That's weird, I've always skated lows and whenever I try someone else's board, I can ALWAYS tell when they have highs. It feels like skating round on the top of a building.
Hopefully this gets seen but their is a lot of misinformation in this video and the heights of trucks are out there you just got to know where to look. However, I do know the heights of most major trucks and I'll make this comprehensive list to hopefully help those who see this. Also, most skaters will definitely notice a difference in height for sure. Independent- Standard and Regular hollow 55mm Stage 4 55mm Forged hollow and titanium 53.5mm Mid. 52mm Forged hollow mid. 50.5 Krux Regular 55mm Dl 52mm Venture Standard 53.5mm V light, v hollow, and titanium 52mm Low 48mm Grind King Disruptor 53mm Royal Standard 51mm Mini Logo Regular 49mm Bullet Regular 51.5mm Thunder Standard & team hollow size 143-147 50mm Standard & team hollow size 148 and up 52.3mm Lights, hollow lights & titanium 143-147 49mm Lights, hollow lights & titanium 148 & up 51mm 147 high. 52.3mm Tensor Standard ATG and Mag-light ATG 55mm Alloys 51mm Mag-light low 46mm Silver M-class 52.1mm L-class. 48mm Destructo Mid 56mm Low 49mm Ace Classic size 00-33 52mm Classic size 44 & up 53mm Classic low 48mm AF1 53mm AF1 low 49mm Slappy ST1 54mm Hopefully someone sees this and puts all these useless numbers stuck in my brain forever to use! Cheers.
10:22 - tail higher off the ground, yes you can snap it harder, but not with the same amount of effort. The higher the tail is off the ground more effort required to snap crackle pop.
thanks for making this, you're the only person on youtube that talks about trucks this specific. Man, it's so nice actually hearing someone say all these things. And when you said: "20 gram would definitely be noticeable." I even said "Yes" out loud. Because I'm that carbon bicycle nerd that tries to make his board as light as possible.😂
/raises hand I was sponsored by Grind Kind in the late 80s and early 90s before they even made trucks. Back then they only sold the inverted kingpins that got the company started, Bridge Bolts (Google it), and for a short time they made decks under the "Freedom" brand name. Loved the kingpins, not so much the Bridge Bolts, and had a different deck sponsor so I only tried out a Freedom deck for a few days before giving it to a friend. Shout out to Don Cassel, founder of Grind King and an overall rad dude.
And Mr Mark, that's not a very accurate statement regarding him judging others. He also researches topics he's not fully knowledgeable on. Other times his videos cover his experience. I think you need to do deeper research yourself.
Let's just agree to disagree. I think I laughed so hard at the treadmill comment because it was so out of the norm for him and funny to see him let loose. We all have our own way of understanding skateboarding and most of this isn't based on fact. The years our skateboarding has spanned, our social/ peer groups, geographic locations, demographics, early years vs the refined years [32 years later in my case] all play a part in how we perceive, understand and give back those experiences. "For the thinking skateboarder...." We're lucky we have a solid option in a skate channel besides John Hill and the Clickbait kooks. Anyways, I'm going to shut up and skate and I suggest you do the same.
Indy high 149 and 1/8th inch risers with 56 ricta chrome wheels in 87 duro. Oust moc 7 bearings. Welcome mild concave/tail in 8.88. Oj juice bars. Custom grip job. Skate to park. Skate all obstacles and transitions. Skate downhill home. Best setup for all around
Someone like Rad Rat would be bullies for being such a nerd back in the 80’s/90’s. I praise him so much. So cool, doing what no one else is doing here on TH-cam. I’m a Math Major with a Minor and physics, and I love the in depth for ALL his videos here on this channel. Would love to have a skate sesh with!
In my experience of skating all different brands, widths, and heights of trucks, it actually does make quite a bit of a difference for me. Weight and height are the two things that I am most picky with when it comes to trucks. With height it actually does affect how I pop my ollies, because the timing between when the tail strikes the ground is different between lows and highs. I prefer high trucks, because I am more used to the ollie timing and I feel it is easier to grab my board for Boneless tricks. Weight is the biggest factor for me with trucks. I have skated trucks that were too light and I have skated trucks that were too heavy. The trucks that were too light were Tensor magnesium trucks. I think those trucks were lighter than my deck, because my board definitely did not flip around the same way, it seemed to want to land upsidedown. I would prefer heavier over lighter trucks for that reason.
Your rationality is awesome!!! "Was it worth spending thousands more for a bike that weighs one pound less when you don't?" Keep up the great work. The skate world needs more people like you, bro!!!
I've skated standard sets of Royal, Krux & Indy's. They were all relatively the same size and height so I never noticed any difference. The real game changer is how long they last for grinds. I've been skating the same pair of indy's for about three years now. They definitely last the longest when it comes to wear. Atleast in my experience, so Indy's have definitely won me over. Good video SkateRat, here's an idea for a video. "What are the differences and advantages for tight & loose trucks"?
They are absolutely the worst about Kingpin's snapping, but I always loved Venture low's. Really wish shops still carried them, have switched to Indy's and Thunder's since they are hard to find without taking to the internet.
I've been skating for 30+ years now, I skated old school boards with bigger wheels, I went through the skinny board, small wheel, big pants era. Today my setup is the same as it was almost 10 years ago, 8.25 deck, 52mm wheels and Venture Lo trucks. What's better, Lo's or Highs is strictly personal. I deviated from a low to a high once and switched back as soon as I could. For me, a low profile allows me to pop quickly. I have pretty good pop already but my legs are probably stronger than most younger skaters. When I skated highs I discovered that it took a fraction of a second longer for my tail to hit the ground when popping tricks that I felt like I was going to have to relearn a lot of them. I rely on a lower setup because I need that instant contact when popping but that's what I'm used to, it's my personal preference. Performance wise, personally, I don't think there's any difference, it's more about how you've conditioned yourself and because there are height differences available it makes you that more conscious about its impact. The type of skating one does will also dictate what's a better choice. Like you said highs are good for transition skating and lows for street/tech. skating, sorry guys/gals....I said a lot.
you want the truck height to be proportional to the board width and the wheel size. Wide board, bigger wheels... ride a high. Skinny board with tiny wheels, ride a low.
I ordered both the tensor mag light low and the new tensor mag light all terrain (regulars), and I felt a drastic difference between the lows and the regulars. I tended to have better "pop" with the regulars. I eventually had to throw riser pads on my lows (which added about 3 ounces per truck), but was able to flip, pop and control more easily. The difference between tensor lows and regulars were pretty blatant.
I really like low trucks. I skate Tensor lows with 48 mm wheels. I find it a lot easier to keep my weight over the board when I land with it being so close to the ground. I also just like how it feels more. When I try my friends boards I always suck because of how much tighter their trucks are than mine and how tall their boards are. I know that a higher tail is theoretically better but I just hate the feeling of having a tall board or a steep tail.
10:22 I've been having truck madness for over a year thanks to ben degros but this freaking segment right here is what i've been looking for all along. Thank you rad rat!
@@ho2673 Ended up sticking with Royal (52mm high). I ended up buying an angle-measure to see how steep the board gets at pop. Venture Lo's had a crazy low angle so thats why the pop felt low. Independent had an insane angle that my legs dont have the power for. Thunder and Royal have the same angle but Royal has a short wheelbase to make pivoting my 180's easier. Hope this helps!
@@cardiothoraskate4524 my kid skated in royals from June until 2 weeks ago and they were great ( chocolate deck 8.25 + royal 149s and 56mm ricta wheels ) . Right now we got Indy.
A true skater will adapt and conquer, no matter the height of the trucks. To each their own. You rock RadRat!!...keep up the good work, I really enjoy all of the topics you bring up!
If anything, high trucks allow you to ride them loose and do give you a little more pop. But this shouldn't dictate how well you can do things. It's really all about how well you can jump/ how consistent you are. High vs Low is really about how they feel. I've skated both on and off for 13 years and still can't say one is better than the other. Just depends on how you like your ride. The strange thing is, I did prefer low trucks for transition which just doesn't make sense if you think about what people have to say about it.
I switched from Grind King light low trucks to a set of old high stage 10 Independents when I was much younger. Although they were way heavier I was noticeably better able to get on top of handrails and higher ledges right after I made the switch. It also means everything to be able to have high trucks to carve the local skate park, or bombing hills while street skating. If you have any stability problems or want to cut weight just get firmer bushings or thinner wheels in my opinion.
