Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Skateboard trucks, so many to choose from
Looking for skateboard trucks can be difficult, there are so many brands and lines to compare before you decide on a pair. Skateboarding trucks come in various shapes, sizes, colors and styles, so picking the right skateboard trucks for you can be difficult. Here is a basic comparison of the brands available today.
Independent Trucks "Indies"
Independent has been making skateboarding trucks for over 25 years. Independent's Stage 9 truck series are quality made, lightweight and durable. They also feature "Fast Action Independent Geometry" which means they are designed to react more quickly to your motions than other trucks. Independent trucks are usually on the wider side, but many sizes are available. Independent trucks are also guaranteed for life against manufacturer defects.
Grindking Trucks
Grind King skateboard trucks are the best trucks available for grinding. The truck hangar is made from aluminum; this makes it softer and better for grinding. Unfortunately this also means they will be a little weaker and wear quicker. This means you will have to replace them more often if you grind; however, your grinds will be smoother and better than ever. Grind King trucks do use special hex-head kingpins, so you will need a special tool to adjust them.
Tensor Trucks
Tensor trucks are the most highly engineered skateboard trucks on the market. Tensor trucks are like the Cadillac of trucks, and have the skateboarding legend and engineer Rodney Mullen as their driving force. Tensor trucks come in both standard and low designs, and should be excellent in most skateboarding situations. Great all around and well built skateboarding truck.
Krux Trucks
Krux make some great trucks. Krux makes "downlows" trucks, which have a lower hanger and kingpin than even Grind King. However, just like GK you will need a hex tool to adjust them. The Krux IIIs with Topless System are even lighter, with special bushings that feel broken in from the start, but they also provide a faster snap back into position. Krux trucks are light and low.
Fury Trucks
Fury skateboarding trucks are heavier and stronger than most. Most skateboarders try to shave off as much weight as possible. However, Fury has some other special features to offset that. Fury trucks are wider than most, come with a mini riser, and special Fury bushings. And best of all, Fury trucks have a unique ballpoint turning design where the hangar has a ball joint sitting in a socket in the base plate.
Destructo Trucks
Destructo has some of the fanciest skateboarding trucks around. The Destructo raw series skate trucks come in low, medium and high designs and look oddly skinny. The Limited and Pro series trucks just look awesome, with simple pro signatures on the front and great colors and designs. That's not to mention Destructo's "Rail Killer" series, these light trucks have extended base plates to reduce wheel bite, and come in some incredible colors and styles.
Navigator Trucks
Navigator is a newer truck company, and may be difficult to find. What makes then worth mentioning here is that they have some very unique features on their trucks. I was very impressed that they have a special addition beneath the base plate that holds the kingpin in place. This allows the bushings to be replaced without taking the entire truck off of the skateboard. Now that is sweet!
Please keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive of all of the skateboarding truck companies. Instead this is a selection of trucks that we believe stand out in the crowd. As you can see there are many great trucks available for your selection.
Independent Trucks "Indies"
Independent has been making skateboarding trucks for over 25 years. Independent's Stage 9 truck series are quality made, lightweight and durable. They also feature "Fast Action Independent Geometry" which means they are designed to react more quickly to your motions than other trucks. Independent trucks are usually on the wider side, but many sizes are available. Independent trucks are also guaranteed for life against manufacturer defects.
Grindking Trucks
Grind King skateboard trucks are the best trucks available for grinding. The truck hangar is made from aluminum; this makes it softer and better for grinding. Unfortunately this also means they will be a little weaker and wear quicker. This means you will have to replace them more often if you grind; however, your grinds will be smoother and better than ever. Grind King trucks do use special hex-head kingpins, so you will need a special tool to adjust them.
Tensor Trucks
Tensor trucks are the most highly engineered skateboard trucks on the market. Tensor trucks are like the Cadillac of trucks, and have the skateboarding legend and engineer Rodney Mullen as their driving force. Tensor trucks come in both standard and low designs, and should be excellent in most skateboarding situations. Great all around and well built skateboarding truck.
Krux Trucks
Krux make some great trucks. Krux makes "downlows" trucks, which have a lower hanger and kingpin than even Grind King. However, just like GK you will need a hex tool to adjust them. The Krux IIIs with Topless System are even lighter, with special bushings that feel broken in from the start, but they also provide a faster snap back into position. Krux trucks are light and low.
