Wrote this as a comment on someones video where they showed their new rip surf and figured id give this video an update with news on my current favorite ripstik and general caster board setup. Its still the one using the blade or wave or whatever torsion bar but ive cut the metal tubes and everthing to fit with tons more mods described in the following copy and pasted comment from that video..... I love my completely self done custom ripstik/caster board. Running my own custom torsion bar (the center piece that twists) its shorter, had to dremel the protective aluminum tube to fit over it with the plastic spacers that also go over that along with the stronger metal tube under all that i custom cut from another caster board. Threw on a harder after market 89a 80mm rear wheel and a softer 85a 80mm front wheel. Shaved down the front separated studded pieces to the matching v1.5 or v3 ripstik front end and top plate which i grip taped. I shaved the side crescent studded grip pieces flat and grip taped them as well. Then matching the rear to the front to fit the torsion bar since you cant use the v1s or the newest ver ripstiks with this sized torsion bar im using the same ver back plate and just threw out the studded grips as they just get in the way of gripping and the grip tape, did the same to the crescent studded grips (shaved em taped em). Dremel'ed off excessive plastic all over without affecting the rigidity and structural integrity of the ripstiks front and rear pieces. Then i reassembled both casters using brand new balls for the bearing construction and custom high end lube used for a lot of pneumatic applications, and then of course had to upgrade my spacers bearings and downgraded my steel caster wheel mount tops to lighten the setup and because i feel they dont wear as badly oddly enough with the lubed ball bearings or whatever that are for the caster assemblies. Finally to top it all off i tend to slide the back side down onto the plastic deck sorta like if you could board slide but for a ripstik and without needing a rail or curb. The problem with this is it wears down the plastic so badly and quickly it starts to wear down to the nails mounting the grip and i wound up using epoxy before to keep the grips on and it was a giant pain. So i shaved it down till the screws were just about to start scraping on the ground, and then used jb weld and hot glue to fill in the gaps and apply a rectangle i cut out of some delrin(a type of plastic) i had laying around which hardly wears at all if not not at all when compared to the ripstiks plastic material. With that mod done i also get much more sliding with less friction meaning i can get those slides to turn and to stop like i enjoy while having more control and balance and also making it easier to pump off the sliding back end and front end to build up speed going up hill while sliding. Ive never heard of anyone that has learned to do the sliding like i do let alone maneuver and build up speed while sliding, and this mod has just made that ability 20 times easier and smoother to pull off, it also helps having the delrin cut i made so thick so that the board doesnt require so much angle to initiate slides so theres less wear on other parts of the board and it helps significantly with balance like i said. Anyways TLDR you can do tons with all the different versions of the original ripstik up to the G version and the DLX versions, in total i had 5 or 6 different versions to work with as they changed the design over and over by the time that i purchased each one. So each version can easily be modded and have newer wheels thrown on with nicer bearings and immediately take apart the casters and clean the shitty lube off them and relube them often and use tri flow on the bearing inside the caster which you cant remove and your set for near top end quality riding on those things. Very little investment on the cheapest (not including their shitty "brights" "surf" and other shitty lighter variants) ripstik and youve got a caster board able to compete with custom wodden and other material caster boards worth upwards of $300 USD for entry level "high end caster boards" For a mere $130-160 USD if you opt for new bearings and a powell peralta tail bone skid plate instead of cutting a piece of delrin yourself, then just another $16 and you can relube and maintain the thing near indefinitely. My latest top end fully custom board i made has lasted me at least 9 months now and when i started cleaning it and putting it together it was already all using stuff well over 9 years old including the ripstik itself. This things never gonna break on me i love it. Not to mention im 6 foot 3 inches and 240 lbs which is just above the limit these things claim to handle and is usually something us bigger guys just burn through like wheels i used to go through typical wheels in about an hour or two now with the upgraded ones and learning to ride it better my wheels last me at least a week of continuous use. which is the reason for the crazy high durometer rear wheel which is fun to skid out/drift with due to the hardness. Due to the custom setup the torsion bar i installed which i stole from a discont. wave rider board has just as much stiffness as the best ripstik torsion bars but is shorter making the entire wheel base shorter allowing for a more trick oriented board that can accel. much quicker and easier than a normal length torsion bar even though youd think a wider stance/wheelbase for a taller person like myself would be better, its not. Combine that with the bigger wheels which usually require more strength/energy to accelerate with they kind of counteract each other and the bigger wheels make everything but the drop deck sliding trick i do with my mod for it easier to handle(the height of the delrin mod counteracts that problem tho), its better with cracks, curbs, and top speed so to speak, while also lasting longer. For comparison incase you barely touch your rip wave or whatever from razer the following compares the typical go to deck based mode of transportation the long board or even skateboard which im sure uve spent plenty of time riding now or in the past whichever it may be.... So thanks to all my modding making the thing perfect, and the fact that it works by propelling from your momentum you push with each leg this caster board requires much less leg work and allows for more endurance riding or long haul rides that youd be able to physically bear with a long board, without worry of tendinitis whilst giving you more maneuverability and imo is much safer to ride than a skateboard so long as the conditions are too sandy, dirt covered, or wet, then the long board is gonna beat out this and all other caster boards for safety. Now anyone thats gotten through all that reading i would like to thank you and congratulate you on having the patience to read all that text so if you have any questions or would like any advice or anything i can do to help you via texting, uploading videos, pics or anything to do with ripstiks and ripstik modding or even general caster board advice and the like leave a comment and i promise i will do my best to help and respond to whatever your asking or have concerns about or even wanna debate.
So I've had my ripstik for like an year now and I really didn't take much care of it. I usually just changed the wheels and used some grease from time to time. Never knew I had to take care of the caster things aswell. Do you think there's still hope or should I just buy a new ripstik and take care of that? Or even better, is there any way I can buy some casters from anywhere? That would be awesome. Also, thank you for your video, it's really helpful. I tried searching for another ripstik video of yours but it doesn't seem like you have any other videos about this unfortunately.
Dear Sparktite, After just a week of daily use, about 2-3 hrs each day (mostly downhill, at speeds often above 20mph+ constant), my ripstick caster truck disintegrated (the rear one). Idk where I could buy one and what's best to get. I am 6.1 and weigh about 175-180lbs. I dont do curbs and jumps but most of my riding is street and sidewalks. The downhill area is in a city park with nice smooth asphalt...not a skatepark but very nice. IDK why my casters went bad but I can see that the top area above the caster truck is kind of open and i see the internals of the caster. The ball bearings havent fallen out just yet but theres plenty wobble&wiggle and the caster truck now doesn't rotate around very well. it grinds and it isnt smooth.... when i turn it around by fingers, it feels pretty badly worn at at least two spots on the 360degree turn...it is kind of almost stuck. The board is much slower and I hear it going worn in such a short time. I used motorcycle chain spray lube to help my bearings and the caster but here I am ...i lubed twice in the week long use....did it about every three days then again....but.. after a single week only, my Ripstick is totally not running nicely. Where to get caster trucks? Or just get a new ripstick? IDK. Id like to hear your advice on how to get the rear caster replaced. I mean, what to replace it with.....thanks a lot.. GREAT RIPSTICK STUFF YOU GOT!!!!
@@agc_alex Sorry for my late reply i just found out I messed up and had my notification for comment replies turned off 😭 idk if you can find any castors online these days. Razor used to sell them on their site but I think the olds ones have been out of stock forever? I think their more modern caster boards are also using different assemblies and relying on more plastics. I would try ebay, or maybe if you can find a busted old ripstik no one wants you might be able to salvage its caster(s).
@I Kutia P So sorry for the late reply I've had my notifications messed up for years apparently :'( anyways if your still not sure what to do I think the new ripstiks are the way to go but make sure to check the weight limit on them, you can go over slightly but I think stuff like the rip surf and this other popular one they had for a while that replaced the normal ripstik were using more plastics and were rated for less weight possibly. I would try and find a busted or used ripstik on ebay to salvage the trucks off of. I also would not ride that thing ever again if you can see the bearing through the casters assembly. You should only see them from the sides and even then its usually too dark and crammed in there to see. What you probably need is some kind of grease. Us tall bois will be shreading through those wheels and ball bearings. Most greases will do you fine but I've started using a waterproof automotive grease. Its called Maxima Racing Oils Water Proof Grease. Also it might help to look into replacement bearings? Idk how hard it is to get the right bearings but id imagine its a standard size and you could measure them with a caliper to be sure. You wouldn't be replacing the cups or whatever hold the ball bearings but I think if you keep the bearings clean after every session that would remove all the metal shavings produced after every run. New ball bearings would also probably shave off metal less. Might even be able to go with a stronger material? But that also might speed up the wear on the cups I have no idea. Also thanks so much yo.
Hey, I used to Ripstik in middle achool and was recently feeling inspired to get back into it. I noticed you added grip tape to yours, something I was looking into. I was thinking of sanding off the wavy ridges to make the top totally flat so I could add grip to the whole thing. I feel it could give it even better traction for tricks that way. What do you think? Do the wavy pieces actually help traction? I feel it would just prevent the shoe from getting the full benefits of the grip..
Youre right on the money. I sanded mine down did grip tape and it felt way better. The weird spikes sometimes kinda help especially if your feet or the bumps are dealing with a lot of dirt/grime/whatever. But id prefer grip tape over bumps every time. Its not like im trying to ripstik in the grass or anything like that. The only downside i can think of with the grip tape is that the surface of the board and everything is relatively flat. It woud be much better if it were slightly concave in some way like your typical street style skateboards.
