Truck set-ups

[IpathCats]

Tried bones bushings on ventures in an attempt to cure the madness. Couple sessions in they were starting to crush. That shit is an overpriced gimmick. Just find the right duro from Indy, get the conicals if you want a deeper turn, sand them down if you need to.

[ballintoohard]

So do 139 turn less than 149 with same bushings and nut tightness? I’ve got quite a few sessions on my set of aftermarket Indy barrels and they feel a ton tighter than my 149 with the same kingpin tightness. Even my Thunders feel way deeper. I dunno if that means I need a softer bushing for these or conical aftermarkets maybe.

[Wizard0f0dds]

Tried bones bushings on ventures in an attempt to cure the madness. Couple sessions in they were starting to crush. That shit is an overpriced gimmick. Just find the right duro from Indy, get the conicals if you want a deeper turn, sand them down if you need to.

Yep. I used to skate Bones meds in my Indys and I would blow them up and have to buy new ones every 1-2 month depending, and I don't skate high impact stuff AT ALL. At some point I only threw my stock Indy bushings back in and realised they are pretty good and a lot tougher than Bones, and they last me pretty much the life of the truck, so why bother? I only skate Indy and Ace, and leave the stock bushings in both.

[Fooj]

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Tried bones bushings on ventures in an attempt to cure the madness. Couple sessions in they were starting to crush. That shit is an overpriced gimmick. Just find the right duro from Indy, get the conicals if you want a deeper turn, sand them down if you need to.

[close]

Yep. I used to skate Bones meds in my Indys and I would blow them up and have to buy new ones every 1-2 month depending, and I don't skate high impact stuff AT ALL. At some point I only threw my stock Indy bushings back in and realised they are pretty good and a lot tougher than Bones, and they last me pretty much the life of the truck, so why bother? I only skate Indy and Ace, and leave the stock bushings in both.

Ive mentioned it in other threads but you guys really gotta try bones hards before you write them off.  I had the same thing happen with mediums, it was super disappointing with how much they cost. With hards though, they barely squish and you dont have to tighten the bolt down much to get a nice turn but not bite. 

[manysnakes]

Are the bushings in Indy standards still inferior to the aftermarket ones?

With the caveat that I don't have the madness that others here do, I bought some 144s on here and the seller had switched out the standard mediums for the conical mediums, and I can say that I honestly prefer them strongly and think that they really make a difference if you want to ride relatively stiff bushings that still turns and carve beautifully. The seller included the original bushings and there was a noticeable difference in my parking lot A-B testing

I was swapping out stock Indy bushings for Bones for the last five years, but now I think it'll be medium conicals for a while

[manysnakes]

So do 139 turn less than 149 with same bushings and nut tightness? I’ve got quite a few sessions on my set of aftermarket Indy barrels and they feel a ton tighter than my 149 with the same kingpin tightness. Even my Thunders feel way deeper. I dunno if that means I need a softer bushing for these or conical aftermarkets maybe.

I have a few different sets of Indys, and what I have noticed is that the wider the truck is, the easier it turns with the medium bushings. This makes sense, of course, because the leverage is increasing as the truck gets wider. So my 159s with stock medium bushings actually turn and carve beautifully, whereas my 144s for the stock bushings felt stiff and sluggish. Using the conical bushings, as I mentioned in my last post, definitely improved this, but I expect that some people might want a soft bushing for this purpose

[Boog]

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Tried bones bushings on ventures in an attempt to cure the madness. Couple sessions in they were starting to crush. That shit is an overpriced gimmick. Just find the right duro from Indy, get the conicals if you want a deeper turn, sand them down if you need to.

[close]

Yep. I used to skate Bones meds in my Indys and I would blow them up and have to buy new ones every 1-2 month depending, and I don't skate high impact stuff AT ALL. At some point I only threw my stock Indy bushings back in and realised they are pretty good and a lot tougher than Bones, and they last me pretty much the life of the truck, so why bother? I only skate Indy and Ace, and leave the stock bushings in both.

[close]

Ive mentioned it in other threads but you guys really gotta try bones hards before you write them off.  I had the same thing happen with mediums, it was super disappointing with how much they cost. With hards though, they barely squish and you dont have to tighten the bolt down much to get a nice turn but not bite.

Exactly how I feel. I've had the same bones hards in my ventures for months and not a sign of squishing or any other defect. Best bushings I've ever tried and I've tried ALOT lol.

[babywantsbluevelvet]

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So do 139 turn less than 149 with same bushings and nut tightness? I’ve got quite a few sessions on my set of aftermarket Indy barrels and they feel a ton tighter than my 149 with the same kingpin tightness. Even my Thunders feel way deeper. I dunno if that means I need a softer bushing for these or conical aftermarkets maybe.

