" I thought you was dead." --John Fain.  

"Not Hardly." --Jacob McAndless.

That interplay between the leader of a gang of killers and the weathered old hero takes place in a Western movie, but a pair of surfer/skaters in San Diego, California have an attitude a lot like Big Jake's lately.  It's Randal and Bream, with updated trucks, a new website and plenty of corn-dodgers in their saddlebags...

The Resurgence of Randal Trucks

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a squandered empire, the new ownership of Randal Trucks has come out of the gate with momentum and substance to demonstrate the epic marquee isn't dead, afterall.  If you've been reading the 'Fish, you know the ubiquitous R-II has been updated to clean up the castings, slim it down, straighten it up and incorporate newly cast-in-place, Grade-8 axles.  That's a welcome update and long overdue, according to many!  That's not all, however: there's a massively updated website that you've got to check out (click the logo, above).  It includes data, specs, photo galleries, PDF drop-through templates and much, much more.  As far as truck company websites go, the new Randal Trucks site blows everything else out of the water in terms of information, function and utility.  

The new website also indicates that baseplates, kingpins and components will be available seperately (they always were, but gettin' em could require luck) straight from the website and also to dealers.  The low-production racing trucks like the DH, Comp-2 and Luge trucks will be offered and available.  That's more good news for racers looking to get their hands on this stuff!

Of course, there's also the first new Randal Truck in several years, the 125mm R-II.  Check this out:

It's cross-compatible with any Randal baseplate and the first sets are hitting the market as you read this.  Word is, you'll find a number of them on Gravity completes for '08 (not a big surprise) and that Breamo himself will be back in the slalom and speed scene this year, handing out trucks and making sure the new era of Randal Trucks maintains forward momentum.