Maybe it's just me BUT I made the switch to thunder senora los, from classic indys about 5 years ago and I my experience is several things Weight: obviously thunders are way lighter but u sacrifice pop and cleanliness in your trick, an Ollie with indys feels more solid and strong. But I noticed that I was able to skate longer, and to me being almost 30 now, being able to skate longer is important. So yes I sacrifice a little bit of solidarity in my popping but I feel like I make up for it in stoke. Hight: when I switched from Indy to thunder I noticed a quicker snap of my tail, you're right when you saw that u can build a better pop on a higher truck BUT what I feel I gained with a Lower truck was... confidence. For some reason a lower truck feels... safer to tre flip than a higher truck. Mind you I'm 29 I work full time and I don't get to skate as much as I used to, so getting back on the board everytime that little bit of a lower center of gravity goes a long way. Again, these are just my experiences and obviously to each there own. Different strokes for different folks.
im 6'5" , about 235 lbs , i ride a 8.25 currently with mid indy hollows . and 54mm wheels. i made a big mistake with my trucks and wheels , having high trucks and large wheels makes it much harder for balance and landing flip tricks, i switch out my wheels to my brothers 52mm and put on his venture lows and my god what a difference it makes.
What I have issues with in high truck is with a high kick tail it’s hard to hit the nose and tail vs low it’s easier but with lower kick board it’s fine with highs
For me it's purely a confidence issue. With low trucks and smaller wheels (48s on a 7.75 board) I feel closer to the ground and for some reason that makes me feel more connected to the board and the tricks I'm doing. I've noticed as the board gets wider and the trucks and wheels get higher and larger I feel more and more like I'm floating rather than being connected and I progressively lose confidence in the board. Though I do notice I lose pop and speed with a smaller set up. To compensate I just push and pop/flick harder, which works with my aggressive style.
Hi, I have skated tensor lows since I started skating and whenever I try skating independent there is a huge difference in how it feels when doing manuals and manual tricks. So I would say try doing manual tricks and you will notice a huge difference. Low trucks: more stable less room for error (more space before you scrape) High trucks: less stable more room for error I don't really know which is better, I think it comes down to preference.
I started skating in 1983. When wheels got tall and skinny, my ollie got higher. At first I just thought it was because I had so many years under my belt. But over time, I realized it was my tall trucks and my tall wheels. I had so much more pop. You could even hear the difference. I could never understand why trucks started getting lower and wheels getting smaller. And after even more years, I realized this. The skateboarding industry will continue to change truck and wheels size over the years, and I think it is to change things, just to change them. To make things seem "new", and you need to buy it.
At least indy/thunder/venture lows are all the same height. Anyway, for me a 3mm height difference is very noticeable. And wheels are always varying in size as the wear out constantly. Btw the extra stability is actually the limited turning radius you explained later in the video. Oh and you can re-thread axle tips with some skate tools!
You brought up a ton of excellent points here that I never see discussed in other videos. It’s especially hilarious reading all the garbage you tend to find on big skate vendor websites when it comes to truck and wheel type “explanations”. Also hilarious was the biker explanation lol. You nailed it bro😂
being 6`6" i have found lower is better for me( also smaller wheels) when it comes to trucks i can drag and get height with my front foot maybe higher trucks would suit shorter people? idk also when it comes to deck size i notice that i need at least a 8.25 or larger any thing below and it is really awkward
Great points and great video. I think I may try using low trucks with risers to save my knees @40+ years old. I definitely agree the trucks help add swing to your pop to increase height. Personally, I am one who stopped for 23 years and am just now getting back into skating again too. One of the most enjoyable parts of it for me is passing this stuff on to my children. Historically though, I was always tech > ramp but I wasn’t big on riding too low to the ground. I think there’s is a happy medium (standard truck height/52mm wheels).
I liked when i had the thunder 147 hi's with 52mm wheels as i felt close to the ground but i would get wheelbites. I didnt like how the indy 139 hollows were high off the ground with 52mm wheels .so what i did was change the wheels to 49mm on indys and it was certainly a big difference. I was closer to the ground and my setup was much lighter.
It makes a huge difference I thought I would love low trucks being in shorter . So I got the tensor maglight lows and I hated it . I went right back to the regular tensor trucks I had. Keep in mind im a beginner. Just my opinion
the most noticeable difference is with nose manuals. with the board higher from where the wheel is pivoting the threshold from a low angle manual to a steep angle is much different and more difficult to adjust to. if you arent anticipating the quick change of balance needed u will nose dive unlike a pair of low trucks which are more forgiving. i remember having some high tensor mags 6 years ago and i quickly learned to keep my nose mannys low. I have stuck with the lighter indys since then
I’ve skated Independent, Thunder, Venture, Silver, and Krux tricks and I’ve never felt a significant difference, the only thing that’s made my setup different is bigger wheels (60mm) and using 1/8 riser pads. I personally just view the high vs low truck topic as a marketing ploy by companies.
I have used many different trucks throughout the years.I was like super ocd about my setup as a kid haha. One thing I liked to do was mash up different brands. I mashed tensor baseplates with venture axels and that truck is a lower medium height, nice solid feeling. The ones I use right now are krux baseplates on independent axels. It's a higher medium profile, perfect feeling with bones hard bushings in my opinion. I used to skate really tight trucks but noticed recently my style is trash so I started loosening them. I think it's cool to just go to the skatepark and just try different peoples boards and see what feeling you like best in a truck. Sometimes it's a personal preference and has nothing to do with any statistics or anything. I will say that as far as the stableness of lower trucks definately makes sense in skating ledges and rails and you're slightly less likely to land primo.
I want to share my opinion for anybody who is shopping for skateboard trucks and reads this. I started with tensor mags and after a couple years I tried my hand at some regular independents. When you hear about the lightest and heaviest trucks these are the names you hear the most often. After skating both trucks for at least a year now I noticed a big difference. When I had the tensors I loved the lightweight and thought the trucks had great response to my turning. Switching to the independents I was thrown off by the weight and the response a lot. I thought I would never get used to it. Here I am a year later and I would say I prefer independents over the tensors. I got used to the response and weight. I actually like the heaviness of the board because it gives the board a solid feeling and my flip tricks aren’t flying in the wind. Also the independents were taller which gave me more clearance to loosen up my trucks. Basically if you are gonna buy skateboard trucks just go with a brand that catches your interest. It really is best to try it out for yourself.
My problem with low cks is they have cone/cone bushing setup but that's easily fixed with a washer underneath the bottom bushing and a cone/barrel setup. Another issue is companies not posting full specs on wheels, decks, trucks etc. They don't tell you contact patch on wheels, sometimes you can't see what bushing setup a truck has because they only show the front etc. I like Tactics because they show full specs (length of board and whatnot) but still don't show both sides of the truck in many cases.
The difference between my Destructo low's and my standard indy/krux trucks is huge. The Destructos just feel so stable and close to the ground, the smaller turn radius makes you feel very secure, but naturally you can't turn as much. Tricks actually don't feel too different, but riding in general does, pushing is easier on the lows as well, you know? But then you get sick of small wheels... I mostly skate Krux, but the Desctructo lows are definitely one of my favorites.
I think it's all preference. I always skated low trucks and loved them. Tensor lows alway up until I was maybe 12 or 13 I got my first set of Indy highs and I hated them. They felt so heavy and slow/hard to pop. Switched back to whatever lows I could fine (tensor/venture) and felt good but when I got older (hit puberty😭) and my body got stronger I started riding bigger setups and felt so much popppier and steezier. I think a lot is body type aswell like a teller guy needs a taller board right? And don't forget about wheel base because that makes a huge difference in pop and all around board feel
Great video man! Don’t know if commented before, but it’s not that Indy has different versions of their whole high truck. While the hanger remains the same geometry and dimensions wise correspondingly, some have different base plates, casted or forged. Forged ones are 1.5mm thinner and therefore lower.
when something is spinning bringing the weight closer to the centre of the rotating mass will assist in spinning something quicker.. like when you spin with your arms out and then bring your arms and legs in quickly you speed up because the centrifugal forces speed up because their's less mass taking up energy and the energy is transfered closer to the centre hence the boost. same is said for trucks your bringing your weight into the centre of the spinning mass.. also.. when you're riding the centre of gravity is lowered. if you want the ultimate in landing stability ...low trucks and slightly wider wheels will give you nice stability on your feet.
Truck height is something I've recently realized is a huge deal for me. I really dont like skating high trucks. Low trucks definitely make me feel more secure and more control, also better most stable manuals. More common wheel bite but it's worth it for all the other benefits. I just feel more confident with being lower to the ground. And honestly the difference is even noticeable in pushing. Got high trucks and I notice I have to step lower to push my foot on the ground. That was the biggest surprise to me.