[close]

I have a few different sets of Indys, and what I have noticed is that the wider the truck is, the easier it turns with the medium bushings. This makes sense, of course, because the leverage is increasing as the truck gets wider. So my 159s with stock medium bushings actually turn and carve beautifully, whereas my 144s for the stock bushings felt stiff and sluggish. Using the conical bushings, as I mentioned in my last post, definitely improved this, but I expect that some people might want a soft bushing for this purpose

100% my experience too. The black Indy conicals turn great in my 169s, but I had to go to the medium (blue) cylinders to get a comparable turn in my 159s without too much wheelbite.

[jay_nev]

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So do 139 turn less than 149 with same bushings and nut tightness? I’ve got quite a few sessions on my set of aftermarket Indy barrels and they feel a ton tighter than my 149 with the same kingpin tightness. Even my Thunders feel way deeper. I dunno if that means I need a softer bushing for these or conical aftermarkets maybe.

[close]

I have a few different sets of Indys, and what I have noticed is that the wider the truck is, the easier it turns with the medium bushings. This makes sense, of course, because the leverage is increasing as the truck gets wider. So my 159s with stock medium bushings actually turn and carve beautifully, whereas my 144s for the stock bushings felt stiff and sluggish. Using the conical bushings, as I mentioned in my last post, definitely improved this, but I expect that some people might want a soft bushing for this purpose

[close]

100% my experience too. The black Indy conicals turn great in my 169s, but I had to go to the medium (blue) cylinders to get a comparable turn in my 159s without too much wheelbite.

how are the conical versys cylinder in the 169? I want to try the black but never ran conical

[babywantsbluevelvet]

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So do 139 turn less than 149 with same bushings and nut tightness? I’ve got quite a few sessions on my set of aftermarket Indy barrels and they feel a ton tighter than my 149 with the same kingpin tightness. Even my Thunders feel way deeper. I dunno if that means I need a softer bushing for these or conical aftermarkets maybe.

[close]

I have a few different sets of Indys, and what I have noticed is that the wider the truck is, the easier it turns with the medium bushings. This makes sense, of course, because the leverage is increasing as the truck gets wider. So my 159s with stock medium bushings actually turn and carve beautifully, whereas my 144s for the stock bushings felt stiff and sluggish. Using the conical bushings, as I mentioned in my last post, definitely improved this, but I expect that some people might want a soft bushing for this purpose

[close]

100% my experience too. The black Indy conicals turn great in my 169s, but I had to go to the medium (blue) cylinders to get a comparable turn in my 159s without too much wheelbite.

[close]

how are the conical versys cylinder in the 169? I want to try the black but never ran conical

I think conicals “give” a little more than cylinders, so with 169s I get a deep turn if I lean hard while still resisting enough to not wobble. A slap user hipped me to black Indy conicals, so thanks for that. I haven’t tried the black cylinders with them though. I imagine they’d be too firm all the way through the turn for me. I’m 165 lbs and ride medium looseness with 55-56mm wheels and no risers.

[switchfrontshuv]

yo guys check me out

thunder 149 with ace classic top bushing as a bottom bushing (slightly lower, more conical, and softer than thunder stock bottom bushing)
bottom washer
stock top bushing top washer
1/8 risers
54-55mm hard, stf'y wheels for wheelbite control

on 8.25 steep kick board (to mix looseness, slightly tucked in wheelbase cuz of lower bottom bushing, and wheelbite issues)

on mellow kick would work better

also ace bushings dont freeze/get cooked so they make ur board shoot out sideways, so as a bottom bushings makes thunders more manageable

[IpathCats]

how are the conical versys cylinder in the 169? I want to try the black but never ran conical

Tbh to me, there isn't much difference between the back conical and black cylinder. Since they're already pretty hard, you can get a pretty similar feeling by tightening the conicals down a half to a full turn more. I have the conicals in my 144s on my regular board, and the cylinders in my 149s on my board with softer wheels for shitty spots. They skate very similar.

Edit: and Don't worry, even though they're "hard" you can still turn like crazy on them, especially if you're a decent sized guy. I'm 6' 3", hard bushings were a key discovery in solving my madness. They feel so good.

[Xen]

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how are the conical versys cylinder in the 169? I want to try the black but never ran conical

[close]

Edit: and Don't worry, even though they're "hard" you can still turn like crazy on them, especially if you're a decent sized guy. I'm 6' 3", hard bushings were a key discovery in solving my madness. They feel so good.

Proper duro bushings for your weight/desired level of tight/loose is more critical than people think.