@@sparktite Yo, I super appreciate you replying back!! :D I wasn't sure if I'd get a response right away cause the video was seven years old.. But man, I'm feeling so stoked now!! I was too scared to attempt learning tricks before and then I grew up and got less active. Now I'm realizing how important it is for me to keep moving, and I'm rediscovering my love for ripstiking. Thanks for being a part of that ^^
Thanks alot man, I was struggling to find which wheels to get. Used to use reds when I skated so I didn't know they use the same bearings. Gotta say though, using this thing was a bit weird at first, but way more enjoyable than skating.
Yeah man i love helping out a fellow caster boarder, those things are tricky and can be dangerous ive yet to have any friends stick with it whove tried em lol. Im still planning to make that more comprehensive video. Im gonna pray i can get my hands on a new ripstik myself and then strip it down on stream and for youtube then show everything that was done and why, what you can do to prep it, then what to do to improve every bit of it you can, then do a reassembly, since the best vid ive seen on here sadly was a poorly shot over the shoulder tear down at an accelerated speed with no VO explaining a darn thing. Lemme know if you get a new setup or are literally on the verge of tearing yours down and ill put a rush and emphasis on getting that video out there and making sure you hear from me the second i publish the video here. Just lemme know what you think. As for the bearings yeah those lil suckers are all my backups, i only like to roll on swiss ceramics but since they are more expensive now somehow than literally 10 years ago, ive already been doing tons of research on what to try or bet on for my next purchase. By the way while i got ur attention, to help you out with picking bearings and such before i upload my tear down video, or say your in a rush n cant wait for the video i wrote up a grocery list formatted suggestion and option list for ya. This is just for comparing and consideration not a grocery list your gonna have looming over your head XD $6 - Dye Paintball 0.2 oz. Slick Lube for the casterboards ball bearings once you disassemble it. $10-44 - bones super reds just so you have better than basic reds $45-$50 bones swiss labyrinth comp. or maybe swiss L2 (aka labyrinth 2s) bearings $42 - Bones Super Swiss 6 Comp only $5 - If your in need of spacers and or washers for some reason you can get them for somewhere under theyre called "Standard Speed Kit (bearing spacers/speed washers)" I actually just stumbled across this without prior mention and im beyond excited to see theyre back and being sold. This is the top of the bearing world right here for almost all skaters... $42 - ESS Bones Swiss Skateboard Bearings the new replacement for the unbeatable classic bones swiss ceramics new swiss ceramics... man, hallelujah i have to get cracking on getting money for these and the other mentions rofl $25 - And finally the Titanium NEAL Precision Skate Bearings thats what i think is probably the safest/bet, i can guarantee they wont be the fastest bearings, but will retain their speed the longest of anything listed besides maybe the labyrinths or perfectly maintained never dirtied high end ceramics/ESS bones As for what i think you should get no matter the decision i have a few recommendations... $9 - Articlean thermal material remover and purifier sold as a set I would recommend buying it as it comes with a safe citric cleaner in bottle one and in the other isopropyl, ive been using bottle 1 to clean my bearing and other parts. This is all of course down the road but you never know when you may need it. $10 - Bones skate bearing cleaning unit (please keep in mind the fluids to clean the bearings are very subjective. ive heard isopropyl alcohol to be very popular/effective, but from the sounds of things a household non harmful citrus degreasers) $6 vs $6 vs $4 You will also really need a lube for down the road to help with the bearings built into the casters themselves and same for relubing old bearing especially after cleaning them, so the options in order of the previously listed prices are tri flow & Bones Speed Cream and my favorite "marvel air tool oil" ... Its always more important to have the tools you need that will keep you prepared for any mishaps. In this case im talking about the cleaner related stuff and lubes. Sorry if thats too hard to read or messy as im 3 days sleep deprived but dont worry i already learned and know all this stuff from putting in work not when im in insomnia mode of course lol Ill probably be touching if not covering all this in my video i might wind up having to make 2 or 3 considering how comprehensive i wanna get with the info for ppl. So last thing, the reason for the 3 lube rec.s is that speed cream is what bones tells everyone to use and not to use a lot of other random junk. Tri flow has been a staple for god knows how many years for this kinda stuff and people love it and ive read and found it to be a thinner substance than speed cream making it easier to get it into places you need it. As for the marvel air tool oil not many have it but i use it for so many different things and i cant tell you how much more i love it than any of the alternatives. Again i hope thats not too much of a reading frenzy for ya lemme know if it is so im aware and can try to get better with my communication skills like this.
Hey Sparktite, just wondering where to get the bushings for the trucks, if you could let me know where you got yours that would be great. Also, I was wondering how close the 80mm wheel gets to the truck. I am just a little worried about clearance for those wheels. Please get back to me, thanks.
Sorry im not great with all the technical terms atm, by bushings u mean the yellow ones u can see under the trucks on one of my setups? If so ive done a lot of testing and found that they dont actually do anything, however mine are old and have been compressed im sure. The bushings came on one of my ripstiks, i believe it was the first DLX's that came out which i got mine on. I checked a photo and theyre calling them riser pads which might help if ur looking around for em still. As for the 80s if they clear how would knowing exactly how much clearance there is help? Sorry not trying to be rude just trying to understand. The 80s iirc have space no need to worry about little rocks catching unless your riding in gravel... your not riding in gravel are ya? ;) I went with the biggest size i could fit so that hopefully that would allow the wheels to last longer which i feel like with the right ones it did help a lot. I found myself riding on two different setups however, one had massive wheels and the stock torsion bar(the more resistance to help coast the better) for cruising, and then the trick one which i went with the smallest wheels i had, idk if they were 72 or 74 but the smaller lighter wheels help with acceleration and limit top speed, so thats the one i used mainly especially with the torsion bar i stole of a discontinued main stream caster board, it was shorter which helped with turn radius and accel. All my parts and mod stuff were pretty much from trashed ripstiks i had gone through, or salvaged from a lot of the failed ripstik like caster boards that started coming out around the early ripstik days, as well as a few things purchased from amazon that razer makes.... the only unique thing i really worked with that doesnt fall into that category was my sliding or skid plate i made out of delrin i bought and jbwelded to the side of the board that wears down from me dropping it on its side as i... board slide? it around for fun.
oh yeah another thing to note would be with the clearance of those 80mm wheels u will get a lot of build up on the truck from the wheels wearing away as you use them, make sure to clean it off without getting it wet just to try and keep it away from getting in the trucks or bearings etc, i just used a paper towel or a can of air usually and i believe some probably still got in the little ball bearing spot cuz that always got super dirty and i would clean it out regularly to keep it in nice shape
One last thing i forgot to mention is to be careful with the, what are they called kingpins? The main bolt that goes through the ripstiks and the metal bearing cup will fit very differently with the bushings on, i felt like the dlx and g would comfortably allow for that bushing/riser to fit while any standard or other ripstik would not necessarily have the space for em. Not entirely sure how it would affect the ride if at all but it was something that really caught my attention and i thought would be important to mention.
Yeah somewhat, its a lot fo the wheels debris or whatever, i forget what theyre actually made of but lets just call it rubber for now, the rubber builds up on the nut or what have you, its not a problem it just will get dirtier quicker with the bigger wheels. Usually after every ride i would wipe it down with a paper towel and use the air can stuff for before i open it up. But yes its because of the wheel being closer. It would however still happen with smaller wheels just to less of a degree. The KSS wheels i recommend can come in the smaller sizes. I love them because they last so crazy long compared to anything labeda or anything else ive experienced. I kinda feel like ive tried all the recommended wheels from when i was trying to find wheels that last. Everything was too soft except the KSS, they were actually so hard that i ate it on a turn once because i through the back into the turn fat too quickly and i broke the grip, so be careful with them. Even after eating it i still stuck with the KSS wheels, it actually became something i started doing for fun(breaking the grip/traction). I did however try to always keep a labeda up front for bumps and such. If i had to pick a backup long lasting wheel it would be the labeda street/asphalt wheels but theyre too expensive and dont last long enough, but they do last longer than everything i tried that wasnt a KSS wheel.
No problem man, also good point i never thought about just normal pushing but then again the whole fun of caster boards is being able to pump without pushing.
@@sparktite Pumping is awesome, but I recommend pushing too. You can go faster, it's less strenuous and of course it's better for the wheels. In my opinion casterboarding would be more popular if we showed everyone that you can push on it just like a regular skateboard. It's more familiar to most people and it adds diversity of motion. Love it just as much as pumping, swaying and carving!
@@TLM860 Yo sorry for super late reply, just found out i had comment reply notifs off... So you dont find that when pushing.... wait do you push mongo? does that even work? Anyways i find that pushing normal in a goofy stance the front wheel feels a bit unstable because of the angle of the caster or something. I should try attempting to practice manuals again that would def help with getting a better feel for a balanced front foot which i think is the biggest issue for me at least. I still wanna learn how to ride the thing switch. Maybe i should finally learn switch on a skateboard then do the ripstik.