Before I got too tall with Sideshow Bob-sized feet, I skated with a lot of dedication for about 10 years. I've skated hand rails, ledges, gaps, trans, etc. The things that altered the feel the most to me was board shape and board width, followed closely by wheel size and bushing tightness/hardness. And regarding trucks, the "width" of the truck (which I suppose would be the wheelbase? The size of the axle) makes a really big difference. Truck height? Well, when adjusting bushing tightness as well as the hardness, that will alter how much the axle is going to turn and how it feels. And you could emulate the feel of lower trucks with higher trucks and vice versa when adjusting these things. In short; I think that if truck height is not the very least important factor in finding a good setup for you, it's damn near close.
there is 1 (for me big) downside to high trucks that you didn't talk about tho... yes, you will pop your tricks higher (you have to, because the angle at which you will now pop your tricks makes that) but you will also need more power to do every trick. it's actually significant after an hour or so. i lended my friends skateboards a lot and i definitely felt that. also the timing is different. while on my regular stance i got used to it the second time i tried to do a trick, on switch i just couldn't do switch kickflip because it was too hard for me to wait a little bit longer before sliding my foot. and when i eventually got the switch kickflip on higher trucks/set up i had to go through the same process again on my set up.
I redrilled holes in my Enjoi to make it a 15" wheelbase. I put some low ventures on it and it still Ollies good. The lower truck seemed to balance out the potentially different angle made by moving the trucks closer to the end.
I switched from tensor lows to thunder highs, specifically for the kingpin issue. Did notice a slight difference (with the same size wheels) but not enough to have to get used to it. I did also notice reduced wheel bite. I feel like just for the kingpin issue (unless you buy smaller ones or cut them down) lows aren't as good
I like low trucks, I can definitely tell when trucks aren’t low, and it’s not a HUGE difference, I can make it work with any truck really, but it’s enough of a difference to notice and feel, I’ve been using Venture Lows for ever, I switched to thunders for a little bit, I liked the pinch on them, but overall I like how much closer to the ground i feel in venture lows, I just wished they made venture lows for boards bigger than an 8.125
I notice the difference. I skate high trucks with 1/8 riser to keep hardware from loosening up easily. I do a lot of pump turns for speed, and it’s easier on high trucks. The distance from the ground feels just about right when I pop for high trucks. Also some trucks are installed more in our out than others. I notice that for tail slides.
For me, truck height does a big difference for the coordination of your feet when popping a trick. If your trucks are higher, it takes more time for your tail to touch the ground so the other foot has to wait a little more before scrubbing the board. Also, the angle of the board is greater, kinda like when a deck is more shaped. However, bigger wheels will impact the way I pop in the same way. That said, I agree with other factors mentioned in the comments here.
I can tell you after doing bs crooks on high ledges that higher trucks can give you more pop but it’s harder to control, sometimes I miss the pop because I jump before the tail had a chance to hit the ground. It’s more fun having higher trucks as the turning radius gives you better style but it depends how you wanna skate, personally I like skaters like sewa k and Rodrigo tx because they are tall like me and I like tech skating so I’m gonna switch back to low trucks. Regardless low truck skaters can still hit higher ledges it depends how high you can jump but I found that high trucks can be frustrating as I ‘miss’ the pop sometimes.
You know what's even more of a headache when it comes to trucks? Truck geometry! When you mix and match different bushings and pivot cups, with certain trucks to give you a specific "feel" when skating.
The only benefit I've personally found is that for me the lower trucks offer stability. I was riding thunders for a while that were supposedly highs and I switched to some ventures and I've also skated low indies. Idk I like it better but it really seems like ever bit of your skateboard really can dial down to personal preference.
I have to say that the truck height plus wheel size combined can really make the board feel different. I am not saying high or low is better--and I actually agree that there is more pop with higher board setup, but the wheel/truck combo really does make a difference.
As a road cyclist, I'm glad you made that point. I ride aluminum with guys who ride carbon. We could all lose a little weight, buy they rather waste an extra $1000.
CCS post information about some trucks weight, height, width, hollow or solid, type of steel. Low trucks are made for 53mm wheel max or smaller. I have 42mm Slime Balls. Most people skating 53mm-60mm need high trucks and risers.
Lower trucks are more stable because you're gravitational weight is closer to the ground and they're lighter. High trucks are good for cruising because they prevent wheel bite when you put big wheels on or you can use risers for that. If you want tricks pick lows if you do both cruise and tricks pick high trucks. The difference is very small that it doesn't really matter unless you use risers.
Height and angle are very very important in stability, some trucks change wheelbase a lot , a low truck gives stability in terms of timing related to the kick of the tail
One downside to very low trucks in my experience, is if you go to the shop to get replacement kingpins you will end up with a Kingpin that goes higher than the truck axel, i haven't skated regularly in years and when i did i was younger so maybe you can ask for a low kingpin, i don't know, but when i'd just ask for a replacement kingpin they would always be too long for my Destructo lows.
Tensor now has their light mags with a 55 axle height. So you can have light and pop now. Based on some pro street skater decks on TH-cam, pros skate mid or hi trucks with small wheels. Based on my research, for today modern skating, skate mid or high trucks. These are the adult/pro sizes.
Used to ride low trucks, boards required tail to be worn down a bit for pop, and then didn't last long. High trucks better for pop and pop life, especially if you get a deck that's flexing a bit from the baseplate on the tail, or has a larger gap before the kick. That's riding trucks with wider wheelbase tho. Thunder/venture. Seems like a set of Indies keeps most happy regardless of the variables.
Depends on the day I have both and I notice the pop when doing hard flips and gap stuff with the highs but the lows are fun for general skating around and hitting random spots
Its all a placebo. Some things are physics proven like the greater pop with higher trucks, but at the same time the best way to get more pop is to be a better jumper lol.
Light trucks are better for carrying around, like at a mall or school.I used to ride low trucks and i was one of the highest olliers in the parks, but i had more a robotic/stiff style. I lent my board that i researched to be the appropriate size for street and park to more talented skaters, and they were still as talented. Yes, it's the skater not the board. If you look into pro's board set, they do not obey wheel or truck size for their style of skating. But yes, cruiser, pool, vert, mega ramp boards, (etc) benefit from a certain size board/truck/wheel/etc.
I bought a set and put together a cruising, downhill, commuting setup with soft (88a) wheels and it is SO smooth! I have another board that I use for street/park that has regular trucks with 1/8" shockpads and softish (92a) wheels and it feels really harsh after riding the avenues. To be honest I haven't tried doing tricks with them yet but I'm 40 and been skating for more than 25 years and my knees and ankles have noticed the difference even just riding long rough downhills. The only downside is they're a little bit heavier and if you're gonna be doing tricks then maybe change out the bushings which are pretty average. Another potential downside is the judgement you might get from idiot haters but most people who have noticed them have been curious and remarked on how smooth they feel when they've tried my board. Hope this helps :)
I ride avenues for a year plus. They are very friendly to the knees and ankles, very pop-y and smooth...BUT, they do break easily (the Hangers) which is unfortunate. Hopefully, they will gradually improve quality. Mines, just broke on a regular ollie, and I don't even do gaps, stairs or staff, to be honest, they broke on flat ground, not even attempting a curb....
Low set trucks are more stable in the middle and less stable on the sides because the point between the top of your board and the center of mass is short. Shorter levers are more difficult to move than longer levers. This means you gotta flick your flip trick from the side of your board because the sides are further away from the center of mass which gives you a longer lever. Higher set trucks are the opposite, they have a longer lever in the middle so it's easier to flick flip tricks from the middle but flicking flip tricks from the sides are now more difficult because the levers are not as horizontal from the center of mass so when you flick from the middle it's also pushing on the center of mass which makes it more difficult to flip the board.
Thunder polished 149s (55mm axle w/ hollow kingpin) with 8.25 deck w/ medium concave. No riser, any skate bearings that are from legit brands, and 53mm Spitfire 101 radial slim wheels in the 99 duro and upgraded Bones bushings. this setup is low but not super crazy low, gets decent pop but also doesnt require you to slam your foot down to the core of the earth to get said pop, the wheels are small enough to have control but big enough to skate quarter pipes a little bit and also the wheels are small enough and slidey enough to do techy stuff but also big enough and wide enough to roll over cracks without pitching you off the board every single time. This is what I skate as a street skater here in Wisconsin, where our skate parks are few and far between, and the streets are very very rough. No one here skates small wheels but you also cant go too big or they become unmanageable. And the thunder polished 149s are great bc they are light, and they are low and stable but not TOO low, they are, to me, more of a mid height.
i ride tall trucks with 60mm bones wheels. it allways wants to flip when i do pop shuvs etc . and compared to a low board with 50mm wheels feels much more stable. not sure íf its just me being used to high trucks. but i pop much higher as well
Makes sense though. Honestly, with a higher gravitational point things will flip more easily. Think of a truck versus a low sportscar, which one will topple over quicker?