My current madness: Tensor ATGs for a month (bones softs/combo of med top/soft bottom) - swapped to Venture a few times for comparison - ATGs react so quickly like ACE/Thunder but not as deep as ACE or as twitchy as Thunder in terms of turning (but they turn great, like a Theeve/faster Indy); but I always felt they were too tall/tippy, much like how I feel on 55mm Indy/Krux. I prefer lower trucks...so...

I switched to thunder hollow lights w/88a indy conical aftermarkets (broken in and sanded down top bushing) with sleeved washers, which, since the bottom sleeved washer is a bit thicker, brought them to the same exact height as stock thunder bottoms (!). Ran them on an 14.25"WB (been skating 14.18WB so close) and hated it. Tried different bushings, stock, bones, hard, soft, hated it. Moved to a shorter WB, 14 / 14.18, hated it except for pop (like the venture, I feel better olling on lower trucks), steep/mellow, fingers of flat, w/e. For reference I always enjoyed thunders but Tensor, like riding ACE, can spoil you in regards to turning (and grinding) capabilities once you get used to it (and removed the BINDING top washer on tensors).

This led me back to...Mini Logos, I know but here me out: 49mm height, 8.37" and turn like Indy/ACE/Theeve/Tensor (compared to a Venture/Thunder). So I get my low pop feel with a surfey turn (using the ACE dual duro with low tops and krux pins).



TL;D, I guess I just prefer the Indy/ACE turn over thunders/ventures so I'm sticking with the ML until the TiMindys drop as that would mean with a forged plate they drop down to 50.5mm ish so close to the ML height, throw in the krux pin will lighten them up and net more ground clearance as well.

Throwing this out there too, once I swapped back to Venture/Thunder over ATGs without a doubt I prefer the way the board feels and sounds, especially when grinding and rolling around, it just feels more solid (I miss the weight reduction and grind ease tho).

[backinaction]

This led me back to...Mini Logos, I know but here me out: 49mm height, 8.37" and turn like Indy/ACE/Theeve/Tensor (compared to a Venture/Thunder). So I get my low pop feel with a surfey turn (using the ACE dual duro with low tops and krux pins).

I rolled with the 8.38 Mini Logos and Krux kingpins for a while.  The JB Weld cracked on me twice (after a few months each time) and I ended up putting the stock kingpins back in.  I still have them on one setup, but hadn't ridden them in a while.  Just this week I took that board out and I really enjoyed it.  Thinking about moving them over to a deck I like better so I ride them more often.

[manysnakes]

It's pretty well established here by now that Mini Logo trucks really do hold their own against the bigger brands. Powell would be smart to rebrand them as "Bones" trucks and try to capitalize on the success they have had with their wheel and bearings brand

[Frank and Fred]

Those mini logos  look as bent as any bent Ace photos I have seen. Probably optical illusion....

[backinaction]

Those mini logos  look as bent as any bent Ace photos I have seen. Probably optical illusion....

They have tapered ends to help lock in.

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

I haven't skated minilogos but one mod that would probably work well is.......stickers.

Pretty sure George spent years and thousands of dollars designing these trucks only to find that manufacturing them to his specs in the US was impossible.  Powell has always marketed what is made in China different from their own brand. 

I've asked && about them and he said his only complaint was the components weren't great. 

[rocklobster]

I haven't skated minilogos but one mod that would probably work well is.......stickers.

Pretty sure George spent years and thousands of dollars designing these trucks only to find that manufacturing them to his specs in the US was impossible.  Powell has always marketed what is made in China different from their own brand. 

I've asked && about them and he said his only complaint was the components weren't great.

I'd be open to try Bones trucks, don't think we've ever seen a truck company doing wheels before but the mini logo brand isn't doing them any favors. If they hit the beginner friendly price point, I can see them being more popular than store brand trucks like Bullet or Industrial trucks.

Then again look at Royal, all the marketing and product redesigns can't save them.

[Xen]

I'd have gone to ACE44s if I had any on, but I don't. Also, no stickers  :'(

Not sure what component && is talking about, the pivot cups and bushings are fine (if not a little hard) I always swap them out for Krux or ACE.

It's pretty well established here by now that Mini Logo trucks really do hold their own against the bigger brands. Powell would be smart to rebrand them as "Bones" trucks and try to capitalize on the success they have had with their wheel and bearings brand

I don't disagree that they can hold their own...but here? On Slap? Well established? I can count on one hand the number posters that have actually ridden them and spoken up.

[Frank and Fred]

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Those mini logos  look as bent as any bent Ace photos I have seen. Probably optical illusion....

[close]

They have tapered ends to help lock in.

That's what Ace said.

[Xen]

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Those mini logos  look as bent as any bent Ace photos I have seen. Probably optical illusion....

[close]

They have tapered ends to help lock in.

