There have been, in the past years, many innovations in our equipment, crazy high-precision bearing spacers, super-rebound urethane compounds, hybrid boards that emulate every conceivable board sport, decks made from the finest unobtanium and wheels harder than any durometer chart could rate. One thing has remained a staple with little or no (lasting) change over the years: our mounting hardware. In this test, one daring and ill tempered tester takes one of the many Abec 11 innovations and hits the streets for a basic test of a set of hardware even the Core’est of us can appreciate: the Abec 11 X-Bolts.

Of all of the testing installations we have worked this, was one of the easiest to perform. The old hardware was pulled out and the X Bolt unit just slaps right in, a perfect fit for the new-school holes on the Lush Globe 38”. No hammering of bolts to get them to fit and no problems holding a driver while nutting the bolts. I chose not to grip the X-bolts ‘cause I like shiny things and I quickly got distracted and went skating.

Skating with the bolts was BETTER THAN ANYTHING!!! No, not really. Actually, it hardly changed the ride at all. If anything, I think I should have gripped the bolts before I put them on but it was an option I didn’t take advantage of, so I have to pay that price. Our pre-release versions came with a variety of colored grip-tape pieces to pick from for gripping the X’es; we understand they ship with black tape for the same purpose, and have heard the suggestion that you could inset them into existing tape with a few easy cuts.

All things aside, the reasons to use X-Bolts actually sound more like arguments against traditional hardware. We swap lots and lots of hardware which leads us to want simplicity and a damn fool-proof nature for the gear we run on our test decks. More than one testing session has been while halted because of a stripped bolt head during an equipment swap. Even more so when you get careless using power tools, bad things tend to happen at the worst times. With the nature of the X-Bolts, all of those factors are removed. They offer essentially one-tool accessibility. Place the plate, run the nuts down with one hand and you’re good to go. They are durable and appear to be rust proof and maintain their shine.

With almost 4 months of riding, removing and replacing the X-Bolts on the Lush Globe, Rayne Pug & Timeline, a homebuilt 60, and a Gravity SS29, the threads aren’t worn and there is no appearance of stress on the bolt placement on the deck plate. We did identify a few limitations for the X-Bolts, namely that they’re too short for use with wedges or tallish risers and they won’t fit in our Big Red X speed boards. No “X” on the BRX?! Well, the speed board is drilled old-school, so it’s old-school hardware as well for that one and for most slalom decks that also feature the crusty-old, traditional hole spacing.

When it comes down to it the X-Bolts excel in very distinct ways. Durability, simplicity and ease of use are what it comes down to. Will it replace all your hardware? That’s your call man.