Original Skateboards S6 Truck Review

[LTRS]

Do you hate long reviews with a lot of detail?

Okay. Then don't read this...



I got my first pair of Original Skateboards trucks 2 days ago. I bought a Torpedo 40 with S6 trucks, black springs, and Kryptonic Cruise 78a wheels.

No trucks I've ever ridden compare to these. I have no idea how to write about Original Trucks without sounding like a marketing hype infomercial. These are the most amazingly neat trucks I have ever skated. Period. Nothing compares to them. Absolutely nothing. Nothing else I know turns like these suckers.

Clearly, the fellas at Original are marketing geniuses. Now I understand why they make so many promotional videos. You can't write about these trucks and do them justice. Writing about them sounds like hype. You have to SEE them. After you watch the videos you go, "Wow. That's amazing. I've never seen anything carve that sharp before."

Of course, if you're like me, you were thinking the same thing after watching them - "Yeah, okay. Sure. They LOOK like they carve really awesome. But are they easy to ride? Or are these so-called 'team-riders' super experienced at riding them, and once I buy a pair, the trucks will be all squirrelly and wobbly?"

Nope. Not at all.

These things snap back to center very precisely. They are totally stable, even at speed. Not twitchy at all.

Yet, despite their stability, they turn super smooth as well! The resistance is consistent all the way through the lean. You know how with "normal" trucks (or should I say, "outdated"?) as you lean, it gets harder and harder to turn? Outdated trucks with bushings are tough to turn, because as the urethane bushing gets more and more compressed, it fights and pushes back, trying to resist the turn.

Not so with these. Originals do not fight back as the turn gets deeper. The spring-action means their resistance remains consistent. Seismic Trucks do this also. Seismics and Originals are the only trucks I've ever experienced which do that. Awesome feature and incredible performance.

Seismic Trucks are some of my favorites, because they turn so sharp.

Originals turn even sharper.

My very first ride on these trucks was down the boardwalk at the beach bikepath in Venice and Santa Monica on 28 December 2008 - the day after I got the board. I was immediately able to carve these trucks like nothing else I had ever ridden. These are the trucks I've dreamed of all my life. Some people say they have a hard time "getting used to" these trucks. Not me. My learning curve took about 2 minutes before I was carving full-bore switchbacks - left, right, left, right. Bam. Bam. Bam. Fully locked as sharp as the trucks could turn and grabbing the rail in a full tuck.

I think it was so easy for me, because these are truly the trucks I've always wanted. Once I jumped on these puppies it was like, "YES! This is the way I've always VISUALIZED a skateboard carving in my mind, but no board could ever do this for real!"

Now I can!

So, learning them took no time at all. It was more like a period of adjustment to realize, "No, you CAN lean that far. These trucks DO respond the way you always wished trucks would function. Go on. Lean harder. You know the move. It's been in your head all your life. It's just that no other board could ever do it before."

These are the trucks I've always wanted, but no one ever made. It may be a big cliche, but I can think of no better way to say it - "They perform like a dream."

My favorite trucks ever.

And of course, the big question - how do they ride in a skatepark?

Well, after 2 or 3 hours on the flatland of the boardwalk, I took them to a skatepark and rode them another 2 hours in various bowls and carving transitions and flow. Yeah, I know, I know. The Torpedo 40 is not exactly designed to be carving around transitions. Who cares? I did it anyway! Woohoo! Fun stuff!

Yeow! Riding a pintail deck with these trucks on skatepark transitions was crazy! So fun. I noticed that they do carve a bit too much for a skatepark. If I carved too many tight turns, I'd bleed off all my speed and have no momentum to keep pumping. A better technique was to ride it like a normal skateboard, carve to build up a buttload of speed, then throw in some occasional sharp turns and cutbacks. But if you do too many cutbacks too frequently, it slows you down too much.

All in all, not my favorite as a skatepark deck. But, of course, I am also running S6 trucks with the extra-light springs - making them the sharpest-turning trucks in the Original Skateboards lineup. I'm sure wider trucks or a tighter spring would make a world of difference. They would likely be more fun with just a tiiiiiiny touch more of stability. I bet the owners of Original would even be saying, "Dude! You rode S6 trucks on a Torpedo 40 and were carving bowls? You aren't supposed to do that with those trucks on that deck! That's not what it was made for!"

