I do not get along with angled risers...were done!

**LoNgSkAtEr** · 05-02-2006 10:11 PM

I'm finished with using angled risers. Every time they bend all my hardware and it really pisses me off! For now on I'm sticking to flat risers except on my slalom board...thats the only exception. I mean F***...it doesn't make sense to me to try and screw a bolt in crooked. I know they change the geometry of the trucks for better carving, but wasn't that why Randals were invented in the first place...so you didn't have to wedge anymore. I just don't understand why someone decided to try and bolt on something slanted onto a flat surface! Whatever...I'm going to burn the damn angled risers this instant. Thanks and sorry you had to listen to my bitching.

**Hydra** · 05-02-2006 11:37 PM

AMEN

**gorillabiscuits** · 05-02-2006 11:55 PM

Yeah bent hardware does suck. But I just try to keep my slalom wedging the same so it will always work with the deck.

**Wheel Man** · 05-03-2006 01:16 AM

Yeah I kinda never liked angled risers..

No matter how I tweak them they just kinda suck.

**Staffan** · 05-03-2006 01:21 AM

Bent hardware doesn't suck as much as a truck that doesn't turn properly...

New screws are a lot cheaper than new trucks.

**bean-a-reano** · 05-03-2006 03:25 AM

Bent hardware still works right?"

**Sensei** · 05-03-2006 07:30 AM

Let me take a wild guess here, did you try mounting the 15 degree wedges that come with the khiro risers?

Those things caused me to throw a screwdriver into my wall.

You pretty much have to redrill your holes on an angle if you use them.

I use up to 10 degrees though without redrilling, you just have to wiggle the truck back and forth, and sometimes screw one side down first, then the back corner, etc.

I also use the Vibra Soft wedge risers that MH has on all my park boards. Easy on the hardware and get the job done.

**LoNgSkAtEr** · 05-03-2006 07:45 AM

No, I just used the Gravity 6 degree angled riser.

**Ravn** · 05-03-2006 08:15 AM

**Directive0** · 05-03-2006 09:02 AM

for park and pool, no.. wedges make no sense. But I'd rather deal with annoying hardware then a board that tracks like ass. Just my opinion.

**crawdad62** · 05-03-2006 09:26 AM

You ought to try and get wedges, risers, trucks and a TNR foot stop to all line up. Every time I'd get one side through I couldn't get the bolt to go into the other.

**EBasil** · 05-03-2006 09:59 AM

I feel your pain, agree with your general premise and have something to soothe your pain. 8) I've had the privilege to install a lot of wedge risers recently, and use a little trick I got from Richie Carrasco --who installs even more (he builds up the mega-wedged completes he sells).

First, if you're using Khiro wedges, take a look at the holes through the wedge. If you orient the wedge so that the holes are parallel to the bolts coming through the board, you can stack your wedges on the hardware without having to bend it...the bolts and the bolt holes will be "straight" --particularly on the fat side of the wedge.

The problem you're left with is that you can't get the trucks on the bolts, and you don't want to use the nuts to crush/bend the hardware into alignment if you like the top surface of your deck, or use stainless steel hardware (which will strip and seize). So... get yourself one of those "6-way screwdrivers". They have a removable, reversible shaft, with bits for the ends that are also removable. Take the bit out of one end, and the hollow shaft will fit right over your 10/32 hardware.

Next, use the hollow-shafted screwdriver to bend the exposed part of the bolts on the fat side of the wedges. Slide the screwdriver over the bolts, Push Down to ensure you're bending from the very base of the exposed bolt, and bend them to be perpendicular to the top surface of the wedge. Once you've done the fat side, the short side is easily completed and you can align the bolts to perfectly fit the truck.

If you've got a Tracker with tight holes or the dreaded Randal baseplate, you can use the screwdriver for adjustments, too.

That works. Try it out!

**shapeshifter** · 05-03-2006 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by EBasil

...use the hollow-shafted screwdriver to bend the exposed part of the bolts on the fat side of the wedges. Slide the screwdriver over the bolts, Push Down to ensure you're bending from the very base of the exposed bolt, and bend them to be perpendicular to the top surface of the wedge. Once you've done the fat side, the short side is easily completed and you can align the bolts to perfectly fit the truck.

If you've got a Tracker with tight holes or the dreaded Randal baseplate, you can use the screwdriver for adjustments, too.

been doin' this for years!!!

figured that if pre-bent the hardware the pads won't have to do it for you.

**EBasil** · 05-03-2006 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by shapeshifter

been doin' this for years!!!

figured that if pre-bent the hardware the pads won't have to do it for you.

There it is: a ringing endorsement by a long-time skater!

**Mr. Zogs** · 05-03-2006 12:33 PM

Yeah... adding lots of wedge to a truck can be a pain... Then again, using washers works fine, but I don't think its as good for your hardware as risers are... I managed to get about 22* on one truck... Then I realized it was way too much and I took the risers off... Then found that my hardware was curved and messed up. So I know have designated slalom hardware for slalom boards. Makes it nice and easy.

**kis** · 05-03-2006 12:56 PM

yea
i never used angled risers
but ive always wondered how
that would fit cuz it won't
very well.

**woof** · 05-03-2006 06:57 PM

The technique I use is to only expose about 1/16 of the bolt, get the truck lined up and start screwing the bolts in; it often has a tendency to start to almost tap threads in the tighter tracker holes. Go 1/16 to 1/8 at a time until you have all of them weel started. If the bolts are of a good quality, it does not do much damage. I tighten like a car wheel ... top left, bottom right, top right, bottom left.

Eventually all are exposed throught the holes and will accept nuts. I usually screw them all the way in though as opposed to using the bolts to "pull" them through. I just do not trust pulling them through.

The next step is to tighten the nuts in the same pattern, though I usually consciously start by getting the two at the low end of the wedge well started and in light contact with the baseplate first. This has the effect of leaving the bolts on the wide part of the wedge loose, and they tend to adjust themselves as opposed to bending much if any ...

Seems to works the charm, even on 15 degree Khiros or even two 10 degree soft Khiros stacked. I've done it countless times now. I've bent bolts in the past, but more recently as I've applied this more often and consciously, I've have had very few bent bolts. Give it a go.

woof

**bpz** · 05-03-2006 07:01 PM

I use 2x10-degree soft Khiro wedges on the front of my two slalom boards, for an effective 20-degree positive wedge. Surely the hardware gets a little bent, but I've never had much trouble taking bolts out and putting them back in. Even if I did, I have a hundred 2" bolts, no worries about throwing a few out and just grabbing some new ones

**nsc1120** · 05-03-2006 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by Sofa King

I use 2x10-degree soft Khiro wedges on the front of my two slalom boards, for an effective 20-degree positive wedge. Surely the hardware gets a little bent, but I've never had much trouble taking bolts out and putting them back in. Even if I did, I have a hundred 2" bolts, no worries about throwing a few out and just grabbing some new ones

I do the same thing. I went to the hardware store bought a box of 100 2.5" bolts for about 5 bucks and a hundred locknuts for another 5. Now it really doesnt matter if my hardware bends or not.