@@sparktite Here is how you do it- angle the board so that the back part is pointed away from your back foot. Place your front foot just past the middle of the board and pointed in the same direction as the front of the board, which will be at a diagonal by this point. Once you are positioned, place your back foot down quickly on the ground parallel to the board, the back part of which will be pointed away from your dominant side. The surface of the board will lean toward your dominant side, but this is balanced by your back foot that is parallel to the board. To get the best push, make sure your back foot is parallel to the front end of the board and that you lean forward when pushing. Be careful not to brush your back foot against the board, you could trip. Once you are done with the push the backside of the board will move toward your back foot and you will be able to hop back on. This takes a while to learn, but it's worth it so that you can have a push somewhat like a skateboard when you need it for a burst of speed.
The spacer i mention in my videos is more of a cushion than a real spacer. Default ripstiks dont come with ''em, and i dont even think theyre really making much of a difference anyways. Sorry, to answer you question, youll be fine throwing 80s on a regular ripstik.
@@michael_cleek_3446 Thanks yo!! Sorry for the late reply i just discovered my comment reply notifications were turned off for... hopefully not years but 😬lol
Whoa i am genuinely struggling to find any kind of caster replacement for sale right now on its own. I would highly recommend looking for almost any broken or 'for parts' caster board for sale on ebay or even 3rd party amazon. Even if its not from razer/ripstik. Only because ive seen other companies torsion bars and caster parts built similarly enough that you can interchange a lot of the wave board parts with ripstik parts. Getting a cheap beat up caster board to steal the casters off of will probably be your best bet. Alternatively you could teach yourself how to polish and fix your old casters if you still have them. Also lastly if u wind up more desperate you may be able to find industrial/commercial based casters that might be modifyable to be interchangeable to some degree with a ripstik caster. Although that would be a lot of work or effort i imagine to even try. Heres a google i came up with that turned up some shopping results for casters that could potentially be tweaked or modified maybe: www.google.com/search?q=caster+board+replacement+%22caster%22+part+-wheel&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS813US813&ei=IujhYs79Mf3ZkPIP77KvGA&ved=0ahUKEwjOlvWCuZr5AhX9LEQIHW_ZCwMQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=caster+board+replacement+%22caster%22+part+-wheel&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgAEEcQsAM6BQghEKABOgUIIRCrAkoFCDwSATNKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQ6yxYqlZgw1doA3ABeACAAX-IAdIHkgEDNi40mAEAoAEByAEFwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz Hope this helps!
Mine doesn't have a nut to take the caster trucks apart... it's just a circle. How do I take that kind apart please? Its so weird. Mine is "The Wave" looks pretty much exactly like yours
Sorry not sure, i think some castors are designed not be taken apart on these boards so that may be the case. Have you completely disassembled the board top and bottom? I know ripsticks like to hide the other half of their caster assembly in the top side of the board under where your feet go.
@@sparktite thanks man! Exactly, it's my sister's board but it was originally mine and I'm supposed to be doing maintenance... The board is like 15 years old and was like the original. The Wave. I'm going to see if I can get in the other way, cheers. I also ordered one of the waveriders abstract the wooden boards that are really light for my sister's birthday in a few weeks it's going to be so sick.
@@sparktite streetsurfing.com/products/wave-rider-abstrakt one of these! You tried? I got different wheels and Bronson shieldless bearings haha sooo sick!
Sounds like what happened with my Ripstik G. You can't disassemble the the caster like in the video. The best you can do is put lube through the crack where the bearings are located. Perhaps heat up the caster with a hairdryer to melt the lube if it's not spreading enough.
@@contorta960 Oh man that sounds awesome, you should definitely make sure to take out the torsion bar of the wave if you ever wind up throwing it out or it breaks or something. It has a shorter torsion bar than whats in the ripstiks and is completely swappable without any modding or work needed. I still prefer the shorter wheel base because it makes the board easier to accelerate with. For traveling like actual distances though i still recommend the normal torsion bar.
so are these the same kinds of wheels that rollerblades use? I found KSS outdoor asphaults 89A on Amazon, they look exactly the same as your backwheel. But they're listed as rollerblade wheels, would that still work?
Yeah theyre the same kind of wheels. The only concern with ripsticks is that they only have so much clearance so you wanna get the right size as a lot of inline skates can have bigger wheels than the ripsticks or something like that. I cant remember how big you can go with those wheels but from what i just found the ripsticks use 76mm wheels but im almost certain i went with a size bigger because of the way they handle. Id actually recommend the "Labeda Asphalt Outdoor Inline Hockey Wheels" because theyre slightly softer than the KSS wheels and feel/grip way better. The only issue is that they will of course wear out faster than the KSS wheels. The downside for the KSS wheels however are that if your going too fast and trying to turn too fast the back wheel can lose grip and youll wind up falling. If youre gonna do any hills use the labedas, on flat ground id prefer the KSS. Quick edit, i just read through some of my old comments and the 80mms are the ones i used and anything bigger i believe may not fit. Also the setup i preferred most was a KSS on the front and a labeda on the back so that i wouldnt slide out and i could still benefit from having a single KSS to last longer on the front. My only issue with the labedas at the time was that they were like $10 more and i would burn through them faster or id have used labedas on both front and back.
Hello Sparktite. Do you know if the torsion bars are interchangeable between different models? Unfortunately I'm not sure which one I have. I think its the classic.
Kyle Miller yes they’re totally interchangeable, even some of the other brands torsion bars work. I had one from a wave board that was shorter than the ripstick torsion bars and it was my favorite one to use because of how it picked up speed and moved quicker. Make sure to plan to swap it out as most parts on the ripstick were not designed to last. I think greasing the torsion bar and the castor cups with ball bearings in ‘em helps a lot.
@@sparktite Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply! 2 more questions. 1. Are the torsion bars across the different models created equal, or are some longer and/or have more tension/tighter swivel action when propelling yourself forward. My goal is to make my board a little longer while restoring it. 2. Any idea where I could find some replacement casters and are the interchangeable? Thanks again!
@@sparktite Also, do u think its possible to change the bearing you showed where the caster attaches to the board? I haven't been able to find replacement casters assembly in stock anywhere but I did find replacement bearings.
@@kylemiller1984 So sorry for the late reply. I can't believe i had my comment reply notificaitons turned off for years :'( if your still needing help the caster bearing i believe might be able to be repaired or at the very least replaced if you can properly remove it which might be hard based on the tolerances used when manufacturing the thing. This is a lot of IFs and maybes but... i would try taking the thing to a couple hardware stores hopefully with knowledgable employees who can answer your questions. You can see if maybe they have some kinda possible replacement (doubt it) but at the very least they can help you figure out how to remove it or maybe other idea i havent even thought about. If it really came down to it you could get a caliper and then try to find a replacement with the same dimensions. Then worst case for removing it you could try and pry it out or heat it and pry it out. And if all else fails attempting to remove, I'm sure you could get a dremel or rotary tool in there to carve out the bearing. Youd have to get used to working with... aluminum? what metal do these guys use? Oh i remember some of 'em used to be steel and some of them are aluminum. And i believe the bearings would be entirely aluminum. The reason youd wanna practice is so you dont scratch the inside of the ripstik too much and then the bearing could lose its ability to stay properly seated in the assembly or whatever.
@@kylemiller1984 Depending on manufacturer some torsion bars are longer/shorter stiffer/looser. I prefer the shorter wave board torsion bar in my ripstik usually, but if I'm gonna be traveling i want the long torsion bar. Stiffness is fun to play around with too, if its loose its fun for carving on the asphalt and doing tricks but the stronger resistance i believe will be nicer for traveling.
If I understood correctly, you put the Dye Lube under the balls in the truck? I'm trying to find the right/best grease for the truck ball bearings. I have some Bones cream for my wheel bearings but can't seem to find any info regarding truck maintenance.
sorry i didnt notice your comment sooner. So the open "bearing" as ive heard it called, it has the plastic sorta gasket and balls in it. You need a thicker type of lube or grease in there. Ive heard people use just straight grease from their cars or something, i get by fine using different paintball lubes as theyre essentially dow33 and perfect for the job. I coat the bottom metal bit with the lube and then put a little on the top of the ball bearings and wipe my hands of on the plastic ring. put it together, twist it a bit so the lube spreads out, oh and a little tiny bit of lube on the top metal bit. Once ive twisted it around to spread the lube its good to go.
Thanks for the reply. I ended up finding some info in the last month (the using car grease) and everything is working smoothly. Though I might try the dow33 next time just as a comparison to the car grease.
I’ve been trying to find a set of 68mm durable wheels for my ripstik mini, but all the reviews of the wheels I’ve looked at said they wear down fast. I don’t care about price, what do you suggest?
donno where u can get 68mm kss wheels but those last the longest, the only concern is if ur going down hills and u turn too fast the wheel might slide and you'll lose your grip and fly off. I think you wanna look for any wheel that's actually rated in the high 80s the kss wheels are 89a, however if price is of no concern i prefer the labedas at 85a and u can get those in 68mm on amazon. If price doesn't matter though try out both of em, i experimented with a mix of both kss and labeda wheels swapping front/back wheel to see what i liked. www.amazon.com/Labeda-DECK-Asphalt-Wheels/dp/B000UV1T2W/ref=pd_sbs_468_3/132-4919230-8323809?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07CKJ13KT&pd_rd_r=d267d0c3-f9a9-4425-a8b1-7d49216f26a7&pd_rd_w=gpMIT&pd_rd_wg=n3zrH&pf_rd_p=665be1f4-8d3b-46dd-91b4-582d3cec8dd6&pf_rd_r=4NZSEKFS983T979XMJ0K&psc=1&refRID=4NZSEKFS983T979XMJ0K
Sorry i didnt upload the video yet the whole move has kinda gone to hell. Ive never seen castors that arent made by a company for casterboards. You can check with a company called timberwolf they make custom casterboards and make their own castors that im sure theyd sell you if u contacted them. The ones i use came with my ripstiks so they were made by razer, razor? and sold with their products.