Fury Trucks
Fury skateboarding trucks are heavier and stronger than most. Most skateboarders try to shave off as much weight as possible. However, Fury has some other special features to offset that. Fury trucks are wider than most, come with a mini riser, and special Fury bushings. And best of all, Fury trucks have a unique ballpoint turning design where the hangar has a ball joint sitting in a socket in the base plate.
Destructo Trucks
Destructo has some of the fanciest skateboarding trucks around. The Destructo raw series skate trucks come in low, medium and high designs and look oddly skinny. The Limited and Pro series trucks just look awesome, with simple pro signatures on the front and great colors and designs. That's not to mention Destructo's "Rail Killer" series, these light trucks have extended base plates to reduce wheel bite, and come in some incredible colors and styles.
Navigator Trucks
Navigator is a newer truck company, and may be difficult to find. What makes then worth mentioning here is that they have some very unique features on their trucks. I was very impressed that they have a special addition beneath the base plate that holds the kingpin in place. This allows the bushings to be replaced without taking the entire truck off of the skateboard. Now that is sweet!
Please keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive of all of the skateboarding truck companies. Instead this is a selection of trucks that we believe stand out in the crowd. As you can see there are many great trucks available for your selection.
Clean those skateboard bearings!
You should clean your skateboard bearings if your bearings have slowed down, seem mucky, or if they make a gravely, scraping sound when you spin your wheels. To avoid getting to this point, you should clean your bearings fairly often, even when they are just a little dirty, or just haven't been cleaned in a long time. Cleaning your skateboard bearings like this from time to time will increase your bearing's lifespan, and improve your skateboarding experience.
First, you'll want to remove your skateboard bearings. You can clean your bearings without removing them, but you won't get them very clean that way. To clean your skateboard bearings well they will need to be removed from your skateboard wheels. If you are not sure how to do that, it’s quick and easy to figure out. But just check out our other post for info on how to remove bearings.
Next you will also need some rags, towels or paper towels. This will get messy, so if you are going to clean your bearings in the living room of your house, make sure you put down a lot of towels. And, you might not want to wear your favorite white shirt or other important clothes.
Get yourself some lubricant made for ball bearings; DO NOT use WD-40, or any other lubricant like it! WD-40 and other cheaper lubricants leave behind a film that actually collects dirt and dust. When I was young and impetuous I used WD-40 on my very first set of skateboard bearings, and they were garbage in a month. The key here is to clean your bearings with a lubricant made for it, you want the bearings lubed up, but you don't want any sticky film or residue left behind.
Hold the bearing, and using your can of lube, blast them thoroughly. Aim around the edges of the bearing, try to blast into every edge and opening you can find; also be sure to flip the bearings over and clean the other side. You should notice allot of dark and blackish, dirt coming out of the bearing. This means that they were really dirty and needed to be cleaned. So don't spare the lube and just keep blasting away at them. This is why you really want a lot of rags, towels, or news papers, under your work area.
Once the lube starts to look clear of the dirt you've cleaned the bearing enough, pat them with a towel or rag to get the excess lubricant off, and set them aside. They will tend to leak fluid for a bit so you'll want to set them on some more rags or towels. Be sure to get all 8 sets of bearings (two for each wheel).
Once you are done, you can let the bearings bleed and dry out a little if you would like. However, this isn't required! Next pop these fresh and clean bearings right back into your wheels, or into a new set of skateboard wheels, and go skate!
First, you'll want to remove your skateboard bearings. You can clean your bearings without removing them, but you won't get them very clean that way. To clean your skateboard bearings well they will need to be removed from your skateboard wheels. If you are not sure how to do that, it’s quick and easy to figure out. But just check out our other post for info on how to remove bearings.
Next you will also need some rags, towels or paper towels. This will get messy, so if you are going to clean your bearings in the living room of your house, make sure you put down a lot of towels. And, you might not want to wear your favorite white shirt or other important clothes.
Get yourself some lubricant made for ball bearings; DO NOT use WD-40, or any other lubricant like it! WD-40 and other cheaper lubricants leave behind a film that actually collects dirt and dust. When I was young and impetuous I used WD-40 on my very first set of skateboard bearings, and they were garbage in a month. The key here is to clean your bearings with a lubricant made for it, you want the bearings lubed up, but you don't want any sticky film or residue left behind.
