How to choose the right size trucks
How to choose the right skateboard trucks
The right skateboard wheels are vital to your skate and seem to be one of the most important parts of your skateboard even though it is the part that wears out the most. Discovering the right skateboard truck can be frustrating, especially when you are doing it for the first time and barely understand how it works. But when you get to know a little on the basics, it turns out to be quite an easy choice to make when creating a complete skateboard. You just have to be certain that the choice you make fits your deck to avoid responsiveness and balance issues. Your skateboard trucks can be high, low, or medium; it depends on your preference and any choice you make will work fine for you.
You also have to know that the speed of our skateboards depends on your choice of wheels and bearings. You should not only look for wheels that would match your truck and deck, look for wheels that will perfectly match your ride style. Several skateboard wheels exist and they come in different sizes, texture, and color.This article was created to guide you through choosing the right skateboard wheels and ensure that it comes without fault.
You need to know all the parts of a skateboard and what the part they play in making your skateboard exceptional. This is the first thing ne
Kingpin: this is the part that holds all other parts together. It is fixed on the base plate and extends through the hanger and bushing.
Kingpin Nut: this keeps the truck together and ensuring that the bushing can be easily adjusted by providing compression.
Pivot: This is part of the hanger and the extension goes into the pivot cup found on the baseplate. It also creates an axis for turning.
Pivot Cup: ensures that the pivot balances well on the baseplate. Pivot cup can be easily changed when it wears out.
Bushings: this helps in providing stability. It is mounted on the kingpin on the 2 sides of the hanger. It can be replaced.
Baseplate: they are urethane rings which contain the kingpin and the pivot cup, it is mounted on the deck. It allows the skateboard to make smooth turns
Hanger: the hanger holds the axle and pivot together and it has a triangular shape. The axle runs through it and it supports the axle.
Axle: axle is seen on the hanger and it passes through and is extended to both ends to hold the wheels and bearings together. To get a perfect fit, go for axles that the ends would come close to the sides of your skateboard.
These are the different parts that make up the skateboard truck. The performance of your skateboard is dependent on all of these parts. The stability of your skateboard is dependent on the type and size of skate trucks you go with. Your work does not just end when you choose the right skateboard, you have to maintain it as well. Lack of maintenance can lead to leads to wheel bite and this occurs when there is friction between your wheel and your board, causing it to stop on impact especially during a trick or turn.
Adjusting your truck to perform tighter turns or tricks on your board is quite easy to do. You could also select a softer bushing to make for easy turning. How you like skating is the factor to consider while deciding how loose or tight you leave your truck. But first of all, you have to choose the right truck and build a skateboard that is perfect for your style.
The next step to take is to choose the right skateboard size. Axle width or hanger width is used in the measurement of the truck size. How far apart your wheels are from each other are determined by the width of axle and hanger. Each riding style has a track width that is suitable for it and so the axle and hanger width affects the performance of the board. For more stability, the set up commonly used is one in which the truck axle width is approximately the same as the deck. Generally, you are advised to go axles that are a little greater or less than one-fourth of the board. For example, skateboard decks that measure 6.5 to 7.25 can go with axles which measure 6-7.25.
Now that you know how to select the perfect sized axle and hanger for your skateboard, next thing you need to know is how to choose a truck profile. The truck profile is the distance between the hanger and the bottom of the skate deck. There are 3 profiles that you can choose from; low-sized profile, mid-sized profile, and high-sized profile. The mid-sized profile has proven to be the most suitable for all skateboarders, but you can substitute it for the high-sized profile or low-sized truck profiles. Your choice should be dependent on your skating style.
Low-sized profile: these are designed for small wheels, and they provide you with extra stability especially when making certain moves, such as flip tricks.
If you are a technical skater and you are looking for a truck profile that will give you a quick response and a stable center of gravity. It is highly recommended that if you are going for a low-sized truck profile, you should go for 50-53mm wheel size.
Mid-sized profile: if you skate mostly in the park or in the street, then this is an ideal choice for you. It is highly recommended that if you are going for a mid-sized truck profile, you should go for 53-56mm wheel size.
High-sized profile: this is perfect for large wheels and it works perfectly for a longboard or cruiser. For carving and cruising streets, a high-sized truck profile gives you an assurance of experiencing a more responsive turn. It also comes with more wheel clearance which allows you to use bigger wheels that helps reduce the chances of wheel bite. This also offers you more trucks and wheel options that you could choose from. With a high-sized profile, for your wheel size, you are recommended to go for a 56mm wheel size and above.