TheMadHatta thank you for all the feedback. I really appreciate it. My current board is rather terrible to be honest. Once i change the torsion should be more solid, I hope
Sorry for the late reply i went through hell with the move and i still havent landed on my feet but luckily got a hold of my computer finally and noticed this was open... Anyways did i already mention you can buy some castors from timberwolf? While im not sure of how good they are ive read theyre great quality and i know they sell parts individually which might need calling individual parts in for a custom order..... but sadly the old links i have arent working and i dont understand what the host is saying about the site. If you can find anything about em let me know so i can mention it here. www.amazon.com/TimberWolf-twxtm1-XtreeM-Caster-Board/dp/B002HOL4TS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Thats one of the newer boards from tiberwolf, since they were selling individual parts separately for custom projects and together in boards like this one... if you can find a board for sale online, you should be able to take off the castors and use em on most anything with enough work and determination.
@@contorta960 Oh man i can't remember if ive seen that before. I'm sure this a dumb question but you checked both sides from within the ripstik under the plastic foot grips pieces? and from where you would normally access it on the bottom? I'm sure you could remove it or get it removed if you really wanted with a power tool or something. Then you could hopefully find someone selling or even just having a left over caster assembly that might just drop in perfectly but who knows ive never actually seen that the assembly looks like it would fit right.
How does one relube the castors? Aka how does one take them apart. I got a cheap 20$ board which I want to mod, got some 30$ wheels and brearings but its still lacking speed
Juan van Rensburg are you asking about the castors, like the housing or what have you that holds the bigger ball bearings, or something else? I have a video im looking for atm on my pc that should cover this and ill upload it by the end of the night. But just a bit info in the meantime... The board moves from your momentum so as long as the castors aren't seizing up it shouldn't generate much more speed compared to stock if all you do is properly lube the castors. What I did to make my setup "faster" was swapping for a shorter torsion bar so that my stance wasn't as wide making. For me its easier to perform the swiveling or momentum generating motion when the setup is designed with persicion/agility in mind. I want the board to takes less force/energy. The other things to consider is that smaller wheels will slow down your top speed however you get a massive increase in acceleration which i prefer. The top speed is mostly gonna be limited by your balance and strength. I'm 6'3 and I prefer 72mm wheels for long distances, ive read that someones who taller should run larger wheel... i currently use either 80 or 78 in the back and 74/72 up front so I could pump easier off the front wheel since its smaller. I have a video of how to disassemble and relube the castors for one I just haven't uploaded it yet. If i cant find the video ill just make a new one, it shouldnt be hard to do in evening.
TheMadHatta well i call it a ripstick but its a ripoff from a local store here im South Africa called Mr Price Sport. The castors are slightlt haggard, so maybe if i het propper lube it ought to be better. My wheels are also a bit too worn as they are from my 5 year opd board😂 im about 1,7 meter not sure what that is in ft. Also mine comes standard with a short-ish torsoon but the wheel base remains a but long so maybe ill try shorten it more
Careful messing around with the board but yeah a shorter wheel base is one of the biggest changes i made, i stole the bar from a knock off i got, it happens to be just as stiff as some of the ripstiks torsion bars but the wheel base is the main reason. Getting smaller wheels will feel like your using a smaller wheel base in a way too so u may wanna check that out. The problem with wheels is a lot of the caster boards cant fit over 80mm wheels, some dont even allow for 80, but ive seen people mod some to get over 84 or 86mm. Im 1.9m tall. I edited my comment just as you posted a reply so if you reread it i added a bit of extra info and made it more legible. Since i need to get back to work ill mention what i used... The ripstik has a nut that you can unscrew that a threaded bolt goes into. The bolt should be going through the caster assembly. Its kinda hard to describe so i think its actually a bolt on either end that screw into a sort of nut thats cylindrical so that the bearings can rotate freely. I used to use this stuff called dow33 for paintball, so i have tons of different mixtures from those days. Any typical lube thats like dow33 that comes with any paintball marker/gun should work just fine. You may even find that some air tool oil or another similar oil would work but from all the videos ive seen everyone uses grease. You need it to be heat resistant and have it protect the ball bearings. Ive heard of people using all kinds of random grease and stuff they have laying around their home. Heres dow33, dont get dow55... www.google.com/search?q=dow+33&espv=2&biw=1678&bih=900&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI6ouc067SAhVU9mMKHYV5CeUQ_AUICygE This is what i used the most of... "dye paintball lube" is what i googled for the pics. www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1678&bih=900&tbm=isch&q=dye+paintball+lube&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDnYmt067SAhUY6GMKHeWzD9sQvwUIGSgA&dpr=1.1 Hope that helps, lemme know if uve got more questions and ill leave another reply comment when i start uploading the video.
So i checked my scrap board today, turns out i have to remove these factory rivits in order to get to the castor bearings. Also my wheels are 68 and roughly 58( 60 when new) got some bearings today about $1.20 per bearing as my old ones are shot, seems to be better than my old ones. Sadly i have to mod my old boards torsion to fit as its mounting points or rather bolts' location differs. Suprisingly my old board had a plastic torsion where as the new board has a spring steel one(happens to be worse than the plastic)
@@sparktite 1. thank you for the reply 2. what can i do to mod my ripstik to operate like a longboard or a snowboard? i like to use my ripstik as a mode of transportation, so i want to make something durable that has sharp swerving, but also smooth riding in general. 3. which kind of deck should i use? the long kind or the short kind? thanks!
@@sportsgambler6 Yo I'm about to go to bed lemme try and update you soon. But basically for long coasting sessions down hill and especially if your tall the longer the board can be, there's a company I have a bookmark for somewhere that make probably the best caster boards on the market, I just don't prefer them because I like to grind out the bottom of my ripstiks as an extra trick or thing to do. But my other suggestions would be to use the biggest wheels you can find, I've linked and mentioned sized in replies to comments and in the description I believe. Then I don't know how many cast board clones exist by different companies, but if you're really crazy about it you could look to buy up different models of caster boards from different companies. You might be able to find some make that has a longer torsion bar. Alternatively I wonder if any hardware stores happen to have torsion bars that you could potentially drill holes in to make your own longer torsion bar. (These are all just ideas I still need to get you the name of that one caster board company)
@@sportsgambler6 Okay so i found the link to the really top end caster boards I was talking about. However their site doesn't load for me and just shows a building with some like Chinese text on the side of it? Heres the link in case it works for you www.twxtm.com/index.html. Also in case you wanna see how they look here's a good vid th-cam.com/video/vcmonHOoL1A/w-d-xo.html Those timberwolfs apparently were highly regarded if not thought of as the best of the best. But for me I don't think sliding on wood on asphalt would work as well as thick plastic that just basically shaves off and can give on asphalt to a degree.
Yeah but dont forget the wheel size and the length of the torsion bar will effect this dramatically, its more so about whether u want really quick acceleration with kind of a lower top speed or if u want a stable platform thats harder to accel with but can handle down hills and top speeds way better if you can pump well enough. Bearings are super nice but i personally think splurging for bones ceramics or anything higher than reds is kinda overkill and hurts the wallet hardcore.
Yo this is a total long shot and probably wont do anything but.... I totally fucked up and deleted someones comment. If you see this I'm sorry and i still want to reply.
What games you been playing lately btw man its been too long, ive been between pokemon go when im mobile and FFX when i find time to mellow out. I miss that gaming community feel FFX is one lonely as fucking game man wtf is this retro no real people shit Kappa
lol the sad thing is the only way i was able to obtain that game was thanks to a very trusting friend i made online who traded me some steam csgo goods for the game, and my 2 closest rl gamer friends are so frustrated with how bad console and console competitive is on that game that thyere on the verge of quitting if they havent already. I actually got bored with it fairly early myself and all the blizzard styled tweaking that theyre so well known for from previous titles has left a really bad taste in my mouth, no matter how much i loved the beta, its rather sad
Wrote this as a comment on someones video where they showed their new rip surf and figured id give this video an update with news on my current favorite ripstik and general caster board setup. Its still the one using the blade or wave or whatever torsion bar but ive cut the metal tubes and everthing to fit with tons more mods described in the following copy and pasted comment from that video.....
I love my completely self done custom ripstik/caster board. Running my own custom torsion bar (the center piece that twists) its shorter, had to dremel the protective aluminum tube to fit over it with the plastic spacers that also go over that along with the stronger metal tube under all that i custom cut from another caster board. Threw on a harder after market 89a 80mm rear wheel and a softer 85a 80mm front wheel. Shaved down the front separated studded pieces to the matching v1.5 or v3 ripstik front end and top plate which i grip taped. I shaved the side crescent studded grip pieces flat and grip taped them as well. Then matching the rear to the front to fit the torsion bar since you cant use the v1s or the newest ver ripstiks with this sized torsion bar im using the same ver back plate and just threw out the studded grips as they just get in the way of gripping and the grip tape, did the same to the crescent studded grips (shaved em taped em). Dremel'ed off excessive plastic all over without affecting the rigidity and structural integrity of the ripstiks front and rear pieces. Then i reassembled both casters using brand new balls for the bearing construction and custom high end lube used for a lot of pneumatic applications, and then of course had to upgrade my spacers bearings and downgraded my steel caster wheel mount tops to lighten the setup and because i feel they dont wear as badly oddly enough with the lubed ball bearings or whatever that are for the caster assemblies.