Depends all on the way you ride. I love higher trucks as i ride more crucy, fast, curbs and such and skate also some bowls and transition but mainly like to go fast. Style and pop over technique. A smooth bs 180 over a curb block i would choose any day over some whatnot undercasperflip etc. I do not ride that technical, kick flips and treflips is all you need as base for flip tricks. :) I have a lot of pop and every time i skate a board with lower trucks of a friend i really really hate it and i feel the difference in the way it pops. Wheel bite is an issue too on lower ones, specially as i ride my trucks pretty loose. No tech flippy stuff possible if you ride loose loose trucks anyhow unless you are Deawon. In general there is a world difference in how trucks turn and that you will feel best if you ride transition ans specially bowls where you carve a lot. If you do .. there is no way other than riding Indys. They turn better than anything. I tried them all. For the weight.. well, the lighter versions with hollow king pins do help us older folks for sure but do not make heeps of a difference. But if you ride boards above 8.25 .. you do not mind to save a couple grams and well, it does make a difference if you have 2 chocolate bars less on your board from a hollow axle bar and hollow king pin to a normal one.
The stability of low trucks is higher because the centre of gravity is indeed slightly closer to the board. I actually do notice how my cruiser longboard with pretty darn high trucks feels less stable. Some of it is countered by having trucks that are just very heavy all around (yes, the longboard cruiser is pretty much impossible to flip for me as total beginner, even landing just one foot). As for 'better flip tricks' though, probably not true. For the height of a high truck, you also get a stronger centrifugal force during a flip. It's why heavy trucks versus light trucks barely have a significant difference in terms of flips really. It might be easier to get light weight trucks going in terms of a flip, but that's really all. I do agree that light weight trucks would also have more problems transferring the energy from it's own mass into a pop. It might be true the pop is still higher somewhat, but probably not much.
When I switched to 6.1 ventures from 159 Indy's the shop told me that the ventures were already shorter by almost 2mm...put the same spitfire sfw conical 52 mm worn down so give or take 49-50mm. O got wheelbite all day I wasn't able to break in the stock bushings so I put bones hards in and some risers to make them more like the Indy clearance...but I just got a second pair for a 8.8 shaped board and 56mm conical wide contact wheels... Tbh I don't want to use risers with the ventures at all. I'm gonna try to put the risers on that setup and try the original bushings in break them in on my non shaped non riser board. Idk ventures have great pop imo from the wheelbase difference I can generate a lot more pop on flat or on a lip/transition. Though they feel jerkey much like thunders...and Indy's have that turn potential with one foot over the bolts on both trucks that I've grown to love
I’ve skated Indys, thunders, ventures, theeves, and ace. I’m skating Independent on both of my boards. They turn the best. I really like Ace too. The trick is to switch out the Bushings. Find a hardness you like! I ride larger wheels and use risers. Makes the pop better.
I haven't noticed much of a difference either to be honest, been skating for 6 years and I believe I've tried 4 different kind of trucks. Skating those hollow independents right now and they feel nice. My last trucks were ventures but I shattered them into 3 pieces it was kinda weird.
Question What You Fear Yup. Mine were pretty new and one kingpin snapped doing a flat 360 flip and I think my foot landed on the truck. Never had that happen before. So I never got them again.
The way I see it,if you're larger then get lows cos it'll be easier to Ollie, may not necessarily get that height, but it's a lot easier, ESPECIALLY with smaller, narrower wheels
I've been skating Indy Stage XI's for a while now and picked up some Tensor Maglight lows a couple days ago to try them out and they seem easier to land on for me (when I don't get wheel bite).
Right when you said "The lowest I could find" I immediately thought "Tensor Maglight." Picked up some tensor maglights a few months ago (honestly, I wanted to try them because I usually use Thunder His, so I figure I wanted to try out some low trucks). Boy did I wheel bite like crazy. I swear, I even bought a smaller wheels than my usual thinking it would help (50 instead of 54). I need riser pads, but that defeats the purpose of low trucks!
Liked and subbed. I keep my board and axle the same. Wheel bite is a problem for me so I use a very thin riser. I haven’t used risers for ever but now that they have given the option these days or so many options I shave 2 boards for skating. Park skatin transitions. I ride 55 wheels 159 GT trucks with an 1/8 th riser and the deck is 8.75. I’m going to make a 9 in board so I’m looking for a 166 Indy with 56 wheels. I hav t got wheel bite so I’ve found a sweet spot. I think a lot of people forget their weight and how tall you are. Im 6,3 and 210 lbs so im not a little guy and I add some medium style bushings. So far the 8.75 board with the 159 has been a great all a rounder but it’s been great in the minis and transitions. Im too old for hard street as I like to go fast and big and pop Ollie’s no flip tricks anymore. I have had a problem getting used to the night of the pop or how much I have to get it to pop it. The good thing is I Ollie’s so many jump ramps that I rarely had to bang my tail on it to get that leverage. Im going to try the 9 board and 166 .I’ll keep you posted.
This was really informative, Great to reveal. I thought I was a little thick asking staff for assistance. Their only comeback was "wheel bite" and whether I was going to cruise more, and surface. Only for the need to be able to use 60mm - 80mm cruising wheels with no bite. It was exhaustive. You are by far the most honest truck reviewer. PS. Can you please let me know the name of the artwork behind you.
10 bucks says he has never worn pants in a video
stangkiller1789 lol
stangkiller1789 15$
stangkiller1789 sadly he wore pamts in tricktips videos
stangkiller1789 pants? He has no legs.
actually his most memorable video to me was how to ollie and how to kickflip, wears jeans in both vids.
That's weird, I've always skated lows and whenever I try someone else's board, I can ALWAYS tell when they have highs. It feels like skating round on the top of a building.
Happened the same with me
Hopefully this gets seen but their is a lot of misinformation in this video and the heights of trucks are out there you just got to know where to look. However, I do know the heights of most major trucks and I'll make this comprehensive list to hopefully help those who see this. Also, most skaters will definitely notice a difference in height for sure.
Independent-
Standard and Regular hollow 55mm
Stage 4 55mm
Forged hollow and titanium 53.5mm
Mid. 52mm
Forged hollow mid. 50.5
Krux
Regular 55mm
Dl 52mm
Venture
Standard 53.5mm
V light, v hollow, and titanium 52mm
Low 48mm
Grind King
Disruptor 53mm
Royal
Standard 51mm
Mini Logo
Regular 49mm
Bullet
Regular 51.5mm
Thunder
Standard & team hollow size 143-147 50mm
Standard & team hollow size 148 and up 52.3mm
Lights, hollow lights & titanium 143-147 49mm
Lights, hollow lights & titanium 148 & up 51mm
147 high. 52.3mm
Tensor
Standard ATG and Mag-light ATG 55mm
Alloys 51mm
Mag-light low 46mm
Silver
M-class 52.1mm
L-class. 48mm
Destructo
Mid 56mm
Low 49mm
Ace
Classic size 00-33 52mm
Classic size 44 & up 53mm
Classic low 48mm
AF1 53mm
AF1 low 49mm
Slappy
ST1 54mm
Hopefully someone sees this and puts all these useless numbers stuck in my brain forever to use! Cheers.
Thank you..
10:22 - tail higher off the ground, yes you can snap it harder, but not with the same amount of effort. The higher the tail is off the ground more effort required to snap crackle pop.
thanks for making this, you're the only person on youtube that talks about trucks this specific. Man, it's so nice actually hearing someone say all these things. And when you said: "20 gram would definitely be noticeable." I even said "Yes" out loud. Because I'm that carbon bicycle nerd that tries to make his board as light as possible.😂
I guess your board has to be light to do quad flips and tre late lasers. Lol
^
My board is really heavy
I feel like i can pop higher with a heavier board
you probably mall grab too....
Anyone OG skaters remember Grind King?
yeah i think they're still around
I had a set of Grind King Creeper trucks when I was 13... They even glowed in the dark! Wouldn't use them now though, Thunder Highs all the time.
