Bushings. Different types and how to set them up.

[BeebOH]

Hey. I got a rayne hellcat with randals and orangatang in heats. I like it a lot but itsotthe black stick bushings and they're as hard as a rock IMO. I weight 120 lbs and it's extremely hard to turn even by just a little bit. What would you suggest. I want something stable but will still be able to turn/carve to reduce my speed. I was thinking of getting lemon reflex ones at the bottom and lime or pink at the top? Will that be good?

I also have araybe timeline. I'm gonna get some bennet 5.0 for it soon and orange 4prez. What bushings should I put on there for pumping? Thanks.

Your best bet is to grab a bunch of bushings and experiment, also refer to pavedwave.org for all your LDP questions/curiosities. There's the Khiro Bushing Kits, and I think MHS does a reflex "party pack", something worth looking into.

Also, you should look into a Tracker RTS for your back truck.

[wooden]

thanks for an awesome thread gav, i'll share what i've found with bushings.

for DH, i tend to run a harder barrel on bottom and a softer eliminator on top. i run my trucks pretty loose and find double barrels a little uncomfortable in sharp turns, but i really hated the slow turning feel of jimz. started running barrel bottom and eliminators on top and it's been heaven ever since. it feels solid at the center and has good resistance throughout turns and snaps you back to center quickly.

my setup on randal 42s right now is: front: red barrel bottom/red eliminator top, back: green barrel bottom/red eliminator top.

i'd like to get some sabre bushings to try in place of my venom barrels, but i can't skate for another 3 months anyway so i'll just wait!

[gavmck]

Well I was gonna come and help out, but looks like you guys have it covered! WIN!

[goodcharlotte_fan13]

Well I was gonna come and help out, but looks like you guys have it covered! WIN!

hey gav you helped me out with bushings like 2 weeks ago. I just got my first board a bustin cigar with 70 mm stimulus wheels and ive gotten wheelbite 2 times. I have the stock randal bushings that come on my randal 180 mm r2s. when i got wheelbite they were sortof loose but not that wobbly and i was only going slow which is why i turned so sharply and i was just trying to do a 180 on my driveway. Do you recommend i just keep the bushings i got and keep them pretty tight or should i get a lighter duro on double barrels? Or should i get risers. Im pretty sure my board has risers but i dont know the size of them right now.

and anyone feel free to answer this

[goodcharlotte_fan13]

hey gav you helped me out with bushings like 2 weeks ago. I just got my first board a bustin cigar with 70 mm stimulus wheels and ive gotten wheelbite 2 times. I have the stock randal bushings that come on my randal 180 mm r2s. when i got wheelbite they were sortof loose but not that wobbly and i was only going slow which is why i turned so sharply and i was just trying to do a 180 on my driveway. Do you recommend i just keep the bushings i got and keep them pretty tight or should i get a lighter duro on double barrels? Or should i get risers. Im pretty sure my board has risers but i dont know the size of them right now.

and anyone feel free to answer this

and im only bout 100 pounds so im thinking 85 a blue khiros maybe?

[Cann0n]

and im only bout 100 pounds so im thinking 85 a blue khiros maybe?

I'd use the lightest possible set up if I was you...

I weigh just shy of 200lbs and I use 79a/85a DB Khiros

[gavmck]

Hmmm that's an awkward situation. That board looks quite prone to wheelbite. You've got choices basically...

- Get risers, probably a good half an inch
- Harder bushings
- Eliminator style bushings
- Make cutouts
- Ride faster

I think I'd probably go with the eliminator bushings first. that's what I use to limit the turn depth on a board. At 100lbs, try a orange bottom, blue top combo, although that MAY still be a bit soft, so get a pair of the next hardness up too, then you can experiment.

[goodcharlotte_fan13]

Hmmm that's an awkward situation. That board looks quite prone to wheelbite. You've got choices basically...

- Get risers, probably a good half an inch
- Harder bushings
- Eliminator style bushings
- Make cutouts
- Ride faster

I think I'd probably go with the eliminator bushings first. that's what I use to limit the turn depth on a board. At 100lbs, try a orange bottom, blue top combo, although that MAY still be a bit soft, so get a pair of the next hardness up too, then you can experiment.

ok thanks for the advice. and i think my board came with risers on it but idk how big they are so i guess ima hav 2 take my trucks off and look. And the randals are already like 95 a so i might just keep those and just have them tight

[gavmck]

Ah yes, but those randals are cone shaped. A cone shaped bushing gives the deepest turn for the softness of it. A barrel will give you less turn depth, then an eliminator even less. So if you want a nice soft turny middle point, but don't want it to turn too deep (and get wheelbite) use a fatter bushing.

[goodcharlotte_fan13]

Ah yes, but those randals are cone shaped. A cone shaped bushing gives the deepest turn for the softness of it. A barrel will give you less turn depth, then an eliminator even less. So if you want a nice soft turny middle point, but don't want it to turn too deep (and get wheelbite) use a fatter bushing.

oya. haha thanks 4 the advice. Im probably gonna go with khiros double barrels because i think you told me a while back that for the venoms you need a longer kingpin for randals. and im lazy so ya.

[gavmck]

Yup, just remember to shim the bottom bushing up with an extra washer cos khiro are shorter than randal bottom bushings.

[Largeboarder]

Just a question, my Venoms saty a bit crushed with 3" kingpins, if I just leave 'em be the trucks stay way too losse, any tips?

The flat washers I bought were the size of the bushings, now the bushing is like 2-3mm larger than the washer.

[goodcharlotte_fan13]

Yup, just remember to shim the bottom bushing up with an extra washer cos khiro are shorter than randal bottom bushings.

ok thanks so the bushing that takes place of the larger randal bushing use an extra washer. So do you mean flat washers.

[LFP123]

venoms = win

[gavmck]

Just a question, my Venoms saty a bit crushed with 3" kingpins, if I just leave 'em be the trucks stay way too losse, any tips?

You have your trucks too tight. Ride em loose. If they REALLY feel too loose after a couple of week of riding, buy harder bushings. Don't crush em though.

So do you mean flat washers.

HELL YEAH

[xxshinbobxx]

Looks like you've got it pretty good there! Squishyness doesn't really affect your ride, only the feel. It's just how squishy the urethane feels mostly around the center when not turning much.

Barrell bushings are either the same height (tall cones) or taller (short cones) than cone bushings. Randals come with one tall cone and one short cone. when you run double barrels, it comes up taller so you need a longer kingpin or you end up overtightening the trucks resulting in a bad feeling turn.

how do you know if you've over tightened the trucks..??

[Largeboarder]

You have your trucks too tight. Ride em loose. If they REALLY feel too loose after a couple of week of riding, buy harder bushings. Don't crush em though.

That's strange. I feel that they are a tight as before, except the bushings are crushed.

What's stranger, I just loosened 'em and they feel as tight before, except the bushings aren't crushed. I'm afraid I won't be able to do the same thing on the back trucks as they'll feel unstable at speeds. Probably I'll buy harder bushings for the back soon.

[goodcharlotte_fan13]

Hell yeah[/quote]

thanks!

[gavmck]

how do you know if you've over tightened the trucks..??

The sides iof the bushing start to bend out a bit in the center position. There's a window for adjustment where the bushing has no slop or wobbliness in the middle, but the bushing sides are not deormed. Thisis the sweet spot of the bushing with the best return to center and compression depth.

[easyrider2004]

oooo nice thread sticky for sure but add in the effects of barrel and cone/ cone and cone/ and double barrels combos. just trying to help

i completely agree. something like that would be pretty helpful