Chaput Truck Alert

[EBasil]

Were you turning your head sideways?

Here's another version...

[Captain Hampton]

That has got to be the most beautifully simplified adjustable geometry truck I've ever seen. I want to see the rear of the baseplate assembly and all will be understood thereafter.

[sexualharrison]

screw that I got money and I want them NOW!

[NBtodd]

so...that moves the single spherical joint from between the bushings on radikal, to outside the bushings - above and below - for precise side to side movement...I think. No pivot -or fixed point where a standard truck would have a pivot in the baseplate.

So, how does the mid kingpin with the bushings on it adjust for angle - if as you guys say, you tighten the top kingpin and loosen the bottom, or vice versa - so called adjust able angle - is the mid kingpin in a slot that allows such movement?

I know one thing for sure....I still don;t get how they work. And, I guess the 12 bushings thing was joke. eh?

[ocian]

so...that moves the single spherical joint from between the bushings on radikal, to outside the bushings - above and below - for precise side to side movement...I think. No pivot -or fixed point where a standard truck would have a pivot in the baseplate.

So, how does the mid kingpin with the bushings on it adjust for angle - if as you guys say, you tighten the top kingpin and loosen the bottom, or vice versa - so called adjust able angle - is the mid kingpin in a slot that allows such movement?

I know one thing for sure....I still don;t get how they work. And, I guess the 12 bushings thing was joke. eh?

I think you may be right because he said you could change the hangers without loosening the nut that holds the bushings to that kingpin so I think it would come up with the hanger so you have a consistant tightness even when you switch them. I'm thinking the 'critical' pin that goes through the baseplate may be the one that holds the middle kingping down but that may effect the idea that it moves freely to different angles with adjusting the other two so I'm not sure about that. They look really fun to finetune.

[Chief Red Beef]

Hmmmm..... Is it primarily a front truck?
How does it work as a rear??
The Slalom community already has a damn near perfect front truck (Radikal), and now the GOG too (don't know how it works but looks pretty much like a Radikal knockoff). But what they really need is a good rear truck. (yea, I know, Splitfires, Radikals, etc. are great rear trucks but they're crap next to a PVD).
PVD's are the benchmark but are slightly(!) hard to come by.
We need a poor mans PVD.
Please tell me this is it.

[Sensei]

Looks like a front, espically with the dual pivots.

100% Waitboarding.

[stevie]

Hmmmm..... Is it primarily a front truck?
How does it work as a rear??
The Slalom community already has a damn near perfect front truck (Radikal), and now the GOG too (don't know how it works but looks pretty much like a Radikal knockoff). But what they really need is a good rear truck. (yea, I know, Splitfires, Radikals, etc. are great rear trucks but they're crap next to a PVD).
PVD's are the benchmark but are slightly(!) hard to come by.
We need a poor mans PVD.
Please tell me this is it.

I don't think there's a clear consensus on PVDs being the best rear truck. They had limitations in their bushing system, among other things. They were just the first precision truck with a fully supported pivot. Chaput's new truck also has a fully supported pivot but with a much better pivot bearing system, as well as a vastly superior bushing/energy return system. The one thing the PVD had which Chaput's truck does not is the little pieces that connected the baseplate to the hanger for angle changes. Stil, most riders just set them once and then left them from then on. Along those lines, I think Chris is planning on providing a range of baseplates with different angles that will work for front and rear. The boards I rode had them both front and rear and they worked *really well*.

I agree that Radikal is the de-facto standard front truck for slalom but it is far from perfect. It has major kingpin issues, a ball joint that needs to be broken in and wheel/baseplate interference problems. It also has a major structural problem which it shares with most other traditional trucks: A cantilevered hanger on a cantilevered kingpin (the Splitfire hanger is not cantilevered). Despite their problems, Radikals work great. I use them on all my slalom boards ... for now.

[wiki]

Hey....We got a Rebound with two balls and three nuts....Wow !!

[CanyonCarver]

So... Chris is having all of you kids design the trucks for him, using your ideas and softwares. Once it's all set, he'll get them manufactured!

Seriously, nice marketing strategy, Mr Chaput. Respect.

[ChrisChaput]

The version of the baseplate that you are seeing does NOT have adjustable steering angles. As a matter of fact, in all of these early versions I've made sure that that the geometry doesn't change. Unlike Radikals, Randals. Trackers, Indies, and GOGs, tightening the truck does not change the steering angle. My truck does not "hinge" in the pivot cup, and the bottom bushing does not act as both a fulcrum and a pivot point. What this means is that:

1. The two pivot points share the load and turn the truck at a precise steering angle.
2. The middle kingpin is NOT load bearing, and there is no need to use a harder/different bushings on the bottom.
3. There's no need for a spherical bearing in between the bushings, so I can have more urethane and less metal there.
4. I can use short, tall, narrow, wide, hard, soft, conical, barrel, spherical, and hourglass bushings top and/or bottom.
5. When you tighten the 9/16" locknut, the bottom bushing comes UP, while the top bushing goes down.

There are MANY reasons why I don't like "universal" baseplates that try to give you a wide range of angles. Generally speaking, if it's good and strong and works well in one position, it's going to be weaker, out of position, and work differently in others. It drives the COST of the truck sky high. Generally speaking, once you know what angle truck you want on a board, you're going to "set it and forget it", which makes adjustability a feature that isn't used.