Nathan Boardman I had them in black with red bushings.
I had my first pair of GK back in 97 they where so freaking heavy! and I hated the allen key.
/raises hand I was sponsored by Grind Kind in the late 80s and early 90s before they even made trucks. Back then they only sold the inverted kingpins that got the company started, Bridge Bolts (Google it), and for a short time they made decks under the "Freedom" brand name. Loved the kingpins, not so much the Bridge Bolts, and had a different deck sponsor so I only tried out a Freedom deck for a few days before giving it to a friend. Shout out to Don Cassel, founder of Grind King and an overall rad dude.
"and then maybe buy a treadmill too" holy shit hahahaha radrat outta no where with the savage
Haha, I laughed so hard at the treadmill comment that I scared the dog.
And Mr Mark, that's not a very accurate statement regarding him judging others. He also researches topics he's not fully knowledgeable on. Other times his videos cover his experience. I think you need to do deeper research yourself.
Let's just agree to disagree. I think I laughed so hard at the treadmill comment because it was so out of the norm for him and funny to see him let loose.
We all have our own way of understanding skateboarding and most of this isn't based on fact. The years our skateboarding has spanned, our social/ peer groups, geographic locations, demographics, early years vs the refined years [32 years later in my case] all play a part in how we perceive, understand and give back those experiences. "For the thinking skateboarder...." We're lucky we have a solid option in a skate channel besides John Hill and the Clickbait kooks. Anyways, I'm going to shut up and skate and I suggest you do the same.
Indy high 149 and 1/8th inch risers with 56 ricta chrome wheels in 87 duro. Oust moc 7 bearings. Welcome mild concave/tail in 8.88. Oj juice bars. Custom grip job. Skate to park. Skate all obstacles and transitions. Skate downhill home. Best setup for all around
I skated Venture Lows for 15 years and had trouble with Ollie height. I recently switched to Thunder 147 hi and noticed an immense difference in pop
Someone like Rad Rat would be bullies for being such a nerd back in the 80’s/90’s. I praise him so much. So cool, doing what no one else is doing here on TH-cam.
I’m a Math Major with a Minor and physics, and I love the in depth for ALL his videos here on this channel. Would love to have a skate sesh with!
In my experience of skating all different brands, widths, and heights of trucks, it actually does make quite a bit of a difference for me. Weight and height are the two things that I am most picky with when it comes to trucks.
With height it actually does affect how I pop my ollies, because the timing between when the tail strikes the ground is different between lows and highs. I prefer high trucks, because I am more used to the ollie timing and I feel it is easier to grab my board for Boneless tricks.
Weight is the biggest factor for me with trucks. I have skated trucks that were too light and I have skated trucks that were too heavy. The trucks that were too light were Tensor magnesium trucks. I think those trucks were lighter than my deck, because my board definitely did not flip around the same way, it seemed to want to land upsidedown. I would prefer heavier over lighter trucks for that reason.
Your rationality is awesome!!! "Was it worth spending thousands more for a bike that weighs one pound less when you don't?" Keep up the great work. The skate world needs more people like you, bro!!!
I've skated standard sets of Royal, Krux & Indy's. They were all relatively the same size and height so I never noticed any difference. The real game changer is how long they last for grinds. I've been skating the same pair of indy's for about three years now. They definitely last the longest when it comes to wear. Atleast in my experience, so Indy's have definitely won me over. Good video SkateRat, here's an idea for a video. "What are the differences and advantages for tight & loose trucks"?
I've always skated ventures, so I genuinely don't know if I would notice a difference. Love the channel, man. Keep up the good work.
Eric Penner I never bought them again when I caved on them and snapped the kingpin doing a 360 flip on flat ground. I was heated.
They are absolutely the worst about Kingpin's snapping, but I always loved Venture low's. Really wish shops still carried them, have switched to Indy's and Thunder's since they are hard to find without taking to the internet.
@Onasurftrip they grind little harder
I've been skating for 30+ years now, I skated old school boards with bigger wheels, I went through the skinny board, small wheel, big pants era. Today my setup is the same as it was almost 10 years ago, 8.25 deck, 52mm wheels and Venture Lo trucks. What's better, Lo's or Highs is strictly personal. I deviated from a low to a high once and switched back as soon as I could. For me, a low profile allows me to pop quickly. I have pretty good pop already but my legs are probably stronger than most younger skaters. When I skated highs I discovered that it took a fraction of a second longer for my tail to hit the ground when popping tricks that I felt like I was going to have to relearn a lot of them. I rely on a lower setup because I need that instant contact when popping but that's what I'm used to, it's my personal preference. Performance wise, personally, I don't think there's any difference, it's more about how you've conditioned yourself and because there are height differences available it makes you that more conscious about its impact. The type of skating one does will also dictate what's a better choice. Like you said highs are good for transition skating and lows for street/tech. skating, sorry guys/gals....I said a lot.
When I was younger I would use riser pads all the time. I felt it gave me more pop. I also felt it would absorb a lot of the impact.
perfect... just what i was looking for... im thinking low trucks with risers
you want the truck height to be proportional to the board width and the wheel size. Wide board, bigger wheels... ride a high. Skinny board with tiny wheels, ride a low.
This is how i roll.
I ordered both the tensor mag light low and the new tensor mag light all terrain (regulars), and I felt a drastic difference between the lows and the regulars. I tended to have better "pop" with the regulars. I eventually had to throw riser pads on my lows (which added about 3 ounces per truck), but was able to flip, pop and control more easily. The difference between tensor lows and regulars were pretty blatant.
Nice, cant decide between the two.. I skate mostly flat..
I really like low trucks. I skate Tensor lows with 48 mm wheels. I find it a lot easier to keep my weight over the board when I land with it being so close to the ground. I also just like how it feels more. When I try my friends boards I always suck because of how much tighter their trucks are than mine and how tall their boards are. I know that a higher tail is theoretically better but I just hate the feeling of having a tall board or a steep tail.
10:22 I've been having truck madness for over a year thanks to ben degros but this freaking segment right here is what i've been looking for all along. Thank you rad rat!
What you ended up with ?
@@ho2673 Ended up sticking with Royal (52mm high). I ended up buying an angle-measure to see how steep the board gets at pop. Venture Lo's had a crazy low angle so thats why the pop felt low. Independent had an insane angle that my legs dont have the power for. Thunder and Royal have the same angle but Royal has a short wheelbase to make pivoting my 180's easier. Hope this helps!
@@cardiothoraskate4524 my kid skated in royals from June until 2 weeks ago and they were great ( chocolate deck 8.25 + royal 149s and 56mm ricta wheels ) . Right now we got Indy.
The most important question you didn't ask: WHY do these companies not publish the specs?
Zira Tival could it be intentional? Maybe keep people guessing and using different setups to test them out?
if you look up trucks on tactics boardshop they have all the specks
Probably cos their tolerances are shit
A true skater will adapt and conquer, no matter the height of the trucks. To each their own. You rock RadRat!!...keep up the good work, I really enjoy all of the topics you bring up!
I've always skated low thunders and as soon as I step on some high trucks i feel it right away , guess it's just what I've gotten used to
If anything, high trucks allow you to ride them loose and do give you a little more pop. But this shouldn't dictate how well you can do things. It's really all about how well you can jump/ how consistent you are. High vs Low is really about how they feel. I've skated both on and off for 13 years and still can't say one is better than the other. Just depends on how you like your ride. The strange thing is, I did prefer low trucks for transition which just doesn't make sense if you think about what people have to say about it.
I switched from Grind King light low trucks to a set of old high stage 10 Independents when I was much younger. Although they were way heavier I was noticeably better able to get on top of handrails and higher ledges right after I made the switch. It also means everything to be able to have high trucks to carve the local skate park, or bombing hills while street skating. If you have any stability problems or want to cut weight just get firmer bushings or thinner wheels in my opinion.
1:42 that inverted kingpin is so cool, I wish they still sold them like that, I wanna put those on my grind king, damn
Maybe it's just me BUT I made the switch to thunder senora los, from classic indys about 5 years ago and I my experience is several things
Weight: obviously thunders are way lighter but u sacrifice pop and cleanliness in your trick, an Ollie with indys feels more solid and strong.
But I noticed that I was able to skate longer, and to me being almost 30 now, being able to skate longer is important. So yes I sacrifice a little bit of solidarity in my popping but I feel like I make up for it in stoke.