[close]

That's what Ace said.

I've never felt it made any difference on either truck; same goes for ACE's tapered hangers (which have also gone bye bye) when they shipped with just one speedring suggesting the tapered hanger didn't need an inside speedring...or the extra meat on center of the hanger....none of their gimmicks work well enough to keep: See .38 specials and possible the AF1 rethreading axle nuts (if it worked, great idea but something no one asked for...unless the 'new' trucks require you to have it...

[Frank and Fred]

The one design I think works really well with Ace is the tapered hanger. I like how there is no need for inside washers, the hanger face is straight (this helps your bearings perform better) and the hanger does not crush your bearing shields.

Check out how your wheels sit on other trucks -not always straight... Some Rockin Ron types even precision-face their Indy hangers so the bearings sit properly. Ace solved this with the tapered design.

[manysnakes]

The one design I think works really well with Ace is the tapered hanger. I like how there is no need for inside washers, the hanger face is straight (this helps your bearings perform better) and the hanger does not crush your bearing shields.

Check out how your wheels sit on other trucks -not always straight... Some Rockin Ron types even precision-face their Indy hangers so the bearings sit properly. Ace solved this with the tapered design.

Absolutely. This should be a standard design for all trucks

[jtrpma]

The one design I think works really well with Ace is the tapered hanger. I like how there is no need for inside washers, the hanger face is straight (this helps your bearings perform better) and the hanger does not crush your bearing shields.

Check out how your wheels sit on other trucks -not always straight... Some Rockin Ron types even precision-face their Indy hangers so the bearings sit properly. Ace solved this with the tapered design.

2nd that, i had that problem with a set of indies i had, the hanger wasn't clean and i had to file it so the wheel doesn't pinch.
only issue i've had with ace are the bushings but those are luckily replaceable.

[beandemon]

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Tried bones bushings on ventures in an attempt to cure the madness. Couple sessions in they were starting to crush. That shit is an overpriced gimmick. Just find the right duro from Indy, get the conicals if you want a deeper turn, sand them down if you need to.

[close]

Yep. I used to skate Bones meds in my Indys and I would blow them up and have to buy new ones every 1-2 month depending, and I don't skate high impact stuff AT ALL. At some point I only threw my stock Indy bushings back in and realised they are pretty good and a lot tougher than Bones, and they last me pretty much the life of the truck, so why bother? I only skate Indy and Ace, and leave the stock bushings in both.

[close]

Ive mentioned it in other threads but you guys really gotta try bones hards before you write them off.  I had the same thing happen with mediums, it was super disappointing with how much they cost. With hards though, they barely squish and you dont have to tighten the bolt down much to get a nice turn but not bite.

[close]

Exactly how I feel. I've had the same bones hards in my ventures for months and not a sign of squishing or any other defect. Best bushings I've ever tried and I've tried ALOT lol.

I’ve been riding venture 6.1’s for a while. With the stock bushings, the top washer hits the hanger and chews up the stock bushing. I ran stock bottom, bones top, no washer until the bones blew out - which was quick. Now I’m using Indy soft top with bones washer and stock venture bottom. Pretty good; more temperature sensitive than bones and a little less rebound.  I’ve run bones soft in 5.8’s and gave up on them when I got sick of replacing bushings. Will definitely consider bones hard if things get unwell.

[beandemon]

I'd have gone to ACE44s if I had any on, but I don't. Also, no stickers  :'(

Not sure what component && is talking about, the pivot cups and bushings are fine (if not a little hard) I always swap them out for Krux or ACE.

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It's pretty well established here by now that Mini Logo trucks really do hold their own against the bigger brands. Powell would be smart to rebrand them as "Bones" trucks and try to capitalize on the success they have had with their wheel and bearings brand

[close]

I don't disagree that they can hold their own...but here? On Slap? Well established? I can count on one hand the number posters that have actually ridden them and spoken up.

I have ridden mini logo 8.75’s and liked them. They are looooow for a truck not specified as such, and there’s not a ton of kingpin clearance, but they grind and turn well. They did develop some pivot slop/kingpin wobble, but it was unnoticeable in use and mitigated by new pivot cups and bushings.

[Xen]

They're super low at 49.5mm yet don't wheelbite near as bad as Thunders.

[Ok]

They're super low at 49.5mm yet don't wheelbite near as bad as Thunders.

Should have named them bones

[Xen]

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They're super low at 49.5mm yet don't wheelbite near as bad as Thunders.

[close]

Should have named them bones

Probably would have gone over as well as BONES griptape; they're low budget trucks, 'alloy blend' (think Tensor Alloys ). And as noted, no way could Powell get these made stateside in order to fit with the Made in CA image and keep costs down (unless they did it themselves in house).