Finally to top it all off i tend to slide the back side down onto the plastic deck sorta like if you could board slide but for a ripstik and without needing a rail or curb. The problem with this is it wears down the plastic so badly and quickly it starts to wear down to the nails mounting the grip and i wound up using epoxy before to keep the grips on and it was a giant pain. So i shaved it down till the screws were just about to start scraping on the ground, and then used jb weld and hot glue to fill in the gaps and apply a rectangle i cut out of some delrin(a type of plastic) i had laying around which hardly wears at all if not not at all when compared to the ripstiks plastic material. With that mod done i also get much more sliding with less friction meaning i can get those slides to turn and to stop like i enjoy while having more control and balance and also making it easier to pump off the sliding back end and front end to build up speed going up hill while sliding. Ive never heard of anyone that has learned to do the sliding like i do let alone maneuver and build up speed while sliding, and this mod has just made that ability 20 times easier and smoother to pull off, it also helps having the delrin cut i made so thick so that the board doesnt require so much angle to initiate slides so theres less wear on other parts of the board and it helps significantly with balance like i said.
Anyways TLDR you can do tons with all the different versions of the original ripstik up to the G version and the DLX versions, in total i had 5 or 6 different versions to work with as they changed the design over and over by the time that i purchased each one. So each version can easily be modded and have newer wheels thrown on with nicer bearings and immediately take apart the casters and clean the shitty lube off them and relube them often and use tri flow on the bearing inside the caster which you cant remove and your set for near top end quality riding on those things.
Very little investment on the cheapest (not including their shitty "brights" "surf" and other shitty lighter variants) ripstik and youve got a caster board able to compete with custom wodden and other material caster boards worth upwards of $300 USD for entry level "high end caster boards" For a mere $130-160 USD if you opt for new bearings and a powell peralta tail bone skid plate instead of cutting a piece of delrin yourself, then just another $16 and you can relube and maintain the thing near indefinitely. My latest top end fully custom board i made has lasted me at least 9 months now and when i started cleaning it and putting it together it was already all using stuff well over 9 years old including the ripstik itself.
This things never gonna break on me i love it. Not to mention im 6 foot 3 inches and 240 lbs which is just above the limit these things claim to handle and is usually something us bigger guys just burn through like wheels i used to go through typical wheels in about an hour or two now with the upgraded ones and learning to ride it better my wheels last me at least a week of continuous use. which is the reason for the crazy high durometer rear wheel which is fun to skid out/drift with due to the hardness.
Due to the custom setup the torsion bar i installed which i stole from a discont. wave rider board has just as much stiffness as the best ripstik torsion bars but is shorter making the entire wheel base shorter allowing for a more trick oriented board that can accel. much quicker and easier than a normal length torsion bar even though youd think a wider stance/wheelbase for a taller person like myself would be better, its not. Combine that with the bigger wheels which usually require more strength/energy to accelerate with they kind of counteract each other and the bigger wheels make everything but the drop deck sliding trick i do with my mod for it easier to handle(the height of the delrin mod counteracts that problem tho), its better with cracks, curbs, and top speed so to speak, while also lasting longer.
For comparison incase you barely touch your rip wave or whatever from razer the following compares the typical go to deck based mode of transportation the long board or even skateboard which im sure uve spent plenty of time riding now or in the past whichever it may be....
So thanks to all my modding making the thing perfect, and the fact that it works by propelling from your momentum you push with each leg this caster board requires much less leg work and allows for more endurance riding or long haul rides that youd be able to physically bear with a long board, without worry of tendinitis whilst giving you more maneuverability and imo is much safer to ride than a skateboard so long as the conditions are too sandy, dirt covered, or wet, then the long board is gonna beat out this and all other caster boards for safety.
Now anyone thats gotten through all that reading i would like to thank you and congratulate you on having the patience to read all that text so if you have any questions or would like any advice or anything i can do to help you via texting, uploading videos, pics or anything to do with ripstiks and ripstik modding or even general caster board advice and the like leave a comment and i promise i will do my best to help and respond to whatever your asking or have concerns about or even wanna debate.
So I've had my ripstik for like an year now and I really didn't take much care of it. I usually just changed the wheels and used some grease from time to time. Never knew I had to take care of the caster things aswell. Do you think there's still hope or should I just buy a new ripstik and take care of that? Or even better, is there any way I can buy some casters from anywhere? That would be awesome.
Also, thank you for your video, it's really helpful. I tried searching for another ripstik video of yours but it doesn't seem like you have any other videos about this unfortunately.
Dear Sparktite,
After just a week of daily use, about 2-3 hrs each day (mostly downhill, at speeds often above 20mph+ constant), my ripstick caster truck disintegrated (the rear one). Idk where I could buy one and what's best to get. I am 6.1 and weigh about 175-180lbs. I dont do curbs and jumps but most of my riding is street and sidewalks. The downhill area is in a city park with nice smooth asphalt...not a skatepark but very nice. IDK why my casters went bad but I can see that the top area above the caster truck is kind of open and i see the internals of the caster. The ball bearings havent fallen out just yet but theres plenty wobble&wiggle and the caster truck now doesn't rotate around very well. it grinds and it isnt smooth.... when i turn it around by fingers, it feels pretty badly worn at at least two spots on the 360degree turn...it is kind of almost stuck.
The board is much slower and I hear it going worn in such a short time. I used motorcycle chain spray lube to help my bearings and the caster but here I am ...i lubed twice in the week long use....did it about every three days then again....but.. after a single week only, my Ripstick is totally not running nicely.
Where to get caster trucks? Or just get a new ripstick? IDK. Id like to hear your advice on how to get the rear caster replaced. I mean, what to replace it with.....thanks a lot.. GREAT RIPSTICK STUFF YOU GOT!!!!
i wish i could meet someone irl who was this into ripstiks. you seem awesome as heck
@@agc_alex Sorry for my late reply i just found out I messed up and had my notification for comment replies turned off 😭 idk if you can find any castors online these days. Razor used to sell them on their site but I think the olds ones have been out of stock forever? I think their more modern caster boards are also using different assemblies and relying on more plastics. I would try ebay, or maybe if you can find a busted old ripstik no one wants you might be able to salvage its caster(s).
@I Kutia P So sorry for the late reply I've had my notifications messed up for years apparently :'( anyways if your still not sure what to do I think the new ripstiks are the way to go but make sure to check the weight limit on them, you can go over slightly but I think stuff like the rip surf and this other popular one they had for a while that replaced the normal ripstik were using more plastics and were rated for less weight possibly. I would try and find a busted or used ripstik on ebay to salvage the trucks off of. I also would not ride that thing ever again if you can see the bearing through the casters assembly. You should only see them from the sides and even then its usually too dark and crammed in there to see.
What you probably need is some kind of grease. Us tall bois will be shreading through those wheels and ball bearings. Most greases will do you fine but I've started using a waterproof automotive grease. Its called Maxima Racing Oils Water Proof Grease. Also it might help to look into replacement bearings? Idk how hard it is to get the right bearings but id imagine its a standard size and you could measure them with a caliper to be sure. You wouldn't be replacing the cups or whatever hold the ball bearings but I think if you keep the bearings clean after every session that would remove all the metal shavings produced after every run. New ball bearings would also probably shave off metal less. Might even be able to go with a stronger material? But that also might speed up the wear on the cups I have no idea.
Also thanks so much yo.
Hey, I used to Ripstik in middle achool and was recently feeling inspired to get back into it. I noticed you added grip tape to yours, something I was looking into. I was thinking of sanding off the wavy ridges to make the top totally flat so I could add grip to the whole thing. I feel it could give it even better traction for tricks that way. What do you think? Do the wavy pieces actually help traction? I feel it would just prevent the shoe from getting the full benefits of the grip..
Youre right on the money. I sanded mine down did grip tape and it felt way better. The weird spikes sometimes kinda help especially if your feet or the bumps are dealing with a lot of dirt/grime/whatever. But id prefer grip tape over bumps every time. Its not like im trying to ripstik in the grass or anything like that.
The only downside i can think of with the grip tape is that the surface of the board and everything is relatively flat. It woud be much better if it were slightly concave in some way like your typical street style skateboards.
@@sparktite Yo, I super appreciate you replying back!! :D I wasn't sure if I'd get a response right away cause the video was seven years old.. But man, I'm feeling so stoked now!! I was too scared to attempt learning tricks before and then I grew up and got less active. Now I'm realizing how important it is for me to keep moving, and I'm rediscovering my love for ripstiking. Thanks for being a part of that ^^
Happy to be of any help. :D Been kinda goin through the same but havent gotten back to finishing my mods or anything still :P@@VINZVANGO
Great stuff, thank you! Your video helped me a lot.
Super happy to be of any help.
Don’t mind me watching this in 2023…
Thanks alot man, I was struggling to find which wheels to get. Used to use reds when I skated so I didn't know they use the same bearings. Gotta say though, using this thing was a bit weird at first, but way more enjoyable than skating.