Hight: when I switched from Indy to thunder I noticed a quicker snap of my tail, you're right when you saw that u can build a better pop on a higher truck BUT what I feel I gained with a Lower truck was... confidence. For some reason a lower truck feels... safer to tre flip than a higher truck. Mind you I'm 29 I work full time and I don't get to skate as much as I used to, so getting back on the board everytime that little bit of a lower center of gravity goes a long way.
Again, these are just my experiences and obviously to each there own. Different strokes for different folks.
im 6'5" , about 235 lbs , i ride a 8.25 currently with mid indy hollows . and 54mm wheels. i made a big mistake with my trucks and wheels , having high trucks and large wheels makes it much harder for balance and landing flip tricks, i switch out my wheels to my brothers 52mm and put on his venture lows and my god what a difference it makes.
Thanks man
What I have issues with in high truck is with a high kick tail it’s hard to hit the nose and tail vs low it’s easier but with lower kick board it’s fine with highs
For me it's purely a confidence issue. With low trucks and smaller wheels (48s on a 7.75 board) I feel closer to the ground and for some reason that makes me feel more connected to the board and the tricks I'm doing.
I've noticed as the board gets wider and the trucks and wheels get higher and larger I feel more and more like I'm floating rather than being connected and I progressively lose confidence in the board.
Though I do notice I lose pop and speed with a smaller set up. To compensate I just push and pop/flick harder, which works with my aggressive style.
Hi, I have skated tensor lows since I started skating and whenever I try skating independent there is a huge difference in how it feels when doing manuals and manual tricks. So I would say try doing manual tricks and you will notice a huge difference.
Low trucks: more stable less room for error (more space before you scrape) High trucks: less stable more room for error
I don't really know which is better, I think it comes down to preference.
I started skating in 1983. When wheels got tall and skinny, my ollie got higher. At first I just thought it was because I had so many years under my belt. But over time, I realized it was my tall trucks and my tall wheels. I had so much more pop. You could even hear the difference. I could never understand why trucks started getting lower and wheels getting smaller. And after even more years, I realized this. The skateboarding industry will continue to change truck and wheels size over the years, and I think it is to change things, just to change them. To make things seem "new", and you need to buy it.
At least indy/thunder/venture lows are all the same height. Anyway, for me a 3mm height difference is very noticeable. And wheels are always varying in size as the wear out constantly. Btw the extra stability is actually the limited turning radius you explained later in the video. Oh and you can re-thread axle tips with some skate tools!
You brought up a ton of excellent points here that I never see discussed in other videos. It’s especially hilarious reading all the garbage you tend to find on big skate vendor websites when it comes to truck and wheel type “explanations”.
Also hilarious was the biker explanation lol. You nailed it bro😂
being 6`6" i have found lower is better for me( also smaller wheels) when it comes to trucks i can drag and get height with my front foot maybe higher trucks would suit shorter people? idk also when it comes to deck size i notice that i need at least a 8.25 or larger any thing below and it is really awkward
Great points and great video. I think I may try using low trucks with risers to save my knees @40+ years old. I definitely agree the trucks help add swing to your pop to increase height. Personally, I am one who stopped for 23 years and am just now getting back into skating again too. One of the most enjoyable parts of it for me is passing this stuff on to my children. Historically though, I was always tech > ramp but I wasn’t big on riding too low to the ground. I think there’s is a happy medium (standard truck height/52mm wheels).
So, for you, low trucks are bad for knees ? It is true that I noticed that the highs had more cushioning..
@@pierrekruk I use the risers to help with impact support but I also don’t want my board too high off the ground either 👍
I liked when i had the thunder 147 hi's with 52mm wheels as i felt close to the ground but i would get wheelbites. I didnt like how the indy 139 hollows were high off the ground with 52mm wheels .so what i did was change the wheels to 49mm on indys and it was certainly a big difference. I was closer to the ground and my setup was much lighter.
It makes a huge difference I thought I would love low trucks being in shorter . So I got the tensor maglight lows and I hated it . I went right back to the regular tensor trucks I had. Keep in mind im a beginner. Just my opinion
Super cool that you used our Skate Ratz board in this video! Love your videos!!
the most noticeable difference is with nose manuals. with the board higher from where the wheel is pivoting the threshold from a low angle manual to a steep angle is much different and more difficult to adjust to. if you arent anticipating the quick change of balance needed u will nose dive unlike a pair of low trucks which are more forgiving. i remember having some high tensor mags 6 years ago and i quickly learned to keep my nose mannys low. I have stuck with the lighter indys since then
I’ve skated Independent, Thunder, Venture, Silver, and Krux tricks and I’ve never felt a significant difference, the only thing that’s made my setup different is bigger wheels (60mm) and using 1/8 riser pads. I personally just view the high vs low truck topic as a marketing ploy by companies.
Mark Nordstrom amazing comment Mark, thank you for sharing you’re incredibly intelligent
Nope Champagne, he's a kook! ;)
Indy 4 Life
60mm with risers? What fuckin year is it? Is your deck 11” wide? KOOK
My skate shop told me to get thunders lows for technical tricks and thunder highs for gaps & stairs. I said, "great, I'll take some Independents."
I have used many different trucks throughout the years.I was like super ocd about my setup as a kid haha. One thing I liked to do was mash up different brands. I mashed tensor baseplates with venture axels and that truck is a lower medium height, nice solid feeling. The ones I use right now are krux baseplates on independent axels. It's a higher medium profile, perfect feeling with bones hard bushings in my opinion. I used to skate really tight trucks but noticed recently my style is trash so I started loosening them. I think it's cool to just go to the skatepark and just try different peoples boards and see what feeling you like best in a truck. Sometimes it's a personal preference and has nothing to do with any statistics or anything. I will say that as far as the stableness of lower trucks definately makes sense in skating ledges and rails and you're slightly less likely to land primo.
I want to share my opinion for anybody who is shopping for skateboard trucks and reads this. I started with tensor mags and after a couple years I tried my hand at some regular independents. When you hear about the lightest and heaviest trucks these are the names you hear the most often. After skating both trucks for at least a year now I noticed a big difference. When I had the tensors I loved the lightweight and thought the trucks had great response to my turning. Switching to the independents I was thrown off by the weight and the response a lot. I thought I would never get used to it. Here I am a year later and I would say I prefer independents over the tensors. I got used to the response and weight. I actually like the heaviness of the board because it gives the board a solid feeling and my flip tricks aren’t flying in the wind. Also the independents were taller which gave me more clearance to loosen up my trucks. Basically if you are gonna buy skateboard trucks just go with a brand that catches your interest. It really is best to try it out for yourself.
My problem with low cks is they have cone/cone bushing setup but that's easily fixed with a washer underneath the bottom bushing and a cone/barrel setup.
Another issue is companies not posting full specs on wheels, decks, trucks etc. They don't tell you contact patch on wheels, sometimes you can't see what bushing setup a truck has because they only show the front etc.
I like Tactics because they show full specs (length of board and whatnot) but still don't show both sides of the truck in many cases.
The difference between my Destructo low's and my standard indy/krux trucks is huge. The Destructos just feel so stable and close to the ground, the smaller turn radius makes you feel very secure, but naturally you can't turn as much. Tricks actually don't feel too different, but riding in general does, pushing is easier on the lows as well, you know? But then you get sick of small wheels... I mostly skate Krux, but the Desctructo lows are definitely one of my favorites.
I think it's all preference. I always skated low trucks and loved them. Tensor lows alway up until I was maybe 12 or 13 I got my first set of Indy highs and I hated them. They felt so heavy and slow/hard to pop. Switched back to whatever lows I could fine (tensor/venture) and felt good but when I got older (hit puberty😭) and my body got stronger I started riding bigger setups and felt so much popppier and steezier. I think a lot is body type aswell like a teller guy needs a taller board right? And don't forget about wheel base because that makes a huge difference in pop and all around board feel
I think a cool episode would be on different body types in skating. That shit is super interesting
Tyler Schlatt I'm 6' 230 lbs and I feel like I need a 15" wheelbase. It's hard to find
im skinny with a belly.. im 33
Great video man! Don’t know if commented before, but it’s not that Indy has different versions of their whole high truck. While the hanger remains the same geometry and dimensions wise correspondingly, some have different base plates, casted or forged. Forged ones are 1.5mm thinner and therefore lower.
when something is spinning bringing the weight closer to the centre of the rotating mass will assist in spinning something quicker.. like when you spin with your arms out and then bring your arms and legs in quickly you speed up because the centrifugal forces speed up because their's less mass taking up energy and the energy is transfered closer to the centre hence the boost. same is said for trucks your bringing your weight into the centre of the spinning mass.. also.. when you're riding the centre of gravity is lowered. if you want the ultimate in landing stability ...low trucks and slightly wider wheels will give you nice stability on your feet.
