tightening trucks.

[layedout72]

When you tighten down your trucks, whats the max you should tighten them? Seems like I really have to mash the small bushing of my randal 180's (yellow bushings that come with it) to get it tight enough. Granted I am a big dude, but if I turn hard, the board can scrape the ground. This is with the trucks loosened up a bit. Whats the deal? Can I really crank em down?

[Skinart]

I agree that this would be nice info to know--but without a torq wrench at both ends of the conversation
it is a bit hard to discuss--to say nothing of indivudual taste and comfort. Experimentation seems to be
the only route--unless you have a local mentor you trust.

Ride for a bit, then crank some more--maybe a quarter turn, maybe a couple--it's
your experiment. Keep doing this until one of three things happens:

1. You find something magical that you don't want to lose.
2. You find it has become so stiff you deplore it.
3. Your bushings break.

Take notes, measure the amount past the the nut when you find a sweet spot--try to get some
muscle memory on how cranked down it is.

And don't expect new bushings of the same type to be exactly the same--but they should
be close.

Another option is harder bushings. I am a bit bigger than you and I rather like Randals red bushings.
They are about 95a I think, yellows are 90 or 92?, so if you can find some, try them out--or pick up some Khiro's
in that duro range and see what you think. Remember to buy some extra washers to shim
the bottom bushing up to height--Khiros are a little shorter--but they go up to Purple at 99a.

Or...get used to the yellows. It can be done

Edit: A caveat--I haven't spent a ton of time experimenting with my bushings--this is more my general approach
to tinkering--and I do like to tinker--but my experience tinkering with bushings and truck tightness is inconsequential.
But...I did use a tighten and ride approach to getting my boards set-up. Thus far, option three hasn't come up for me.
And I did have to crank down on the yellows and compress them a bit to get them feeling decent.

[layedout72]

hey man, thanks a ton for the info. I figured since they WOULD compress, that it had to be decently safe to ride for a while haha. Would the local skate shop carry the bushings, and how much do they generally run?

[Slim]

Harder bushings are the key. The nut on the kingpin should be used for minor adjustments. If you're changing the shape of the bushings by squishing them down and out, then they aren't going to function as designed. There are tons of hard bushings on the market suitable for big guys.

[Skinart]

I defer to your significantly longer experience on this--I am not compressing the bushings
much--just enough that I said "Hey, they are compressing."

I didn't think it would be much of an issue because I figured they compress under normal use--I'm
just taking up some of the slack so to speak. Is this a mistaken impression?

layedout, you should be able to find bushings in a local skate shop--YMMV--and it has been
my experience that skate shops are expecting much lighter riders so expect to place an order
and wait...

For ideas about what to get, Slim has an excellent thread on bushing duros:
Big List of Bushing Specifications (add to it!)

[layedout72]

if thats the case, i would rather go through an online company. not a fan of the guy who works at the local spot.

something like Khiro black (95a) should suit me well? I am just cruising around, doing nothing major.

[Paipo Jim]

When you tighten down your trucks, whats the max you should tighten them? Seems like I really have to mash the small bushing of my randal 180's (yellow bushings that come with it) to get it tight enough. Granted I am a big dude, but if I turn hard, the board can scrape the ground. This is with the trucks loosened up a bit. Whats the deal? Can I really crank em down?

Getting a board dialed in can sometimes take some time. It's usually a good idea to have a bunch of different risers both angled and flat on hand, along with an assortmant of different bushings. All depending, of course on what you want the board to do.

If you are running Randals and getting rail bite before! wheelbite then you might be up on the edges of your inside wheels and your bushings are too hard! Try playing around with different riser bushing combos at different speeds and turning angles. And I've always ####-canned the Randal bushings as a first step.
..

[layedout72]

Getting a board dialed in can sometimes take some time. It's usually a good idea to have a bunch of different risers both angled and flat on hand, along with an assortmant of different bushings. All depending, of course on what you want the board to do.

If you are running Randals and getting rail bite before! wheelbite then you might be up on the edges of your inside wheels and your bushings are too hard! Try playing around with different riser bushing combos at different speeds and turning angles. And I've always ####-canned the Randal bushings as a first step.
..

what do you mean by I might be up on the edges of my inside wheels and my bushings are too hard?

The only way to get it tight is to really tighten down on the bushings. I think I was too far centered on the board, and making it flex far too much. I can get pictures tomorrow of how I ride it now, after messing around for a few minutes. You guys can tell me if I am riding right, to far spread out, or what, and also will get pics of the bushings tightened down how I like it turning. I really could use a bit more turning than what these bushing are giving me.

[Slim]

I defer to your significantly longer experience on this--I am not compressing the bushings
much--just enough that I said "Hey, they are compressing."

I didn't think it would be much of an issue because I figured they compress under normal use--I'm
just taking up some of the slack so to speak. Is this a mistaken impression?

No, that sounds perfect. Taking up the slack is important so the truck responds smoothly and rebounds back to straight ahead properly. If one snugs the nut up to the bushings and it still seems too tight for them to turn like they want, then they should buy softer bushings and then snug down the nut on them. So it works either way...

[Skinart]

He means that your outside wheels, the ones at the outside of the turn, are off the ground. As I recall
you are using a Kracked Skulls right? This is what must be happening if your trucks are tightened down
at all. I just don't see how else you could be getting railbite--unless he widened the board another 2 inches.