Yeah man i love helping out a fellow caster boarder, those things are tricky and can be dangerous ive yet to have any friends stick with it whove tried em lol. Im still planning to make that more comprehensive video. Im gonna pray i can get my hands on a new ripstik myself and then strip it down on stream and for youtube then show everything that was done and why, what you can do to prep it, then what to do to improve every bit of it you can, then do a reassembly, since the best vid ive seen on here sadly was a poorly shot over the shoulder tear down at an accelerated speed with no VO explaining a darn thing.
Lemme know if you get a new setup or are literally on the verge of tearing yours down and ill put a rush and emphasis on getting that video out there and making sure you hear from me the second i publish the video here. Just lemme know what you think.
As for the bearings yeah those lil suckers are all my backups, i only like to roll on swiss ceramics but since they are more expensive now somehow than literally 10 years ago, ive already been doing tons of research on what to try or bet on for my next purchase.
By the way while i got ur attention, to help you out with picking bearings and such before i upload my tear down video, or say your in a rush n cant wait for the video i wrote up a grocery list formatted suggestion and option list for ya.
This is just for comparing and consideration not a grocery list your gonna have looming over your head XD
$6 - Dye Paintball 0.2 oz. Slick Lube for the casterboards ball bearings once you disassemble it.
$10-44 - bones super reds just so you have better than basic reds
$45-$50 bones swiss labyrinth comp. or maybe swiss L2 (aka labyrinth 2s) bearings
$42 - Bones Super Swiss 6 Comp only
$5 - If your in need of spacers and or washers for some reason you can get them for somewhere under theyre called "Standard Speed Kit (bearing spacers/speed washers)"
I actually just stumbled across this without prior mention and im beyond excited to see theyre back and being sold. This is the top of the bearing world right here for almost all skaters...
$42 - ESS Bones Swiss Skateboard Bearings the new replacement for the unbeatable classic bones swiss ceramics
new swiss ceramics... man, hallelujah i have to get cracking on getting money for these and the other mentions rofl
$25 - And finally the Titanium NEAL Precision Skate Bearings thats what i think is probably the safest/bet, i can guarantee they wont be the fastest bearings, but will retain their speed the longest of anything listed besides maybe the labyrinths or perfectly maintained never dirtied high end ceramics/ESS bones
As for what i think you should get no matter the decision i have a few recommendations...
$9 - Articlean thermal material remover and purifier sold as a set I would recommend buying it as it comes with a safe citric cleaner in bottle one and in the other isopropyl, ive been using bottle 1 to clean my bearing and other parts. This is all of course down the road but you never know when you may need it.
$10 - Bones skate bearing cleaning unit (please keep in mind the fluids to clean the bearings are very subjective. ive heard isopropyl alcohol to be very popular/effective, but from the sounds of things a household non harmful citrus degreasers)
$6 vs $6 vs $4 You will also really need a lube for down the road to help with the bearings built into the casters themselves and same for relubing old bearing especially after cleaning them, so the options in order of the previously listed prices are tri flow & Bones Speed Cream and my favorite "marvel air tool oil"
... Its always more important to have the tools you need that will keep you prepared for any mishaps. In this case im talking about the cleaner related stuff and lubes.
Sorry if thats too hard to read or messy as im 3 days sleep deprived but dont worry i already learned and know all this stuff from putting in work not when im in insomnia mode of course lol
Ill probably be touching if not covering all this in my video i might wind up having to make 2 or 3 considering how comprehensive i wanna get with the info for ppl. So last thing, the reason for the 3 lube rec.s is that speed cream is what bones tells everyone to use and not to use a lot of other random junk. Tri flow has been a staple for god knows how many years for this kinda stuff and people love it and ive read and found it to be a thinner substance than speed cream making it easier to get it into places you need it. As for the marvel air tool oil not many have it but i use it for so many different things and i cant tell you how much more i love it than any of the alternatives.
Again i hope thats not too much of a reading frenzy for ya lemme know if it is so im aware and can try to get better with my communication skills like this.
Hey Sparktite, just wondering where to get the bushings for the trucks, if you could let me know where you got yours that would be great. Also, I was wondering how close the 80mm wheel gets to the truck. I am just a little worried about clearance for those wheels. Please get back to me, thanks.
Sorry im not great with all the technical terms atm, by bushings u mean the yellow ones u can see under the trucks on one of my setups? If so ive done a lot of testing and found that they dont actually do anything, however mine are old and have been compressed im sure. The bushings came on one of my ripstiks, i believe it was the first DLX's that came out which i got mine on. I checked a photo and theyre calling them riser pads which might help if ur looking around for em still.
As for the 80s if they clear how would knowing exactly how much clearance there is help? Sorry not trying to be rude just trying to understand. The 80s iirc have space no need to worry about little rocks catching unless your riding in gravel... your not riding in gravel are ya? ;)
I went with the biggest size i could fit so that hopefully that would allow the wheels to last longer which i feel like with the right ones it did help a lot. I found myself riding on two different setups however, one had massive wheels and the stock torsion bar(the more resistance to help coast the better) for cruising, and then the trick one which i went with the smallest wheels i had, idk if they were 72 or 74 but the smaller lighter wheels help with acceleration and limit top speed, so thats the one i used mainly especially with the torsion bar i stole of a discontinued main stream caster board, it was shorter which helped with turn radius and accel.
All my parts and mod stuff were pretty much from trashed ripstiks i had gone through, or salvaged from a lot of the failed ripstik like caster boards that started coming out around the early ripstik days, as well as a few things purchased from amazon that razer makes.... the only unique thing i really worked with that doesnt fall into that category was my sliding or skid plate i made out of delrin i bought and jbwelded to the side of the board that wears down from me dropping it on its side as i... board slide? it around for fun.
oh yeah another thing to note would be with the clearance of those 80mm wheels u will get a lot of build up on the truck from the wheels wearing away as you use them, make sure to clean it off without getting it wet just to try and keep it away from getting in the trucks or bearings etc, i just used a paper towel or a can of air usually and i believe some probably still got in the little ball bearing spot cuz that always got super dirty and i would clean it out regularly to keep it in nice shape
One last thing i forgot to mention is to be careful with the, what are they called kingpins? The main bolt that goes through the ripstiks and the metal bearing cup will fit very differently with the bushings on, i felt like the dlx and g would comfortably allow for that bushing/riser to fit while any standard or other ripstik would not necessarily have the space for em. Not entirely sure how it would affect the ride if at all but it was something that really caught my attention and i thought would be important to mention.
By build up on the truck, do you mean dirt/road grime? If so, is it because the wheel is closer to the truck?
Yeah somewhat, its a lot fo the wheels debris or whatever, i forget what theyre actually made of but lets just call it rubber for now, the rubber builds up on the nut or what have you, its not a problem it just will get dirtier quicker with the bigger wheels. Usually after every ride i would wipe it down with a paper towel and use the air can stuff for before i open it up. But yes its because of the wheel being closer. It would however still happen with smaller wheels just to less of a degree. The KSS wheels i recommend can come in the smaller sizes. I love them because they last so crazy long compared to anything labeda or anything else ive experienced. I kinda feel like ive tried all the recommended wheels from when i was trying to find wheels that last. Everything was too soft except the KSS, they were actually so hard that i ate it on a turn once because i through the back into the turn fat too quickly and i broke the grip, so be careful with them. Even after eating it i still stuck with the KSS wheels, it actually became something i started doing for fun(breaking the grip/traction). I did however try to always keep a labeda up front for bumps and such. If i had to pick a backup long lasting wheel it would be the labeda street/asphalt wheels but theyre too expensive and dont last long enough, but they do last longer than everything i tried that wasnt a KSS wheel.
Thanks for this video, great board! The best thing for your wheels is to push just like on a skateboard. It doesn't wear them down like pumping does.
No problem man, also good point i never thought about just normal pushing but then again the whole fun of caster boards is being able to pump without pushing.
@@sparktite Pumping is awesome, but I recommend pushing too. You can go faster, it's less strenuous and of course it's better for the wheels. In my opinion casterboarding would be more popular if we showed everyone that you can push on it just like a regular skateboard. It's more familiar to most people and it adds diversity of motion. Love it just as much as pumping, swaying and carving!
@@TLM860 Yo sorry for super late reply, just found out i had comment reply notifs off... So you dont find that when pushing.... wait do you push mongo? does that even work? Anyways i find that pushing normal in a goofy stance the front wheel feels a bit unstable because of the angle of the caster or something. I should try attempting to practice manuals again that would def help with getting a better feel for a balanced front foot which i think is the biggest issue for me at least. I still wanna learn how to ride the thing switch. Maybe i should finally learn switch on a skateboard then do the ripstik.
@@sparktite Here is how you do it- angle the board so that the back part is pointed away from your back foot. Place your front foot just past the middle of the board and pointed in the same direction as the front of the board, which will be at a diagonal by this point. Once you are positioned, place your back foot down quickly on the ground parallel to the board, the back part of which will be pointed away from your dominant side. The surface of the board will lean toward your dominant side, but this is balanced by your back foot that is parallel to the board. To get the best push, make sure your back foot is parallel to the front end of the board and that you lean forward when pushing. Be careful not to brush your back foot against the board, you could trip. Once you are done with the push the backside of the board will move toward your back foot and you will be able to hop back on. This takes a while to learn, but it's worth it so that you can have a push somewhat like a skateboard when you need it for a burst of speed.