Truck height is something I've recently realized is a huge deal for me. I really dont like skating high trucks. Low trucks definitely make me feel more secure and more control, also better most stable manuals. More common wheel bite but it's worth it for all the other benefits. I just feel more confident with being lower to the ground.
And honestly the difference is even noticeable in pushing. Got high trucks and I notice I have to step lower to push my foot on the ground. That was the biggest surprise to me.
Before I got too tall with Sideshow Bob-sized feet, I skated with a lot of dedication for about 10 years.
I've skated hand rails, ledges, gaps, trans, etc. The things that altered the feel the most to me was board shape and board width, followed closely by wheel size and bushing tightness/hardness. And regarding trucks, the "width" of the truck (which I suppose would be the wheelbase? The size of the axle) makes a really big difference. Truck height? Well, when adjusting bushing tightness as well as the hardness, that will alter how much the axle is going to turn and how it feels. And you could emulate the feel of lower trucks with higher trucks and vice versa when adjusting these things.
In short; I think that if truck height is not the very least important factor in finding a good setup for you, it's damn near close.
there is 1 (for me big) downside to high trucks that you didn't talk about tho... yes, you will pop your tricks higher (you have to, because the angle at which you will now pop your tricks makes that) but you will also need more power to do every trick. it's actually significant after an hour or so. i lended my friends skateboards a lot and i definitely felt that. also the timing is different. while on my regular stance i got used to it the second time i tried to do a trick, on switch i just couldn't do switch kickflip because it was too hard for me to wait a little bit longer before sliding my foot. and when i eventually got the switch kickflip on higher trucks/set up i had to go through the same process again on my set up.
I redrilled holes in my Enjoi to make it a 15" wheelbase. I put some low ventures on it and it still Ollies good.
The lower truck seemed to balance out the potentially different angle made by moving the trucks closer to the end.
I switched from tensor lows to thunder highs, specifically for the kingpin issue. Did notice a slight difference (with the same size wheels) but not enough to have to get used to it. I did also notice reduced wheel bite. I feel like just for the kingpin issue (unless you buy smaller ones or cut them down) lows aren't as good
Skate high for pop
thats a myth.
get a raiser pad for higher pop
I get high to skate.
yeah dude nah it's science
A Payze thts false low all day
I like low trucks, I can definitely tell when trucks aren’t low, and it’s not a HUGE difference, I can make it work with any truck really, but it’s enough of a difference to notice and feel, I’ve been using Venture Lows for ever, I switched to thunders for a little bit, I liked the pinch on them, but overall I like how much closer to the ground i feel in venture lows, I just wished they made venture lows for boards bigger than an 8.125
The difference is ability. Your Ability.
Trick history: disasters, chinese nollie, feather flip.
I notice the difference. I skate high trucks with 1/8 riser to keep hardware from loosening up easily. I do a lot of pump turns for speed, and it’s easier on high trucks. The distance from the ground feels just about right when I pop for high trucks. Also some trucks are installed more in our out than others. I notice that for tail slides.
For me, truck height does a big difference for the coordination of your feet when popping a trick. If your trucks are higher, it takes more time for your tail to touch the ground so the other foot has to wait a little more before scrubbing the board. Also, the angle of the board is greater, kinda like when a deck is more shaped. However, bigger wheels will impact the way I pop in the same way. That said, I agree with other factors mentioned in the comments here.
I can tell you after doing bs crooks on high ledges that higher trucks can give you more pop but it’s harder to control, sometimes I miss the pop because I jump before the tail had a chance to hit the ground. It’s more fun having higher trucks as the turning radius gives you better style but it depends how you wanna skate, personally I like skaters like sewa k and Rodrigo tx because they are tall like me and I like tech skating so I’m gonna switch back to low trucks. Regardless low truck skaters can still hit higher ledges it depends how high you can jump but I found that high trucks can be frustrating as I ‘miss’ the pop sometimes.
You know what's even more of a headache when it comes to trucks? Truck geometry! When you mix and match different bushings and pivot cups, with certain trucks to give you a specific "feel" when skating.
The only benefit I've personally found is that for me the lower trucks offer stability. I was riding thunders for a while that were supposedly highs and I switched to some ventures and I've also skated low indies. Idk I like it better but it really seems like ever bit of your skateboard really can dial down to personal preference.
I have to say that the truck height plus wheel size combined can really make the board feel different. I am not saying high or low is better--and I actually agree that there is more pop with higher board setup, but the wheel/truck combo really does make a difference.
As a road cyclist, I'm glad you made that point. I ride aluminum with guys who ride carbon. We could all lose a little weight, buy they rather waste an extra $1000.
I ride Indy Forged Hollow's with 1/8 Diamond shock pads (mostly to prevent stress marks) and 54mm wheels - works fine for me! =)
CCS post information about some trucks weight, height, width, hollow or solid, type of steel. Low trucks are made for 53mm wheel max or smaller. I have 42mm Slime Balls. Most people skating 53mm-60mm need high trucks and risers.
Lower trucks are more stable because you're gravitational weight is closer to the ground and they're lighter. High trucks are good for cruising because they prevent wheel bite when you put big wheels on or you can use risers for that. If you want tricks pick lows if you do both cruise and tricks pick high trucks. The difference is very small that it doesn't really matter unless you use risers.
Height and angle are very very important in stability, some trucks change wheelbase a lot , a low truck gives stability in terms of timing related to the kick of the tail
One downside to very low trucks in my experience, is if you go to the shop to get replacement kingpins you will end up with a Kingpin that goes higher than the truck axel, i haven't skated regularly in years and when i did i was younger so maybe you can ask for a low kingpin, i don't know, but when i'd just ask for a replacement kingpin they would always be too long for my Destructo lows.
Tensor now has their light mags with a 55 axle height. So you can have light and pop now. Based on some pro street skater decks on TH-cam, pros skate mid or hi trucks with small wheels. Based on my research, for today modern skating, skate mid or high trucks. These are the adult/pro sizes.
Used to ride low trucks, boards required tail to be worn down a bit for pop, and then didn't last long. High trucks better for pop and pop life, especially if you get a deck that's flexing a bit from the baseplate on the tail, or has a larger gap before the kick.
That's riding trucks with wider wheelbase tho. Thunder/venture. Seems like a set of Indies keeps most happy regardless of the variables.
Depends on the day I have both and I notice the pop when doing hard flips and gap stuff with the highs but the lows are fun for general skating around and hitting random spots
Its all a placebo. Some things are physics proven like the greater pop with higher trucks, but at the same time the best way to get more pop is to be a better jumper lol.
Light trucks are better for carrying around, like at a mall or school.I used to ride low trucks and i was one of the highest olliers in the parks, but i had more a robotic/stiff style. I lent my board that i researched to be the appropriate size for street and park to more talented skaters, and they were still as talented. Yes, it's the skater not the board. If you look into pro's board set, they do not obey wheel or truck size for their style of skating. But yes, cruiser, pool, vert, mega ramp boards, (etc) benefit from a certain size board/truck/wheel/etc.
Can you make a video on Avenue trucks? I've been skating for 9 years and my knees are starting to break so i'm gonna try anything that helps.
I bought a set and put together a cruising, downhill, commuting setup with soft (88a) wheels and it is SO smooth! I have another board that I use for street/park that has regular trucks with 1/8" shockpads and softish (92a) wheels and it feels really harsh after riding the avenues. To be honest I haven't tried doing tricks with them yet but I'm 40 and been skating for more than 25 years and my knees and ankles have noticed the difference even just riding long rough downhills. The only downside is they're a little bit heavier and if you're gonna be doing tricks then maybe change out the bushings which are pretty average. Another potential downside is the judgement you might get from idiot haters but most people who have noticed them have been curious and remarked on how smooth they feel when they've tried my board. Hope this helps :)
I ride avenues for a year plus. They are very friendly to the knees and ankles, very pop-y and smooth...BUT, they do break easily (the Hangers) which is unfortunate. Hopefully, they will gradually improve quality. Mines, just broke on a regular ollie, and I don't even do gaps, stairs or staff, to be honest, they broke on flat ground, not even attempting a curb....
Low set trucks are more stable in the middle and less stable on the sides because the point between the top of your board and the center of mass is short.
Shorter levers are more difficult to move than longer levers.