This would be option 2 on my list BTW.

For reference, none of my Randals (stock kingpins like yours) have more than 3 threads beyond the nut.
Most of them show about 1 and a half.

[layedout72]

He means that your outside wheels, the ones at the outside of the turn, are off the ground. As I recall
you are using a Kracked Skulls right? This is what must be happening if your trucks are tightened down
at all. I just don't see how else you could be getting railbite--unless he widened the board another 2 inches.

This would be option 2 on my list BTW.

For reference, none of my Randals (stock kingpins like yours) have more than 3 threads beyond the nut.
Most of them show about 1 and a half.

Is that barrel or hour glass setup? I will loosen them up tomorrow as they are super tight it seems, and the wheels *i think* are lifting. I knew this wasn't good. I will loosen them up and see how it acts. Maybe I just need to get used to riding at that setup and react from there with different parts.

Oh, and it tells you anything....it DOES stick leaning when I get off in middle of a turn.

[Paipo Jim]

what do you mean by I might be up on the edges of my inside wheels and my bushings are too hard?

The only way to get it tight is to really tighten down on the bushings. I think I was too far centered on the board, and making it flex far too much. I can get pictures tomorrow of how I ride it now, after messing around for a few minutes. You guys can tell me if I am riding right, to far spread out, or what, and also will get pics of the bushings tightened down how I like it turning. I really could use a bit more turning than what these bushing are giving me.

Try taller risers and softer bushings. Also when mixing bushings put the harder one on the bottom (closer to the deck) as it will compress less and help a bit with wheelbite.

Here is a good starting setup for a longboard carver with Randals (some on this board will get hysterical when they read this):

Wedge the front truck thin side out. It will do more turning than the rear anyhow and you will want the clearance. Put a medium blue Khiro barrel bottom on the bottom and a blue or yellow bottom Bones on the top of the front truck.

Put a soft flat riser 1/8 riser/pad on the back truck and go with a red Khiro barrel and a medium yellow Bones bottom on the top.

Keep the back truck tightened just a bit more than the front. This setup will also be stable at 35mph. Go up or down in hardness of bushings to suit.
...

[layedout72]

Excuse my ignorance I guess, but what do you mean by wedge the front truck thin side out? Is there somewhere I can place an order for a few full sets of bushings for different companies/firmness, as well as a few style of risers?

[Paipo Jim]

Excuse my ignorance I guess, but what do you mean by wedge the front truck thin side out? Is there somewhere I can place an order for a few full sets of bushings for different companies/firmness, as well as a few style of risers?

http://www.thelongboardstore.com/ang...led_risers.htm

http://www.milehighskates.com/catalo...3trv2jo3nipua7

[layedout72]

How do the risers work on the kracked skull? Would that not actually, lower the board? Being top mounted? Maybe I am looking at wrong, but thats how I see it.


And, if not...you say to get a taller riser, is there any where that I should START at, or no? Sorry for the beginner questions, I just want to set up my board real nice, and be set for the cruising I plan on doing.

[Paipo Jim]

How do the risers work on the kracked skull? Would that not actually, lower the board? Being top mounted? Maybe I am looking at wrong, but thats how I see it.


And, if not...you say to get a taller riser, is there any where that I should START at, or no? Sorry for the beginner questions, I just want to set up my board real nice, and be set for the cruising I plan on doing.

Oops. Sorry about that. Bag the risers but try the bushing setup and be sure to use washers to get the height of the Khiros equal to the stock bottom bushings. I'd use Bones bottom yellows for your top bushings. Khiro sells a bushing kit with a lot of different barrel duros. That may be a good investment as you can try a bunch of diffrent combinations that way.

[Skinart]

Edit: Simultaneous post and Paipo now knows....

Railbite even with the "risers" hasn't been a problem in my experience with this board.
However, I had some time with Randal Reds under my belt before playing with the yellows,
and I did find they were squirrely by comparision and took some acclimation.

layedout: You can get some red Randals at www.daddiesboardshop.com--there you will also
find purple Khiros--or you can go there or MHM or a couple other online retailers and get the
bushing kit Paipo mentioned and play around for a bit.

My bushings are in barrel configuration.

Hope this helps.

[Paipo Jim]

My bushings are in barrel configuration.

I've always liked Bones bottoms for the top position because of their excellent snap back. Kind of expensive though. I just got a dozen 3/8" x 1" fender washers though so I might experiment a bit with barrels on both sides.

[layedout72]

I think I may just get the khiro set next week or so. Would this give me an equivelent to the setups you guys speak of? I think it would be a wise investment if it will give me a bit of combinations to work with.

The board has almost NO snapback right now, if that is what you mean when it returns to center. It just sticks. It comes back maybe a little, but it sure doesn't go level.

[Paipo Jim]

I think I may just get the khiro set next week or so. Would this give me an equivelent to the setups you guys speak of? I think it would be a wise investment if it will give me a bit of combinations to work with.

The board has almost NO snapback right now, if that is what you mean when it returns to center. It just sticks. It comes back maybe a little, but it sure doesn't go level.

That kit is pretty neat and will allow you to try quite a number of different variations. As to no return to center now, take off the hangers bushings and check that your bushings aren't cracked/fractured. Randal bushings used to be notorious for this especially if they were tightened down hard. I've heard that they have gotten way better recently but maybe yours are damaged.