Topmount VS. Dropthru VS. Dropdeck

[oldnbroken]

That seems like the opposite of what the graphic at the top shows....

Drop deck puts you low and to the outside= more sideways push on the wheels from a lower position=more drift and less traction.
Topmount puts you more to the center and on top= more traction b/c more downward force on the wheels.

[Xgecko]

I think a better way to describe it would be to say drop boards pull perpendicularly against the gravitational shear load on the wheels. Top mounts add their load to the gravitational shear load

[oldnbroken]

just give it a try i bet youll like it!

I will........ but the typical hose you are talking about from Home Depot is a very soft PVC (not nylon) hose and the reinforcement threads have nothing at all to do with this application and don't provide any additional support or strength to this soft vinyl hose. Standard pivot cups are not urethane, by the way, they are PVC, just like the clear hose in question only a bit stiffer or a lot stiffer in the case of a Crail pivot cup. So the improvement is from the cup not having a bottom? Is that the deal? Some good precision trucks use hard Delrin for pivot cups. Keeps the pin from rattling around and Delrin has a good amount of lubricity so the hanger turns with little friction. Are most precision cups without bottoms?

[[(Erik)]]

for me its a tie between drop through and top mount.

some days i like to grip corners and somedays i like to bust a fatty drift. it pretty much depends on what mood im in, if im in an agro mood ill ride my topmount , if im in a chill mood ill ride my drop through.
anyways here are my faves:

dropthrough:
comet loki

Top:
airflow speedwing

[Big Dev]

do what
10oops

[austinn]

drop thru!!!!!!

[tomes]

I think a better way to describe it would be to say drop boards pull perpendicularly against the gravitational shear load on the wheels. Top mounts add their load to the gravitational shear load

Yep, also the graphic doesn't show the trucks turning. So you have to imagine where the wheels would be at full turn (more underneath the board).

[BT-DH]

I got a dancer and a ly switch both with freeride wheels and i gotta say the topmount dancer is way better for cornering. its def harder to toss into a slide but its real easy once you get the hang of it and it holds a line so easy where the switch will want to drift

standup slides on the dancer take more ankle strength but I believe anyone has the ankle strength to push a top mount, or you can build it easily. the dropped deck is definitely easier to hold a slide and do more kinds of slides but thats gotta be the shorter wb. basically i love the dropped deck for freeriding but for faster corners id go topmount.

and i do feel just a bit more stable on the dropped deck because the turning ability is less and easier to stay in control when i hit a twig or something.

[isk]

topmount : agility, grip, control
dropmount: less responsive, more drift, easier to push/footbreak

i learned on a hellcat and have an avenger now. my only gripe with the avenger is the push/footbreak thing. footbreaking at speed is way more intense on a high board and pushing a high board strains your legs a lot more.

btw, i love cornering on my hellcat, i havent really cornered much on my avenger. lack of hairpins where i live now...

[keef]

I have a top mounted demonseed and an avenger. Don't feel good on the demonseed at speed, topmount all the way for me.

[Rookster]

Showing how the center of the board moves outward the further down you go.
or conversely, inward as you go upward.




Top mount: Most leanable, most grip (The reason being that at full lean your weight is going to be close to the center of the truck than with dropped boards, meaning that your weight is going to be more equally distributed over the four wheels), most control but this is at the sacrifice of stability for some. Really it just takes strong ankles. Some people don't like the straight deck aspect of these boards because there is no natural foot-stops on either end of the board, that is when your pushing your front foot may want to move forward if you aren't putting enough pressure on it and as your back foot has a tendency to slip back when tucking, you could have problems if your grip isn't grippy.

Drop through: Added stability but proportionally less grip/lean to the change in height of your center of gravity (say in comparison to a topmount). The reason for this is that because of the way a skateboard turns, as you lean you start applying less force down an more force to the side. You have less leverage with lowered platforms:



It also means that you have to put more weight on the edges of the deck to make the turn and that moved the center of gravity of the *rider* more off the center of the trucks than he'd have to move for a top-mount deck to make the same turn.
The drift on anything with a lowered platform is going to happen earlier and be easier to control. Usually this sort of straight deck drop though should have a ride height in between that of a topmount and drop deck. A disadvantage of this is that the nose and tail become noticeably weaker, a hit to a wall can shatter them. The board will still be usable (probably) but torsional flex will increase.

Drop deck: Everything about drop through is applicable here, except the part about fragility. There is the added benefit of front and rear foot-stops.