@@sparktite Here's the video where I got the idea from - th-cam.com/video/O0sQDcHLdVs/w-d-xo.html
quick question will the 80mm wheels fit on just a regular rip stick or would I need to get a spacer to lift the caster from the board
The spacer i mention in my videos is more of a cushion than a real spacer. Default ripstiks dont come with ''em, and i dont even think theyre really making much of a difference anyways.
Sorry, to answer you question, youll be fine throwing 80s on a regular ripstik.
@@sparktite thanks man planning on it soon good video
@@michael_cleek_3446 Thanks yo!! Sorry for the late reply i just discovered my comment reply notifications were turned off for... hopefully not years but 😬lol
Where can i get replacement casters? If you know of anywhere reliable
Whoa i am genuinely struggling to find any kind of caster replacement for sale right now on its own. I would highly recommend looking for almost any broken or 'for parts' caster board for sale on ebay or even 3rd party amazon. Even if its not from razer/ripstik. Only because ive seen other companies torsion bars and caster parts built similarly enough that you can interchange a lot of the wave board parts with ripstik parts. Getting a cheap beat up caster board to steal the casters off of will probably be your best bet. Alternatively you could teach yourself how to polish and fix your old casters if you still have them.
Also lastly if u wind up more desperate you may be able to find industrial/commercial based casters that might be modifyable to be interchangeable to some degree with a ripstik caster. Although that would be a lot of work or effort i imagine to even try.
Heres a google i came up with that turned up some shopping results for casters that could potentially be tweaked or modified maybe:
www.google.com/search?q=caster+board+replacement+%22caster%22+part+-wheel&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS813US813&ei=IujhYs79Mf3ZkPIP77KvGA&ved=0ahUKEwjOlvWCuZr5AhX9LEQIHW_ZCwMQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=caster+board+replacement+%22caster%22+part+-wheel&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgAEEcQsAM6BQghEKABOgUIIRCrAkoFCDwSATNKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQ6yxYqlZgw1doA3ABeACAAX-IAdIHkgEDNi40mAEAoAEByAEFwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz
Hope this helps!
@@sparktite nice!! Ty!
@@sparktite anything helps lol
@@SylverQrow Woot glad i can be of any help.
Mine doesn't have a nut to take the caster trucks apart... it's just a circle. How do I take that kind apart please? Its so weird. Mine is "The Wave" looks pretty much exactly like yours
Sorry not sure, i think some castors are designed not be taken apart on these boards so that may be the case. Have you completely disassembled the board top and bottom? I know ripsticks like to hide the other half of their caster assembly in the top side of the board under where your feet go.
@@sparktite thanks man! Exactly, it's my sister's board but it was originally mine and I'm supposed to be doing maintenance... The board is like 15 years old and was like the original. The Wave. I'm going to see if I can get in the other way, cheers. I also ordered one of the waveriders abstract the wooden boards that are really light for my sister's birthday in a few weeks it's going to be so sick.
@@sparktite streetsurfing.com/products/wave-rider-abstrakt one of these! You tried? I got different wheels and Bronson shieldless bearings haha sooo sick!
Sounds like what happened with my Ripstik G. You can't disassemble the the caster like in the video. The best you can do is put lube through the crack where the bearings are located. Perhaps heat up the caster with a hairdryer to melt the lube if it's not spreading enough.
@@contorta960 Oh man that sounds awesome, you should definitely make sure to take out the torsion bar of the wave if you ever wind up throwing it out or it breaks or something. It has a shorter torsion bar than whats in the ripstiks and is completely swappable without any modding or work needed. I still prefer the shorter wheel base because it makes the board easier to accelerate with. For traveling like actual distances though i still recommend the normal torsion bar.
so are these the same kinds of wheels that rollerblades use? I found KSS outdoor asphaults 89A on Amazon, they look exactly the same as your backwheel. But they're listed as rollerblade wheels, would that still work?
Yeah theyre the same kind of wheels. The only concern with ripsticks is that they only have so much clearance so you wanna get the right size as a lot of inline skates can have bigger wheels than the ripsticks or something like that. I cant remember how big you can go with those wheels but from what i just found the ripsticks use 76mm wheels but im almost certain i went with a size bigger because of the way they handle. Id actually recommend the "Labeda Asphalt Outdoor Inline Hockey Wheels" because theyre slightly softer than the KSS wheels and feel/grip way better. The only issue is that they will of course wear out faster than the KSS wheels. The downside for the KSS wheels however are that if your going too fast and trying to turn too fast the back wheel can lose grip and youll wind up falling. If youre gonna do any hills use the labedas, on flat ground id prefer the KSS.
Quick edit, i just read through some of my old comments and the 80mms are the ones i used and anything bigger i believe may not fit. Also the setup i preferred most was a KSS on the front and a labeda on the back so that i wouldnt slide out and i could still benefit from having a single KSS to last longer on the front. My only issue with the labedas at the time was that they were like $10 more and i would burn through them faster or id have used labedas on both front and back.
Yo how did you get that bushing on the back and what kind you rockin on it
The bushings come from one of the models of ripstick i think it was the ripstick g maybe but not sure.
Hello Sparktite. Do you know if the torsion bars are interchangeable between different models? Unfortunately I'm not sure which one I have. I think its the classic.
Kyle Miller yes they’re totally interchangeable, even some of the other brands torsion bars work. I had one from a wave board that was shorter than the ripstick torsion bars and it was my favorite one to use because of how it picked up speed and moved quicker. Make sure to plan to swap it out as most parts on the ripstick were not designed to last. I think greasing the torsion bar and the castor cups with ball bearings in ‘em helps a lot.
@@sparktite Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply! 2 more questions.
1. Are the torsion bars across the different models created equal, or are some longer and/or have more tension/tighter swivel action when propelling yourself forward. My goal is to make my board a little longer while restoring it.
2. Any idea where I could find some replacement casters and are the interchangeable?
Thanks again!
@@sparktite Also, do u think its possible to change the bearing you showed where the caster attaches to the board? I haven't been able to find replacement casters assembly in stock anywhere but I did find replacement bearings.
@@kylemiller1984 So sorry for the late reply. I can't believe i had my comment reply notificaitons turned off for years :'( if your still needing help the caster bearing i believe might be able to be repaired or at the very least replaced if you can properly remove it which might be hard based on the tolerances used when manufacturing the thing.
This is a lot of IFs and maybes but... i would try taking the thing to a couple hardware stores hopefully with knowledgable employees who can answer your questions. You can see if maybe they have some kinda possible replacement (doubt it) but at the very least they can help you figure out how to remove it or maybe other idea i havent even thought about. If it really came down to it you could get a caliper and then try to find a replacement with the same dimensions.
Then worst case for removing it you could try and pry it out or heat it and pry it out. And if all else fails attempting to remove, I'm sure you could get a dremel or rotary tool in there to carve out the bearing. Youd have to get used to working with... aluminum? what metal do these guys use? Oh i remember some of 'em used to be steel and some of them are aluminum. And i believe the bearings would be entirely aluminum.
The reason youd wanna practice is so you dont scratch the inside of the ripstik too much and then the bearing could lose its ability to stay properly seated in the assembly or whatever.
@@kylemiller1984 Depending on manufacturer some torsion bars are longer/shorter stiffer/looser. I prefer the shorter wave board torsion bar in my ripstik usually, but if I'm gonna be traveling i want the long torsion bar. Stiffness is fun to play around with too, if its loose its fun for carving on the asphalt and doing tricks but the stronger resistance i believe will be nicer for traveling.
Bro your the best i need to know the size wheel thank u bro and all the rest info u showed me how to this mount and re mount it back 💙
Yeah no problem man, always happy to be of any help.
If I understood correctly, you put the Dye Lube under the balls in the truck? I'm trying to find the right/best grease for the truck ball bearings. I have some Bones cream for my wheel bearings but can't seem to find any info regarding truck maintenance.
sorry i didnt notice your comment sooner. So the open "bearing" as ive heard it called, it has the plastic sorta gasket and balls in it. You need a thicker type of lube or grease in there. Ive heard people use just straight grease from their cars or something, i get by fine using different paintball lubes as theyre essentially dow33 and perfect for the job. I coat the bottom metal bit with the lube and then put a little on the top of the ball bearings and wipe my hands of on the plastic ring. put it together, twist it a bit so the lube spreads out, oh and a little tiny bit of lube on the top metal bit. Once ive twisted it around to spread the lube its good to go.