Hold the bearing, and using your can of lube, blast them thoroughly. Aim around the edges of the bearing, try to blast into every edge and opening you can find; also be sure to flip the bearings over and clean the other side. You should notice allot of dark and blackish, dirt coming out of the bearing. This means that they were really dirty and needed to be cleaned. So don't spare the lube and just keep blasting away at them. This is why you really want a lot of rags, towels, or news papers, under your work area.
Once the lube starts to look clear of the dirt you've cleaned the bearing enough, pat them with a towel or rag to get the excess lubricant off, and set them aside. They will tend to leak fluid for a bit so you'll want to set them on some more rags or towels. Be sure to get all 8 sets of bearings (two for each wheel).
Once you are done, you can let the bearings bleed and dry out a little if you would like. However, this isn't required! Next pop these fresh and clean bearings right back into your wheels, or into a new set of skateboard wheels, and go skate!
How to remove skateboard bearings
There are several reasons to remove your skateboard bearings; for cleaning or to replace them with some fresh new skateboard bearings. If your bearings don't spin quite as easily as they used to, or if they feel gritty, it might be time to perform some regular skateboard maintenance. Removing your skateboard bearings is fairly easy; however, there are a couple of tricks you should know.
Before beginning read through these instructions and be careful while taking the bearings out, it's easy to accidentally damage your wheels if you aren't careful. The only tools that you'll need are for the removal of your skateboard wheels, any skate tool or set of screw drivers and wrenches will do.
Begin by removing your skateboard's wheels. The easiest way to do this is with a handy skate tool, or a 1/2 inch socket wrench. If your skateboard had some kind of special bearing shields, you will need to remove these too.
Next, place the wheel slightly back on the skateboard trucks axle, just barely. You want to hook the tip of the axle inside the bearings, be sure that you are only letting it touch the bearing and not the wheel.
Now, slowly and gently, pry the wheel at a downward angle. The bearing should pop out of the wheel, but it might not want to right away. So be careful, and take it slow. If you pry on them too hard, you might just damage your bearing. However, if you are planning on replacing your bearings with brand new skateboard bearings, then give it all you got! Generally I recommend being gentle and taking your time, everything should be fine!
Once the bearing pops out, you are done! Repeat with all 8 bearings on your skateboard.
Before beginning read through these instructions and be careful while taking the bearings out, it's easy to accidentally damage your wheels if you aren't careful. The only tools that you'll need are for the removal of your skateboard wheels, any skate tool or set of screw drivers and wrenches will do.
Begin by removing your skateboard's wheels. The easiest way to do this is with a handy skate tool, or a 1/2 inch socket wrench. If your skateboard had some kind of special bearing shields, you will need to remove these too.
Next, place the wheel slightly back on the skateboard trucks axle, just barely. You want to hook the tip of the axle inside the bearings, be sure that you are only letting it touch the bearing and not the wheel.
Now, slowly and gently, pry the wheel at a downward angle. The bearing should pop out of the wheel, but it might not want to right away. So be careful, and take it slow. If you pry on them too hard, you might just damage your bearing. However, if you are planning on replacing your bearings with brand new skateboard bearings, then give it all you got! Generally I recommend being gentle and taking your time, everything should be fine!
Once the bearing pops out, you are done! Repeat with all 8 bearings on your skateboard.
Getting hurt and skateboarding
It can be painful to learning how to Skateboard. You can cover your body with padding, but you will fall, and you'll likely get hurt once in a while. That’s just the nature of the beast, so pick yourself up and rub some dirt in it.
Besides wearing protective skateboarding gear such as a helmet and pads, there are some things you can do to help reduce the damage. The main thing you should keep in mind, when you fall, try and not to use your hands to catch yourself. This will be hard to learn or unlearn its most people’s natural reaction to falling. If you lose your board and you are going to smash into the ground, you should try and let your shoulder and body take the first impact, rolling with the blow as much as you can. Catching yourself with your hand will likely result in a broken or at least a sprained wrist, and while wearing wrist guards can protect you from this, it's a bad habit you'll want to break, because at some point you will skate without the wrist guards.
