry stays the same. You might notice the top washer contacting the hanger on deep turns, possibly limiting your turn a little. Although it might serve to minimize wheelbite, I don’t like how that feels so I find a smaller washer or trim one down. Beyond that, the big difference is the new kingpin clearance.

[pops]

Anyone else find the Af1s clumsier than classics? It's kind of hard to explain but after riding af1s for over a year and changing back to classics I find classics feeling more responsive, stable and overall a more nimble feeling truck.

[goodatmeth]

Anyone else find the Af1s clumsier than classics? It's kind of hard to explain but after riding af1s for over a year and changing back to classics I find classics feeling more responsive, stable and overall a more nimble feeling truck.

Not sure about the responsiveness of the turn, but they definitely make the setup feel a lot heavier

[notinternetfamous]

Anyone else find the Af1s clumsier than classics? It's kind of hard to explain but after riding af1s for over a year and changing back to classics I find classics feeling more responsive, stable and overall a more nimble feeling truck.

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but the classics have a slightly shorter wb than the af1s so that would be contributing to the feeling of being more nimble. its been a few years since i've ridden classics, but the af1 33s i've recently gotten have felt pretty responsive and stable, if not more stable than classics imo. popping switch and fakie didn't feel squirrelly. got some switch flips in, did a nollie bs flip and a rick flip on the 2nd session with the af1s lol

[notinternetfamous]

TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

[Landmine]

TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

Is there any benefit to these other than probably not tearing?

[IpathCats]

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TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

[close]

Is there any benefit to these other than probably not tearing?

They feel quite nice. They give a sort of consistent/smooth feeling to your trucks. hard to explain. I notice the difference in feel the most on thunders/ventures.

[notinternetfamous]

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TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

[close]

Is there any benefit to these other than probably not tearing?

[close]

They feel quite nice. They give a sort of consistent/smooth feeling to your trucks. hard to explain. I notice the difference in feel the most on thunders/ventures.

This is my experience as well. If you don't have any issues with your Aces, there's no need to swap out the stock pivot cups tbh, but riptides do make some quality pivot cups if you're interested.

[IpathCats]

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TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

[close]

Is there any benefit to these other than probably not tearing?

[close]

They feel quite nice. They give a sort of consistent/smooth feeling to your trucks. hard to explain. I notice the difference in feel the most on thunders/ventures.

[close]

This is my experience as well. If you don't have any issues with your Aces, there's no need to swap out the stock pivot cups tbh, but riptides do make some quality pivot cups if you're interested.

Only thing they really changed on indy/ace was the squeak

[manysnakes]

I found a good deal on both classics and af1. last year i skateb both 44 classics and 66 af1and I enjoyed both setups alot.
Ive since then switched to less steep kicked boards and indys but I miss ace turning.
Because ive only skated af1 on bigger heavier setups I cant really compare the pop feel fairly between af1 and classics.
Help me decide what to get

I am extremely happy with my AF-1 44s. They turn and grind exactly as I want, the construction is great, and I've had no QC issues despite basically only doing slappys since I bought them. FYI Zumiez has 33 and 44 AF-1s for cheap right now.

[manysnakes]

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TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

[close]

Is there any benefit to these other than probably not tearing?

They are both polyurethane cups so they are potentially going to perform similarly. FWIW the Riptides I put in my Indys didn't really offer any improvement that I noticed, they just made the truck stick in whichever direction I jammed them. Despite my AF-1 pivot cups being the same basic material, this isn't a problem with them and in my real life I don't know anyone who has issues with the AF-1 pivot cups. I think most of the early issues have been sorted.

[mamba]

TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

Hell yeah. I love riptides. I swapped some out on my classics and everything just felt better. I’m not going to try and explain it, but it made it feel better than stock.

[pointandclick]

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TL;DR - af1 riptides available next week

[close]

Hell yeah. I love riptides. I swapped some out on my classics and everything just felt better. I’m not going to try and explain it, but it made it feel better than stock.

as a former buyer, i will say tracey is awesome. riptide hooked it up pretty hard, kinda same way quantum guys do.

[LebowskisRug]

Currently on Indy cast hollows and the only truck I haven't given too much time to in my madness are AF1. I had the early ones with exploding pivot cups and was mostly riding Thunders and didn't give them a chance. With friends trying and mostly liking them I was curious mostly about the shorter height at the same Indy WB without having the mid inverted kingpins or FH extending the WB.

Is there really major differences if I ride my trucks medium to medium tight? Anything positive I'd really notice?