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I missed having a wider board around so I recently bought a few blood wizard 8.5s (8.5x31.5x14.25) and set one up with Ace 60 lows, 1/16 risers, and 51mm spitfires. Gonna try and take it out to a curb spot this weekend.
They’re incredibly loose even with a couple threads showing. I’ve gotten so used to Thunders that it’s a little jarring. Anyone try Ace low hard bushings? Do they still allow for a deep carve without the crazy squirrelly feeling?
I just went through a similar situation. I was on AF1’s for like 2 years and then switched to thunders on a whim, got really used to those and then tried going back to a new set of aces and felt like I was skating on a waterbed. I ended up setting up an older set of AF1’s to test a theory and although they were way more surfy than I had conditioned myself to be comfortable with over the course of about 5 months riding thunders, they are far more manageable with broken in bushings. You just gotta skate them and suffer through the break in period I suppose. Gotta say though, after one session having that AF1 turn and response back, I’m in love all over again.
I had a diff experience I felt like I liked the af1 more when the bushings were fresh and when they broke in they were way too surfy and I’d have to keep tightening to try and be less wiggly and eventually get new bushings or just get used to a looser truck. I was riding af1 44 on 8.38 so slight magic carpet probably added to that. On the other hand I love the classic 55s on my wider setup they’re turny and fun but still have some of the stability I didn’t have on the af1
I have definitely seen a few different things with new stock Ace truck bushings, some being so super squishy that just don't firm up at all it seemed, others that actually started off super stiff and then slowly softened up over time. These all appeared to be the same bushings too, so it was a bit funny, all on boards that other people had set up.
Just had a roll on a few boards with second hand Ace trucks on them that I hadn't touched in a month and all the bushings felt really good, just right and nicely worn in which made me think that if I had some that I could have a few sessions on here and there, then leave for a bit, they would then feel way better when I got them out again.
Of course this doesn't work for most people - you get trucks, you need to skate, you don't have a session on a board and leave it for a month, etc.
My normal go to for any new bushings on any board is have a roll / session on my mini ramp, more just rolling, turning and wearing them in than anything else and they almost always come up so well after one or sometimes two sessions if they just didn't quite get there in the first session.
Other times putting in new bushings and then skating normally elsewhere, they often do weird things, sometimes split or crumble a bit, so just wearing any new bushings in very gently really does help to make them last well.