My array of baseplates will allow you to choose 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65 degree steering angle. Baseplates will be sold separately, so when you know what you want, you'll just get it. Unlike a Radikal, GOG or other expensive trucks, my baseplates don't have a spherical bearing pressed into them, no steel kinpin inserts, or expensive threaded kinpins that thread (argh) into the baseplate. Nor are there there any expensively machined adjustment systems. My baseplates are essentially chunks of aluminum with two kingpins and two locknuts. That's it. All other parts of the truck, including the middle kingpin, bushings and spherical bearings are attached to the hanger.

This means that baseplates are cheap - you'll get a couple of hangers and get a BOATLOAD of baseplates for way less than you can buy a single set of machined trucks. The same hanger is used in the front and the back. You can use 45 to 65 degree plates in the front, and 20 to 35 degree plates in the back. Do I really need to make a 40 degree plate? Some whacko will want it. They are great trucks for BOTH ends of the board, so you never have use two completely different trucks front and rear. All axles are set to the same height, no matter which plates you use. When you want to swap your hangers onto another board, you loosen two 1/2" locknuts with your skate key, pull off the hanger, and along comes your kingpin, bushings, and spherical bearings, ready to slip onto the other board. Even your bushing tension is preserved!

The trucks provide a GREAT way to get to learn more about steering angles and bushing systems - the HEART of smooth and precise steering. It allows you to know what you're doing, and to easily duplicate that setup, or make incremental changes. You won't need a degree in engineering or 3 years of slalom wrenching to put together a slalom board. I use mine with X-Bolts for mounting harware (yes the plates have old-school and new-school hole patterns) and Biltins on the axles. Nothing that works this well could be simpler. My skate-key is the only tool that I need at a race now. No washers, spacers, screwdrivers, allen wrenches, or odd sized fasteners. I'm WAY too lazy to be dickin' around with that kinda stuff. I'd rather spend my time skating!

[worldwide]

So... Chris is having all of you kids design the trucks for him, using your ideas and softwares. Once it's all set, he'll get them manufactured!

Seriously, nice marketing strategy, Mr Chaput. Respect.

ummm, not really, even if he was using our ideas he still has to design it. you cant cnc a truck out of ideas

[stevie]

So... Chris is having all of you kids design the trucks for him, using your ideas and softwares. Once it's all set, he'll get them manufactured!

Seriously, nice marketing strategy, Mr Chaput. Respect.

That's nonsense.

[nsc1120]

That answers some questions. I was thinking that the way it was the bottom bushing wouldnt be compressed unless the truck was turning, and the top bushing was the only one being adjusted. but now I want to know how adjusting that one locknut on the kingpin will adjust both bushings. I have an idea that seems too simple too work, but you did say these trucks were simple. does the main kingpin with the bushings go through the baseplate like normal trucks or is there a spot on the baseplate the the top of the bolt fits into?

[ChrisChaput]

So... Chris is having all of you kids design the trucks for him, using your ideas and softwares. Once it's all set, he'll get them manufactured!

Seriously, nice marketing strategy, Mr Chaput. Respect.

I think you have it backwards. I've designed the truck as an adult, using over 30 years of experience, my ideas, my software, and my hardware. Since I've been riding around on the results, you can assume that they've already been manufactured. Once a production environment has been establshed, the kids will benefit by having 97% of all the work done FOR them. The 3% that is left, is actually the FUN part - tweaking them them make them your own. And with widest array of great bushing options available, there will be almost no way to screw it up. If we are going to get kids involved in skateboards that TURN well, we have to give them simple and inexpensive trucks that perform beyond the current standard. That is what I'm doing.

[EBasil]

Tell us how your idea would work, nsc! It's more fun talking about truck designs and whatnot than just hearing the answers!

[ChrisChaput]

That answers some questions. I was thinking that the way it was the bottom bushing wouldnt be compressed unless the truck was turning, and the top bushing was the only one being adjusted. but now I want to know how adjusting that one locknut on the kingpin will adjust both bushings. I have an idea that seems too simple too work, but you did say these trucks were simple. does the main kingpin with the bushings go through the baseplate like normal trucks or is there a spot on the baseplate the the top of the bolt fits into?

The kingin does NOT have a head on it. If it did, you'd crush the hanger down when tightening the locknut. The kingpin It is free to slide up (and even out) of the baseplate, but only when you want it to. Although you can't see it, there is a simple solution to getting the bottom bushing to come up at the same rate that the top bushing comes down. The result is uniform pressure on the bushing seat, with only one adjustment (the locknut). The only reason that I can think of to use different bushings top and bottom, is to "average" the type of compression. For example, if you have an 80a bushing and an 86a bushing, they'd feel similar to two 83a bushings. If you had a narrow bushing and a wide bushing, they'd feel like two medium bushings. This is where the art and voodoo comes into play. The good news is that you can throw just about ANY bushing in there, and they'll work. As a matter of fact, you don't even need a top bushing! It actually feels pretty good. If you have a tallish, widish, hardish bottom bushing, they're a bit like a PVD.

And BTW, NOTHING is too simple.

[Rabid Skunk]

Well it looks like a great time to get into slalom.

[nsc1120]

so then the kingpin is just a threaded rod with two locknuts? if so are people gonna get the problem like they did on the old z-roller trucks where they can only get one locknut off the axle, but in this case, the kingpin and the other is just there?

[wiki]

This is getting more and more like the ' Dance of the seven veils ' We've seen everything but the Bush / Kingpin assembly....Why do we have to keep begging for pics ? C'mon show us how that works.....Puleeeze...purty puleeze