Nevertheless, as it stood, they were still super fun and I had a great time with them. I carved a few corner pockets in the skatepark that I literally never carved before, because the turn is so sharp, I could never get any other deck to carve that tight. The Torpedo carved it like butter. "Like BUTTAH, I tell yous!"

Good times.

Even in a skatepark, Originals freakin' rock.

I've been a skater for over 20 years and I have long suffered from a VERY foolish attitude. I have been living under the delusion that "traditional" is a good thing. I have believed that "tried and true" designs were the best.

I was wrong.

"Tradition" is very important in life. But "tradition" should be honored in aspects of life such as character and morality. Tradition should not apply to technical innovations like skateboarding. Skateboarding should be about creativity, not tradition. If skateboarding was about tradition, we'd still be riding clay wheels instead of urethane.

Skateboarding, at the core of its very nature, has always been about breaking the mold, not conforming to one.

Original Trucks are definitely "weird" compared to "traditional" trucks. But they are not a "gimmick" and they are not "hype" - they are a true evolution and innovation in the world of skateboarding. However, that doesn't mean everyone should go out and replace their trucks with a pair of Originals either. Not at all. As fantastic as they may be, they may not fit your style and they certainly weren't intended for every style of skateboarding.

Not only have I been stuck on "tradition" for too long, but I was stuck doing the same type of skateboarding - I only rode pool and street boards. Period. No longboards. No downhill. No variation.

Now that I've opened my mind to longboards and enjoy them SO much, I want to ride EVERYTHING. Longboards. Shortboards. Downhill. Pool decks. Pintails. Twin noses. You name it! Give me them all! The universe of skateboarding is SO much more vast than kickflips and vert ramps. I can't believe it took me so long to figure that out! I'm just grateful that I finally learned my lesson.

There are so many styles of skateboarding and so many types of riding. No deck, no wheels, no trucks can "do it all" in skateboarding. Once you open your mind to the different forms of skating, you realize the need for different gear for different terrain. Just like driving a car - you don't take a Formula 1 racecar to the beach and expect to drive it over the sand like a dunebuggy. It's just not gonna work. Just because a dunebuggy and a Formula 1 racecar are both "cars" doesn't mean they are interchangeable. Same with skateboards. You need the right setup for what you like to skate.

Traditional trucks have their place. Traditional trucks are appropriate for certain styles of skating. For your style, Original trucks might be horrible. They might not be what you need.

But for me? For my style?

Originals are my godsend. They are my dream trucks.

I can't praise them enough. Try some for yourself and see what you think. For the way you ride, they might be awful.

... Or, they might be the best things you've ever seen.

[Original]

Do you hate long reviews with a lot of detail?

Okay. Then don't read this...



I got my first pair of Original skateboards trucks 2 days ago. I bought a Torpedo 40 with S6 trucks, black springs, and Kryptonic Cruise 78a wheels.

No trucks I've ever ridden compare to these. I have no idea how to write about Original Trucks without sounding like a marketing hype infomercial. These are the most amazingly neat trucks I have ever skated. Period. Nothing compares to them. Absolutely nothing. Nothing else I know turns like these suckers.

Clearly, the fellas at Original are marketing geniuses. Now I understand why they make so many promotional videos. You can't write about these trucks and do them justice. Writing about them sounds like hype. You have to SEE them. After you watch the videos you go, "Wow. That's amazing. I've never seen anything carve that sharp before."

Of course, if you're like me, you were thinking the same thing after watching them - "Yeah, okay. Sure. They LOOK like they carve really awesome. But are they easy to ride? Or are these so-called 'team-riders' super experienced at riding them, and once I buy a pair, they trucks will be all squirrelly and wobbly?"

Nope. Not at all.

These things snap back to center very precisely. They are totally stable, even at speed. Not twitchy at all.