This means you gotta flick your flip trick from the side of your board because the sides are further away from the center of mass which gives you a longer lever.
Higher set trucks are the opposite, they have a longer lever in the middle so it's easier to flick flip tricks from the middle but flicking flip tricks from the sides are now more difficult because the levers are not as horizontal from the center of mass so when you flick from the middle it's also pushing on the center of mass which makes it more difficult to flip the board.
i take massive bong rips before i head oout. i be skating fuckin HIGH
Mirror face
cool man
Thunder polished 149s (55mm axle w/ hollow kingpin) with 8.25 deck w/ medium concave. No riser, any skate bearings that are from legit brands, and 53mm Spitfire 101 radial slim wheels in the 99 duro and upgraded Bones bushings. this setup is low but not super crazy low, gets decent pop but also doesnt require you to slam your foot down to the core of the earth to get said pop, the wheels are small enough to have control but big enough to skate quarter pipes a little bit and also the wheels are small enough and slidey enough to do techy stuff but also big enough and wide enough to roll over cracks without pitching you off the board every single time. This is what I skate as a street skater here in Wisconsin, where our skate parks are few and far between, and the streets are very very rough. No one here skates small wheels but you also cant go too big or they become unmanageable. And the thunder polished 149s are great bc they are light, and they are low and stable but not TOO low, they are, to me, more of a mid height.
i ride tall trucks with 60mm bones wheels. it allways wants to flip when i do pop shuvs etc . and compared to a low board with 50mm wheels feels much more stable.
not sure íf its just me being used to high trucks. but i pop much higher as well
Makes sense though. Honestly, with a higher gravitational point things will flip more easily. Think of a truck versus a low sportscar, which one will topple over quicker?
Depends all on the way you ride. I love higher trucks as i ride more crucy, fast, curbs and such and skate also some bowls and transition but mainly like to go fast. Style and pop over technique. A smooth bs 180 over a curb block i would choose any day over some whatnot undercasperflip etc. I do not ride that technical, kick flips and treflips is all you need as base for flip tricks. :)
I have a lot of pop and every time i skate a board with lower trucks of a friend i really really hate it and i feel the difference in the way it pops. Wheel bite is an issue too on lower ones, specially as i ride my trucks pretty loose. No tech flippy stuff possible if you ride loose loose trucks anyhow unless you are Deawon.
In general there is a world difference in how trucks turn and that you will feel best if you ride transition ans specially bowls where you carve a lot. If you do .. there is no way other than riding Indys. They turn better than anything. I tried them all.
For the weight.. well, the lighter versions with hollow king pins do help us older folks for sure but do not make heeps of a difference. But if you ride boards above 8.25 .. you do not mind to save a couple grams and well, it does make a difference if you have 2 chocolate bars less on your board from a hollow axle bar and hollow king pin to a normal one.
The stability of low trucks is higher because the centre of gravity is indeed slightly closer to the board. I actually do notice how my cruiser longboard with pretty darn high trucks feels less stable. Some of it is countered by having trucks that are just very heavy all around (yes, the longboard cruiser is pretty much impossible to flip for me as total beginner, even landing just one foot). As for 'better flip tricks' though, probably not true. For the height of a high truck, you also get a stronger centrifugal force during a flip. It's why heavy trucks versus light trucks barely have a significant difference in terms of flips really. It might be easier to get light weight trucks going in terms of a flip, but that's really all. I do agree that light weight trucks would also have more problems transferring the energy from it's own mass into a pop. It might be true the pop is still higher somewhat, but probably not much.
When I switched to 6.1 ventures from 159 Indy's the shop told me that the ventures were already shorter by almost 2mm...put the same spitfire sfw conical 52 mm worn down so give or take 49-50mm. O got wheelbite all day I wasn't able to break in the stock bushings so I put bones hards in and some risers to make them more like the Indy clearance...but I just got a second pair for a 8.8 shaped board and 56mm conical wide contact wheels... Tbh I don't want to use risers with the ventures at all. I'm gonna try to put the risers on that setup and try the original bushings in break them in on my non shaped non riser board. Idk ventures have great pop imo from the wheelbase difference I can generate a lot more pop on flat or on a lip/transition. Though they feel jerkey much like thunders...and Indy's have that turn potential with one foot over the bolts on both trucks that I've grown to love
I’ve skated Indys, thunders, ventures, theeves, and ace. I’m skating Independent on both of my boards. They turn the best. I really like Ace too. The trick is to switch out the Bushings. Find a hardness you like! I ride larger wheels and use risers. Makes the pop better.
anthony wylie hell yeah Ace and Indys are the best with super soft bushings loosy goosy
High trucks allow the board to pop at a more vertical angle quicker.
Low trucks keep the board more grounded for better control.
talking about equipment, what are your thoughts on skating with risers? I skate with 1/8 in risers and would never skate without em!
That lighter trucks analogy in the end really struck me hard!
I haven't noticed much of a difference either to be honest, been skating for 6 years and I believe I've tried 4 different kind of trucks.
Skating those hollow independents right now and they feel nice.
My last trucks were ventures but I shattered them into 3 pieces it was kinda weird.
I always broke ventures kingpins. Still loved them though
Question What You Fear Yup. Mine were pretty new and one kingpin snapped doing a flat 360 flip and I think my foot landed on the truck. Never had that happen before. So I never got them again.
WHAT THE HECK THIS IS CRAZY I USED TO WATCH YOUR VIDEOS BACK IN THE DAY! I REMEMBER BEING SURPRISED WHEN I SAW A VIDEO OF YOU AT LANDSLIDE SKATEPARK!
I used to skate some krux standards but I had to make the change to ace because it wouldn't turnt that well after a bit and the axel bent
Bent axles and broken trucks are why I don't ride Krux or Tensor. USA Indy's or Ace for me, fam.
The way I see it,if you're larger then get lows cos it'll be easier to Ollie, may not necessarily get that height, but it's a lot easier, ESPECIALLY with smaller, narrower wheels
Dude you're like Jared from Silicon Valley but for skateboarding.
you can put riser pads to compensate low trucks, and they would still wheigth less with no wheelbite. cool video
I've been skating Indy Stage XI's for a while now and picked up some Tensor Maglight lows a couple days ago to try them out and they seem easier to land on for me (when I don't get wheel bite).
Right when you said "The lowest I could find" I immediately thought "Tensor Maglight."
Picked up some tensor maglights a few months ago (honestly, I wanted to try them because I usually use Thunder His, so I figure I wanted to try out some low trucks).
Boy did I wheel bite like crazy. I swear, I even bought a smaller wheels than my usual thinking it would help (50 instead of 54). I need riser pads, but that defeats the purpose of low trucks!
seems like it balances it out to add risers. not super enjoyable to bite all the time ya?
I skate high trucks so I can have looser trucks.
I got lows and loose, always wax deck under wheels where they bite, helps
High trucks with low truck bushings and they will be perfect
Lol i have high and tight 😂
max lemke Fellow Your mom's house fan up in here ? 😁
Inconsistent TechDad lol I think it was just an amaze coincidence.
Liked and subbed. I keep my board and axle the same. Wheel bite is a problem for me so I use a very thin riser. I haven’t used risers for ever but now that they have given the option these days or so many options I shave 2 boards for skating.
Park skatin transitions. I ride 55 wheels 159 GT trucks with an 1/8 th riser and the deck is 8.75.
I’m going to make a 9 in board so I’m looking for a 166 Indy with 56 wheels. I hav t got wheel bite so I’ve found a sweet spot.
I think a lot of people forget their weight and how tall you are. Im 6,3 and 210 lbs so im not a little guy and I add some medium style bushings. So far the 8.75 board with the 159 has been a great all a rounder but it’s been great in the minis and transitions. Im too old for hard street as I like to go fast and big and pop Ollie’s no flip tricks anymore. I have had a problem getting used to the night of the pop or how much I have to get it to pop it. The good thing is I Ollie’s so many jump ramps that I rarely had to bang my tail on it to get that leverage.
Im going to try the 9 board and 166 .I’ll keep you posted.
The bike analogy is great!! haha
This was really informative, Great to reveal. I thought I was a little thick asking staff for assistance. Their only comeback was "wheel bite" and whether I was going to cruise more, and surface. Only for the need to be able to use 60mm - 80mm cruising wheels with no bite. It was exhaustive. You are by far the most honest truck reviewer.
PS. Can you please let me know the name of the artwork behind you.
80mm? are you skating longboards?
Because most RPK trucks are around 60mm high.
Skateboard trucks (TKP) are 56mm at highest.