Adjusting the trucks on a Carbon GTR AT

Hello all.

Does Jeff's advice about truck adjustment (about 5mm thread showing for the truck closer to the board and about 2-3mm of thread showing for the truck closer to the ground) still stand for the newer boards like the GTR series with AT wheels? My board has the stock bushings, which I believe are 95a. I weigh about 95kgs and I'm new to electric boards (and I haven't ridden my non-electric longboard for a few years) so I'm aiming for a fairly stable ride to suit a beginner.

 

GO by the FEEL Factor!
Start off with them tight&
try for few mins,
loosen a quarter turn or so;
Repeat until they feel “right”...
Any wobbles? REVERSE ie Tighten em UP
(ANALOGUE WORLD)

 

I went thru a full exploration recently. About 3 months on my AT carbon GTR. Emails with USA Evolve. Bottom line: I suggest exploring. One email not listed said “set them up with two threads showing on each kingpin“. Another input from them is listed below.

Selections:

“No need to get too wrapped up on the amount of thread showing.

Ultimately the correct way to do it is too hand tighten the king pin nut until it pretty much stops without using extra pressure. This is basically the point where the bushing itself is getting compressed but not out of shape at all. If this feeling, or level of bushing hardness is not stiff enough or need it softer, then using a more suitable bushing would be the next step.

I hope that makes sense. This is the way most bushings are designed to operate. There are a few however that manufacturing companies design that ARE intended to crank for stiffness and loosen for softness, but I never personally liked the ultimate feel of these kind.

- -
“At your weight you shouldnt have a problem with the 90a stock bushings. If your getting bite, it would only be going fairly slow. This is just like a car, the slower you go, to make a u-turn requires a deeper carve or turn of the steering wheel. The more you speed up, you dont crank the steering wheel over, and neither would you lean a board all the way over to the point of bite. It all becomes gradual and progressive. Its all relative. I weigh 200 pounds myself and use a step softer bushings on our GTR for deep carves and have never gotten any wheel bite at any given time. Sure, if you arent moving at all, you can focus all your weight to one side and have the tire touch the deck, but this is not what happens while riding under normal circumstances. Bushing hardness is all preference, but most commonly the increased hardness encompasses getting the board more stable for straightline speed, and in some cases - less carving. This is common as stiffer bushings only restrict carving, the control in the carve is mostly in our own control. ”


I bought my GTR with 40 miles on it that had been super cranked down - very hard to turn for my weight. I ended up buying a full bushing kit and now have tried all the harnesses. Explorer I am. I found with too hard, I’d get the washer under the nut catching on the truck rim, bending some, and making noise as it sloshed back and forth on the kingpin. Currently, I’m using the softest bushings, at 175# and a slow rider (12mph max) who wants the full turning capability - my AT wheels go all the way to the board when super slow.

 

Thanks for the advice @OldTimeBoarder @SparkleE, much appreciated. You're right that I need to experiment to find the setting that feels best.