Thanks for the reply. I ended up finding some info in the last month (the using car grease) and everything is working smoothly. Though I might try the dow33 next time just as a comparison to the car grease.
yeah np ive seen a lot of car grease videos but never tried it, the dow i have tons of so i figured why not use it :P
I’ve been trying to find a set of 68mm durable wheels for my ripstik mini, but all the reviews of the wheels I’ve looked at said they wear down fast. I don’t care about price, what do you suggest?
donno where u can get 68mm kss wheels but those last the longest, the only concern is if ur going down hills and u turn too fast the wheel might slide and you'll lose your grip and fly off. I think you wanna look for any wheel that's actually rated in the high 80s the kss wheels are 89a, however if price is of no concern i prefer the labedas at 85a and u can get those in 68mm on amazon. If price doesn't matter though try out both of em, i experimented with a mix of both kss and labeda wheels swapping front/back wheel to see what i liked. www.amazon.com/Labeda-DECK-Asphalt-Wheels/dp/B000UV1T2W/ref=pd_sbs_468_3/132-4919230-8323809?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07CKJ13KT&pd_rd_r=d267d0c3-f9a9-4425-a8b1-7d49216f26a7&pd_rd_w=gpMIT&pd_rd_wg=n3zrH&pf_rd_p=665be1f4-8d3b-46dd-91b4-582d3cec8dd6&pf_rd_r=4NZSEKFS983T979XMJ0K&psc=1&refRID=4NZSEKFS983T979XMJ0K
Where can I buy castors such as youre using mine has cheap ones which cant be opened
Sorry i didnt upload the video yet the whole move has kinda gone to hell. Ive never seen castors that arent made by a company for casterboards. You can check with a company called timberwolf they make custom casterboards and make their own castors that im sure theyd sell you if u contacted them. The ones i use came with my ripstiks so they were made by razer, razor? and sold with their products.
TheMadHatta thank you for all the feedback. I really appreciate it. My current board is rather terrible to be honest. Once i change the torsion should be more solid, I hope
Sorry for the late reply i went through hell with the move and i still havent landed on my feet but luckily got a hold of my computer finally and noticed this was open...
Anyways did i already mention you can buy some castors from timberwolf? While im not sure of how good they are ive read theyre great quality and i know they sell parts individually which might need calling individual parts in for a custom order..... but sadly the old links i have arent working and i dont understand what the host is saying about the site. If you can find anything about em let me know so i can mention it here.
www.amazon.com/TimberWolf-twxtm1-XtreeM-Caster-Board/dp/B002HOL4TS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Thats one of the newer boards from tiberwolf, since they were selling individual parts separately for custom projects and together in boards like this one... if you can find a board for sale online, you should be able to take off the castors and use em on most anything with enough work and determination.
Is yours just a circle too, no nut? I want to take mine apart too but it's so annoying, right!
@@contorta960 Oh man i can't remember if ive seen that before. I'm sure this a dumb question but you checked both sides from within the ripstik under the plastic foot grips pieces? and from where you would normally access it on the bottom? I'm sure you could remove it or get it removed if you really wanted with a power tool or something. Then you could hopefully find someone selling or even just having a left over caster assembly that might just drop in perfectly but who knows ive never actually seen that the assembly looks like it would fit right.
How does one relube the castors? Aka how does one take them apart. I got a cheap 20$ board which I want to mod, got some 30$ wheels and brearings but its still lacking speed
Juan van Rensburg are you asking about the castors, like the housing or what have you that holds the bigger ball bearings, or something else? I have a video im looking for atm on my pc that should cover this and ill upload it by the end of the night.
But just a bit info in the meantime...
The board moves from your momentum so as long as the castors aren't seizing up it shouldn't generate much more speed compared to stock if all you do is properly lube the castors. What I did to make my setup "faster" was swapping for a shorter torsion bar so that my stance wasn't as wide making. For me its easier to perform the swiveling or momentum generating motion when the setup is designed with persicion/agility in mind. I want the board to takes less force/energy. The other things to consider is that smaller wheels will slow down your top speed however you get a massive increase in acceleration which i prefer. The top speed is mostly gonna be limited by your balance and strength. I'm 6'3 and I prefer 72mm wheels for long distances, ive read that someones who taller should run larger wheel... i currently use either 80 or 78 in the back and 74/72 up front so I could pump easier off the front wheel since its smaller.
I have a video of how to disassemble and relube the castors for one I just haven't uploaded it yet. If i cant find the video ill just make a new one, it shouldnt be hard to do in evening.
TheMadHatta well i call it a ripstick but its a ripoff from a local store here im South Africa called Mr Price Sport. The castors are slightlt haggard, so maybe if i het propper lube it ought to be better. My wheels are also a bit too worn as they are from my 5 year opd board😂 im about 1,7 meter not sure what that is in ft. Also mine comes standard with a short-ish torsoon but the wheel base remains a but long so maybe ill try shorten it more
Careful messing around with the board but yeah a shorter wheel base is one of the biggest changes i made, i stole the bar from a knock off i got, it happens to be just as stiff as some of the ripstiks torsion bars but the wheel base is the main reason. Getting smaller wheels will feel like your using a smaller wheel base in a way too so u may wanna check that out. The problem with wheels is a lot of the caster boards cant fit over 80mm wheels, some dont even allow for 80, but ive seen people mod some to get over 84 or 86mm.
Im 1.9m tall.
I edited my comment just as you posted a reply so if you reread it i added a bit of extra info and made it more legible.
Since i need to get back to work ill mention what i used...
The ripstik has a nut that you can unscrew that a threaded bolt goes into. The bolt should be going through the caster assembly. Its kinda hard to describe so i think its actually a bolt on either end that screw into a sort of nut thats cylindrical so that the bearings can rotate freely.
I used to use this stuff called dow33 for paintball, so i have tons of different mixtures from those days. Any typical lube thats like dow33 that comes with any paintball marker/gun should work just fine. You may even find that some air tool oil or another similar oil would work but from all the videos ive seen everyone uses grease. You need it to be heat resistant and have it protect the ball bearings. Ive heard of people using all kinds of random grease and stuff they have laying around their home.
Heres dow33, dont get dow55...
www.google.com/search?q=dow+33&espv=2&biw=1678&bih=900&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI6ouc067SAhVU9mMKHYV5CeUQ_AUICygE
This is what i used the most of... "dye paintball lube" is what i googled for the pics.
www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1678&bih=900&tbm=isch&q=dye+paintball+lube&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDnYmt067SAhUY6GMKHeWzD9sQvwUIGSgA&dpr=1.1
Hope that helps, lemme know if uve got more questions and ill leave another reply comment when i start uploading the video.
So i checked my scrap board today, turns out i have to remove these factory rivits in order to get to the castor bearings. Also my wheels are 68 and roughly 58( 60 when new) got some bearings today about $1.20 per bearing as my old ones are shot, seems to be better than my old ones. Sadly i have to mod my old boards torsion to fit as its mounting points or rather bolts' location differs. Suprisingly my old board had a plastic torsion where as the new board has a spring steel one(happens to be worse than the plastic)
Im going to add some grip tape soon, as well as LEDS(because i can😂) want 84 mm wheels too
yo are you still here? i got some questions.
What are your questions?
@@sparktite
1. thank you for the reply
2. what can i do to mod my ripstik to operate like a longboard or a snowboard? i like to use my ripstik as a mode of transportation, so i want to make something durable that has sharp swerving, but also smooth riding in general.
3. which kind of deck should i use? the long kind or the short kind?
thanks!
@@sportsgambler6 Yo I'm about to go to bed lemme try and update you soon. But basically for long coasting sessions down hill and especially if your tall the longer the board can be, there's a company I have a bookmark for somewhere that make probably the best caster boards on the market, I just don't prefer them because I like to grind out the bottom of my ripstiks as an extra trick or thing to do. But my other suggestions would be to use the biggest wheels you can find, I've linked and mentioned sized in replies to comments and in the description I believe. Then I don't know how many cast board clones exist by different companies, but if you're really crazy about it you could look to buy up different models of caster boards from different companies. You might be able to find some make that has a longer torsion bar. Alternatively I wonder if any hardware stores happen to have torsion bars that you could potentially drill holes in to make your own longer torsion bar. (These are all just ideas I still need to get you the name of that one caster board company)
@@sportsgambler6 Okay so i found the link to the really top end caster boards I was talking about. However their site doesn't load for me and just shows a building with some like Chinese text on the side of it? Heres the link in case it works for you www.twxtm.com/index.html. Also in case you wanna see how they look here's a good vid th-cam.com/video/vcmonHOoL1A/w-d-xo.html Those timberwolfs apparently were highly regarded if not thought of as the best of the best. But for me I don't think sliding on wood on asphalt would work as well as thick plastic that just basically shaves off and can give on asphalt to a degree.
The only way to make them faster is to make the bearings better.
Yeah but dont forget the wheel size and the length of the torsion bar will effect this dramatically, its more so about whether u want really quick acceleration with kind of a lower top speed or if u want a stable platform thats harder to accel with but can handle down hills and top speeds way better if you can pump well enough.
Bearings are super nice but i personally think splurging for bones ceramics or anything higher than reds is kinda overkill and hurts the wallet hardcore.
Yo this is a total long shot and probably wont do anything but.... I totally fucked up and deleted someones comment. If you see this I'm sorry and i still want to reply.
What is this where is the video games? pfft I don't do real life. Just kidding nice video man Thanks for the tips.
What games you been playing lately btw man its been too long, ive been between pokemon go when im mobile and FFX when i find time to mellow out. I miss that gaming community feel FFX is one lonely as fucking game man wtf is this retro no real people shit Kappa
Nice video Sparktite, this helped a lot,
BTW we are a channel that is about Ripstiks if u want to check it out
I didn't know anyone did anything but OverWatch anymore weird.
lol the sad thing is the only way i was able to obtain that game was thanks to a very trusting friend i made online who traded me some steam csgo goods for the game, and my 2 closest rl gamer friends are so frustrated with how bad console and console competitive is on that game that thyere on the verge of quitting if they havent already. I actually got bored with it fairly early myself and all the blizzard styled tweaking that theyre so well known for from previous titles has left a really bad taste in my mouth, no matter how much i loved the beta, its rather sad