Stable ride high speed versus more manoeuvrability

The first setup of the board was a little to stiff in my view which was good for higher speeds but not good for making turns, etc. So I loosened the trucks to allow to be more flexible but do notice at higher speeds and some unexpected road bumps that I tend to wobble too much.

What is your experience and ideal setup for this? Does it mean I need to get more experience to compensate for unexpected board movements caused by the road? Suggestion are welcome.

 

Carry the Evolve skate tool with you and play around with setting it up the way you like it and feel safe. I loosened mine up, upper and lower, and the board turns and carves like crazy. But I do feel what you're talking about at higher speeds. I may play with tightening the rear up a bit to add some stability.

 

I've gone on the harder side for speed stability, I find I personally like to have something to push against to carve, it forces me to have to put weight forward

 

Note that the Evolve skate tool does not fit properly on the upper 2nd kingpin nut. The plastic on the tool is too big, you'd have to file / grind it down so it won't hit the round part of the truck that the bushing sits in. Otherwise you'll risk rounding the head and taking off that black painted finish. Rounding it is not a good thing. I picked up a 6.99 skatetool off of Amazon that works better, still needs a tiny bit of sanding for a proper fit but at least it won't round the nut.

 

Here's the skatetool I bough on amazon, you can see the plastic has a slight taper to it which allows it to clear the lower / bottom kingpin bushing area. Everything is the same in terms of tools.

My amazon URL turns into a Media link. Here's the tiny url for it:

http://tinyurl.com/hf2ajm6

 

You can file down the Evolve tool as well, but for $6.99 US dollars shipped its nice having a spare. Happy Evolve throws one in. Even if I have to pay for it its a good tool to have.

 

When I got my board, i was totally in awe of how well it carved. It really impressed me. However, at anything over 12-14mph i noticed some really bad wobbles. Fast forward 2 days later, took my board to figure out why the board and remote would not pair. When they test road it he told me my trucks are crazy loose and he would never ride like that. They adjusted em for me on the spot. I can still carve well but I dont get crazy wobbles. I may get slight wobble at 20, but the ride is SO much better and stable overall.

 

I think what it really takes is a day of trial and error on finding the setup you like. Take the board on an empty parking lot and try what the limits are (something I should also do!). I noticed I am not getting enough board time to really take it to the next level (emergence brake, accelerate/brake while in a corner, compensate for road imperfections, etc.).

And with the weather being cold/wet it's not always fun to go out now

 

I've kept the trucks as I got them when I bought the board. Haven't tightened or loosened them. My hope was that over time I would just get better at controlling wobbles at high speeds. On my second or third ride, I was doing about 30km/h and I got death wobbles, panicked, hit the brakes too hard and ate it. Now I can do slow wide carving at 30km/h and do 35km/h without carving. Still not confident to push 42km/h (on 97mm wheels) but hoping I'll get there eventually.

I've found the trick is to relax and put my weight on the front truck. Muscle memory helps too of course.

Anyone else feel comfortable with super loose trucks at max speed?

 

I would rather learn to control wobbles on a carvy board than adjust them and loose carve ability. However I'm not sure if even also experts have wobbles at high speeds on a very loose truck.

 

Found this video of this guy giving his feedback on speed wobble and I do think he has some good tips:

• Muscle strength/memory -> practice a lot
• Balance -> positioning your feet
• Momentum -> leaning forward
• Nerves -> yes, we will be thrown off the board at one point in time so deal with it

Another theory I will be testing is to do the opposite of what you would do to avoid speed wobble.....in stead of to tighten the trucks I will loosen the trucks even more. I think this will create speed wobble to happen at lower speeds (correct??).

You can now learn to deal with those at a more comfortable speed and can safely jump off when needed.

 

That would be a good experiment, however you will have to tighten (for commute) and loosen (fir testing) constantly

 

I will have them loose for now and it is already working for me. I noticed that it does change your way of working with the board and when loose and using AT wheel you can do some nice carving which gives more confidence also.

 

Just wanted to share an update, I adjusted the top kingpin at all I could do without giving a lot of force and the board runs amazing, I can go 35km/hr with no speed woobles and I haven't lost any carving ability