Yet, despite their stability, they turn super smooth as well! The resistance is consistent all the way through the lean. You know how with "normal" trucks (or should I say, "outdated"?) as you lean, it gets harder and harder to turn? Outdated trucks with bushings are tough to turn, because as the urethane bushing gets more and more compressed, it fights and pushes back, trying to resist the turn.

Not so with these. Originals do not fight back as the turn gets deeper. The spring-action means their resistance remains consistent. Seismic Trucks do this also. Seismics and Originals are the only trucks I've ever experienced which do that. Awesome feature and incredible performance.

Seismic Trucks are some of my favorites, because they turn so sharp.

Originals turn even sharper.

My very first ride on these trucks was down the boardwalk at the beach bikepath in Venice and Santa Monica on 28 December 2008 - the day after I got the board. I was immediately able to carve these trucks like nothing else I had ever ridden. These are the trucks I've dreamed of all my life. Some people say they have a hard time "getting used to" these trucks. Not me. My learning curve took about 2 minutes before I was carving full-bore switchbacks - left, right, left, right. Bam. Bam. Bam. Fully locked as sharp as the trucks could turn and grabbing the rail in a full tuck.

I think it was so easy for me, because these are truly the trucks I've always wanted. Once I jumped on these puppies it was like, "YES! This is the way I've always VISUALIZED a skateboard carving in my mind, but no board could ever do this for real!"

Now I can!

So, learning them took no time at all. It was more like a period of adjustment to realize, "No, you CAN lean that far. These trucks DO respond the way you always wished trucks would function. Go on. Lean harder. You know the move. It's been in your head all your life. It's just that no other board could ever do it before."

These are the trucks I've always wanted, but no one ever made. It may be a big cliche, but I can think of no better way to say it - "They perform like a dream."

My favorite trucks ever.

And of course, the big question - how do they ride in a skatepark?

Well, after 2 or 3 hours on the flatland of the boardwalk, I took them to a skatepark and rode them another 2 hours in various bowls and carving transitions and flow. Yeah, I know, I know. The Torpedo 40 is not exactly designed to be carving around transitions. Who cares? I did it anyway! Woohoo! Fun stuff!

Yeow! Riding a pintail deck with these trucks on skatepark transitions was crazy! So fun. I noticed that they do carve a bit too much for a skatepark. If I carved too many tight turns, I'd bleed off all my speed and have no momentum to keep pumping. A better technique was to ride it like a normal skateboard, carve to build up a buttload of speed, then throw in some occasional sharp turns and cutbacks. But if you do too many cutbacks too frequently, it slows you down too much.

All in all, not my favorite as a skatepark deck. But, of course, I am also running S6 trucks with the extra-light bearings - making them the sharpest-turning trucks in the Original Skateboards lineup. I'm sure wider trucks or a tighter spring would make a world of difference. They would likely be more fun with just a tiiiiiiny touch more of stability. I bet the owners of Original would even be saying, "Dude! You rode S6 trucks on a Torpedo 40 and were carving bowls? You aren't supposed to do that with those trucks on that deck! That's not what it was made for!"

Nevertheless, as it stood, they were still super fun and I had a great time with them. I carved a few corner pockets in the skatepark that I literally never carved before, because the turn is so sharp, I could never get any other deck to carve that tight. The Torpedo carved it like butter. "Like BUTTAH, I tell yous!"

Good times.

Even in a skatepark, Originals freakin' rock.

I've been a skater for over 20 years and I have long suffered from a VERY foolish attitude. I have been living under the delusion that "traditional" is a good thing. I have believed that "tried and true" designs were the best.

I was wrong.

"Tradition" is very important in life. But "tradition" should be honored in aspects of life such as character and morality. Tradition should not apply to technical innovations like skateboarding. Skateboarding should be about creativity, not tradition. If skateboarding was about tradition, we'd still be riding clay wheels instead of urethane.

Skateboarding, at the core of its very nature, has always been about breaking the mold, not conforming to one.

Original Trucks are definitely "weird" compared to "traditional" trucks. But they are not a "gimmick" and they are not "hype" - they are a true evolution and innovation in the world of skateboarding. However, that doesn't mean everyone should go out and replace their trucks with a pair of Originals either. Not at all. As fantastic as they may be, they may not fit your style and they certainly weren't intended for every style of skateboarding.