Great Post, this helps a lot with new ideas for different setups!

[Bookworm]

dropped boards also have much more of a "settling back to center" feeling after a turn or in a straight that feels different from the tipping down to either side that a topmount or drop through can feel like. on a drop deck I feel cradled by stability, but on a drop through or topmount I feel like I'm always at the helm.

[tomes]

I'd also like to add that riders that like to slide might use topmounts because they hook up easier (in my experience), since they grip more.

[Commiesk8er]

I just wanted to add my two cents that if you ride any style of deck they all have something to teach you, so make the most of whatever you are riding. If you ride a topmount you will learn stability and grip will be there, if you ride any lowered platform, you will be more stable but need to learn to grip. So...each can help you DH and ride in general better.

[Brain Smoothie]

I just wanted to add my two cents that if you ride any style of deck they all have something to teach you, so make the most of whatever you are riding. If you ride a topmount you will learn stability and grip will be there, if you ride any lowered platform, you will be more stable but need to learn to grip. So...each can help you DH and ride in general better.

well put man, great way to think of all of it

[tomes]

I just wanted to add my two cents that if you ride any style of deck they all have something to teach you, so make the most of whatever you are riding. If you ride a topmount you will learn stability and grip will be there, if you ride any lowered platform, you will be more stable but need to learn to grip. So...each can help you DH and ride in general better.

very true
10 words well put

[Rookster]

Showing how the center of the board moves outward the further down you go.
or conversely, inward as you go upward.




Top mount: Most leanable, most grip (The reason being that at full lean your weight is going to be close to the center of the truck than with dropped boards, meaning that your weight is going to be more equally distributed over the four wheels), most control but this is at the sacrifice of stability for some. Really it just takes strong ankles. Some people don't like the straight deck aspect of these boards because there is no natural foot-stops on either end of the board, that is when your pushing your front foot may want to move forward if you aren't putting enough pressure on it and as your back foot has a tendency to slip back when tucking, you could have problems if your grip isn't grippy.

Drop through: Added stability but proportionally less grip/lean to the change in height of your center of gravity (say in comparison to a topmount). The reason for this is that because of the way a skateboard turns, as you lean you start applying less force down an more force to the side. You have less leverage with lowered platforms:



It also means that you have to put more weight on the edges of the deck to make the turn and that moved the center of gravity of the *rider* more off the center of the trucks than he'd have to move for a top-mount deck to make the same turn.
The drift on anything with a lowered platform is going to happen earlier and be easier to control. Usually this sort of straight deck drop though should have a ride height in between that of a topmount and drop deck. A disadvantage of this is that the nose and tail become noticeably weaker, a hit to a wall can shatter them. The board will still be usable (probably) but torsional flex will increase.

Drop deck: Everything about drop through is applicable here, except the part about fragility. There is the added benefit of front and rear foot-stops.

So I'm guessing this logic pertains to truck height as well as the way you mount your trucks. Therefore no matter the setup if its the same deck height it will basically ride the same?

[Bookworm]

So I'm guessing this logic pertains to truck height as well as the way you mount your trucks. Therefore no matter the setup if its the same deck height it will basically ride the same?

no. how the force gets to the bushings under what conditions is important as well. if you were to take an evo and dewedge it and riser it to the point where it was the height of a topmount, it would not feel like riding a topmount. the response would be weird and road feel would be awful because of the ridiculous path the force has to take to get to the trucks. drop throughs act on the bottom of the baseplate, and other setups act through the top of the baseplate, this makes a difference as well.

[Rookster]

no. how the force gets to the bushings under what conditions is important as well. if you were to take an evo and dewedge it and riser it to the point where it was the height of a topmount, it would not feel like riding a topmount. the response would be weird and road feel would be awful because of the ridiculous path the force has to take to get to the trucks. drop throughs act on the bottom of the baseplate, and other setups act through the top of the baseplate, this makes a difference as well.

What I'm wondering is more along the line of: comparing a top mount with low trucks to a drop through with high trucks were as the deck height equals the same with the same wheels. Which would grip more? Sill the top mount? Or would they have the same response?

[tomes]

What I'm wondering is more along the line of: comparing a top mount with low trucks to a drop through with high trucks were as the deck height equals the same with the same wheels. Which would grip more? Sill the top mount? Or would they have the same response?

If the trucks were the same, just one with a taller baseplate and the ride height is the same, both decks should grip the same amount.