For those times you do get hurt, what do you do about it? The best thing to do is to get up if you can, walk around and shake it off.
Every time you fall, your body will learn to avoid doing that again. Pain is a great teacher; however, you shouldn't get hurt too badly from skateboarding. Bumps and bruises are pretty common and the worst you can expect would be broken bones.
If you think you've broken a bone or injured yourself badly, get it checked out by a physician. You'll hate yourself if you find out a month later you were hurt badly, but the wound healed wrong and things are twice as bad now. If you see a doctor, take the doctor's advice! Wounds heal, and you'll be fine in no time. After you've healed, the most important thing of all is for you to get back on your board, and keep on skating.
Besides wearing protective skateboarding gear such as a helmet and pads, there are some things you can do to help reduce the damage. The main thing you should keep in mind, when you fall, try and not to use your hands to catch yourself. This will be hard to learn or unlearn its most people’s natural reaction to falling. If you lose your board and you are going to smash into the ground, you should try and let your shoulder and body take the first impact, rolling with the blow as much as you can. Catching yourself with your hand will likely result in a broken or at least a sprained wrist, and while wearing wrist guards can protect you from this, it's a bad habit you'll want to break, because at some point you will skate without the wrist guards.
For those times you do get hurt, what do you do about it? The best thing to do is to get up if you can, walk around and shake it off.
Every time you fall, your body will learn to avoid doing that again. Pain is a great teacher; however, you shouldn't get hurt too badly from skateboarding. Bumps and bruises are pretty common and the worst you can expect would be broken bones.
If you think you've broken a bone or injured yourself badly, get it checked out by a physician. You'll hate yourself if you find out a month later you were hurt badly, but the wound healed wrong and things are twice as bad now. If you see a doctor, take the doctor's advice! Wounds heal, and you'll be fine in no time. After you've healed, the most important thing of all is for you to get back on your board, and keep on skating.
Pushing Mongo Bad?
You might be asking yourself, what is "pushing mongo"? Most skaters start pushing their new skateboards with their back foot, but sometimes skaters find it easier to push with their front foot instead. This is called "pushing mongo". Pushing mongo is alright, but it can be a bad habit if you plan on learning technical flip tricks.
It's tough to say that pushing mongo is "wrong"; we don't believe that there is a right or wrong way to skate, and if it works for you, then you should enjoy it! Besides you can be a big name skater and push mongo, if it's working for you, then go for it! However, if you are unsure and looking for someones opinion, then we would say it's usually better to push with your back foot. If you are just learning to skate, this is a good time to re-learn to push with your back foot. Pushing "mongo" can get in your way, with you having to shuffle your feet around before doing technical tricks. If, however, you have been pushing mongo for a long time, it can be a little more tricky to decide if you should switch or not.
There's nothing wrong with pushing with your front foot. At all. The only problem is that most skaters push with their back foot, and a lot of people agree that this is the better way. But, if you've already pushed with your front foot for a long time, and it's not getting in your way, then why not stick with it? So the answer to the question, "is it OK to push mongo?"; sure go for it. You can push mongo all you want. But, my advice is to push with your back foot. I think you'll be more stable, and be more quickly set up to do tricks. But, if you already push with your front foot and it's working for you, then why change?
It's tough to say that pushing mongo is "wrong"; we don't believe that there is a right or wrong way to skate, and if it works for you, then you should enjoy it! Besides you can be a big name skater and push mongo, if it's working for you, then go for it! However, if you are unsure and looking for someones opinion, then we would say it's usually better to push with your back foot. If you are just learning to skate, this is a good time to re-learn to push with your back foot. Pushing "mongo" can get in your way, with you having to shuffle your feet around before doing technical tricks. If, however, you have been pushing mongo for a long time, it can be a little more tricky to decide if you should switch or not.
There's nothing wrong with pushing with your front foot. At all. The only problem is that most skaters push with their back foot, and a lot of people agree that this is the better way. But, if you've already pushed with your front foot for a long time, and it's not getting in your way, then why not stick with it? So the answer to the question, "is it OK to push mongo?"; sure go for it. You can push mongo all you want. But, my advice is to push with your back foot. I think you'll be more stable, and be more quickly set up to do tricks. But, if you already push with your front foot and it's working for you, then why change?
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