Not only have I been stuck on "tradition" for too long, but I was stuck doing the same type of skateboarding - I only rode pool and street boards. Period. No longboards. No downhill. No variation.

Now that I've opened my mind to longboards and enjoy them SO much, I want to ride EVERYTHING. Longboards. Shortboards. Downhill. Pool decks. Pintails. Twin noses. You name it! Give me them all! The universe of skateboarding is SO much more vast than kickflips and vert ramps. I can't believe it took me so long to figure that out! I'm just grateful that I finally learned my lesson.

There are so many styles of skateboarding and so many types of riding. No deck, no wheels, no trucks can "do it all" in skateboarding. Once you open your mind to the different forms of skating, you realize the need for different gear for different terrain. Just like driving a car - you don't take a Formula 1 racecar to the beach and expect to drive it over the sand like a dunebuggy. It's just not gonna work. Just because a dunebuggy and a Formula 1 racecar are both "cars" doesn't mean they are interchangeable. Same with skateboards. You need the right setup for what you like to skate.

Traditional trucks have their place. Traditional trucks are appropriate for certain styles of skating. For your style, Original trucks might be horrible. They might not be what you need.

But for me? For my style?

Originals are my godsend. They are my dream trucks.

I can't praise them enough. Try some for yourself and see what you think. For the way you ride, they might be awful.

... Or, they might be the best things you've ever seen.

Wow, that's gotta be the most gleaming review we have ever received.
Thanks for checking us out LT!

For most people coming from a traditional reverse kingpin (Randal / Paris etc) truck setup we recommend going with the S8 200mm trucks, just to smooth things out a bit. Also, riders heavier than 180Lbs might want to look to heavier tension springs as this will give your trucks the rebound we designed them to have (albeit specifically tuned for heavier dudes).

Other than that, wow. Thanks again.

[Cranks]

someone should stop posting on the internet until he can afford to buy his team helmets.

[Original]

someone should stop posting on the internet until he can afford to buy his team helmets.

That sounds reasonable enough.

[wayneSZ]

[LTRS]

For most people coming from a traditional reverse kingpin (Randal / Paris etc) truck setup we recommend going with the S8 200mm trucks, just to smooth things out a bit. Also, riders heavier than 180Lbs might want to look to heavier tension springs as this will give your trucks the rebound we designed them to have (albeit specifically tuned for heavier dudes).

Other than that, wow. Thanks again.

You're welcome. And thank you for making such fun trucks.

As for the weight - nope, I'm a svelte fella. Nowhere near 180lbs.

Funny thing is - I've never ridden a traditional revese kingpin like Randal or Paris. I've only ridden traditional Indys and Trackers on pool boards and Seismic and Revenge on longboards. So, I can't really compare anything to a Randal or Paris style truck.

[Barf]

Another convert!

[Ferrarimk13]

i agree, i have had a pair of S6 for the past 3 years or so, and i love them to death. They are very addictive, and adjustable as well. I believe my cams are cracked but i honestly dont mind, they have a little dead zone in the middle because of it, but i actually like being able to turn with little effort. I will change it eventually, but its no setback at all for me.

[LTRS]

i agree, i have had a pair of S6 for the past 3 years or so, and i love them to death. They are very addictive, and adjustable as well.

Addictive? No doubt! Funny thing is - I went back to my Seismics today and damn near killed myself!

When I first rode my Seismics, I was like, "Wow! These are the most awesome-turning trucks ever!"

I got used to my Originals so fast, that when I got back on the Seismics, I was like, "Auuuuugh! I can't turn!"

It was really weird!

[sniffleless]

Originals will spoil you.
Definitely one of the most fun trucks I have ever owned or ridden. A good match for my style of riding as well.

Now to swap out my old bushings and maybe get a stiffer spring (holiday eating has pushed me to 180) and I think I am going to build a new board for my S6's. I need to get back out on my Originals again. I need to pick up some of the wider models as well.

[Fmunkey]

I love my originals, i can hit bigger hills than i used to, since i can carve the whole way down much better than on any other trucks.

[HerBDerb]

I got used to my Originals so fast, that when I got back on the Seismics, I was like, "Auuuuugh! I can't turn!"

It was really weird!

I've experienced that many times.
However, if you really want to hurt yourself, after a long session on some Originals go hop right onto a dropped DH board.

[Ferrarimk13]

agreed, i have the strangest feeling setup (S6 trucks and a flexdex slalom which is ridiculously flexy) and going on any board afterwards, i am guaranteed to fall because nothing turns like the slalom. After bombing some hills with that setup though, it feels like youre on ecstasy on any other board, because its so much more stable.

[gratefuldeadd67]

im really curious to try out these boards. i might just have to buy one..probably one of the best reviews ive read so far. thanks!

[srq_jeeves]

If you're curious, try them. You won't be disappointed.

I found a Custom 45 [with s10's] at a local shop and bought a hybrid with s6's the next week. I love the feel so much I even bought a third Original deck for the S6's [wide. tails. with cut outs, can't find it on the site; It's amazing].

The best moniker I can come up with is.... O.M.G.

Not only is the Custom 45 the best riding board I've ever been on, it's the most beautiful [See red w/silver flake... Seriously]. A friend of mine (Pro snowboarder) absolutely LOVES the way it rides. He says it responds JUST like a snowboard.

There's a learning curve, but not really. Just relax and try to do the things that you think you should be able to do on a board. You'll be surprised.


Gentlemen from Original, Congratulations. You've made skating [carving/turning] what it was meant to be. I can't begin to express how happy I am that your boards made it to Florida shops. Many thanks.

Jeeves.

[Data]

Hey, whats up. Ive been looking for some new trucks. Ive been asking around and everyone keeps telling me Randal's there awesome there the best. But that kinda turns me off of them. I bet there great trucks but I'm not the type of guy that will buy it just because everyone else has them. I love the spring instead of bushing idea. im just thinking about buying them and i already love them =). I'm still new to longboarding but i feel that its time for an upgrade. I know i want these trucks but no shop around me has them in stock. So i coming here to get some help on sizing.

This is my board (168 long board Tada Sports - Sporting goods like balls and wheel product)
I'm still looking at wheels but my choices are
1.Retro zigzag limes
2.Retro bigzag limes
3.Retro freeride limes

as i said before I'm still a new rider so I'm just looking for trucks and wheels At the moment but i plan on upgrading to a new board once i feel Ive Learned all that i can learn from my current board

if you can help me make up my mind i would love that! i want these trucks but i want to get the right size

P.s. I love carving and I am on the heavier side i weight 250. i needed a way to cut some pounds and i thought why not make it something fun!

[LTRS]

So i coming here to get some help on sizing.

Scott has a video which can help you with that:

[UltyHuck13]

strange as it sounds, originals w/ black springs on a vanguard was my first DH setup.

from a guy thats 220 and 6'3", it was an interesting ride. After I rode that setup @ 45 mph w/ some other friends, I discovered (according to them) that it isn't what those are made for.. oops! Now that I look back I realize that these trucks are extremely versatile and can handle whatever you throw @ them assuming you're prepared.

props on these ones.

[Data]

Scott has a video which can help you with that:

I watched this Video.i know I'm looking at an s8 or s10 . my board would fit the s8`s but i still need to account for the whee size. the s10`s will work too but i don't wanna go to wide if i don't have to.

From your calculations will i be able to run the s8`s with Retro BigZig limes and now get wheel bite while carving? I'm going for the red spring if that helps.

[LTRS]

From your calculations will i be able to run the s8`s with Retro BigZig limes and now get wheel bite while carving? I'm going for the red spring if that helps.

Well, they're not my calculations - they are from Original. I'm just passing along the info. I don't know what trucks will fit on your board or not.

I can tell you that the heavier red springs will NOT prevent wheelbite. Originals are carve-monsters. I can still lock my Hybrid 35 into a fully-locked carve with S6 trucks and red springs - the red just have more tension so I need to lean harder. But, they will still do a full carve.

The short answer - no. Make sure your wheels clear the deck. Don't try to rely on the springs to prevent wheelbite. That won't work.