Tweaking trucks and bushings

Here's a great reference on bushings. Also great links inside for free shipping on the top brands:

Intro to Bushings Buyer's Guide - MuirSkate.com

 

Sorry what is 89a and 90a

I am just trying to figure out the right configuration for me I still don't quite feel connected to the board

 

I also have been reading on e-skate forums that with a double kingpin truck setup like the GT has, you preferably want to have a stiffer / harder durameter on both bushings on the top truck set (board side) and a softer more flexy one on the lower set (road).

Again this is all experimental and to one's own personal feel. Just make sure that the trucks are tight enough that you don't get speed wobbles a high speeds so you still can skate safely and in control but still having tons of tun. Which typically you tighten the rear truck up a bit more than the rear.

On my Metroboard that has a single reverse kingpin truck the board came with 89a bushings. The board side was a barrel bushing and the bottom / road side was a cone. Ilan who owns Metroboard and great on enhancing it began offering another set cones to replace to board side barrel, still in 89a. What that does is gives you less resistance, more feel, and better carving. But you need to crank down on your trucks to get them stiff. So that can be another experiment for those who are more advanced with this, putting a double cone on the lower truck of the GT.

 

Same here, new to skateboarding completely.

On the video, they recommended 5mm thread showing for bottom nut and 2-3mm thread for the top. Not too sure if anyone is following the recommendations. I would love to do a sharper turn however when i ride up to 25km/hr it starts to wobble..

Whilst people say tune them the way you want... Unfortunately i do not know any better so relying on recommendations for a newbie. Keeping in mind, i rarely go over 15-20km/hr anyways.

 

I set mine as recommended in that Evolve video, front and back the same, and it works well for me at 72kg...also a newb who rarely goes over 15-20 kph

 

can anybody recommend some good aftermarket pivot cups ,i find the stock ones are a bit soft. cheers

 

I wonder what the recommendations are for when you want to go 22-25 kph. I just survived a nasty crash caused by speed wobbles, so hopefully somebody can advise me what the optimal settings are.

 

Each rider honestly needs to experiment for that their riding style, weight distribution, and other factors play a role in where the settings are. Just bring your wrench, go for a ride, and adjust. If you feel the board beginning to get wobbles tighten them up a bit, ride, evaluate and readjust if needed. I typically like to have my rear bushings a bit tighter than the front, but that's just what I prefer. I feel I'm able to keep the rear of the board more stable and a looser front for quicker turning.

 

ok, sure. but does having the rear bushings more tight than the front lead to lesser wobbles?
If so, do you happen to have some pics of yours, so I can try to adjust them and try that out?

 

it is all personal for each rider, best to take some time and tighten up your trucks, then loosen them little by little till you get the fell you are after, stiffer will give you less wobbles at higher speeds, looser will allow you to turn better. The bushings closest to the deck are for carving, the ones closer to the road are for turning. The stock bushings will need to be pretty tight if you want to learn your skills to start with, then loosen them over time as you get comfortable. If you want to try different bushings, try harder ones and see how they feel to your style, looking at another riders setup will only be a rough guide, you'll have to dial in your own settings, but that is the fun of it.

 

I don't have my board and returned it due to so many ongoing issues I had with it regarding dropouts and such which got me injured. Evolve failed to correct the issue and unfortunately I bought a new remote that made the issue even worse. There's threads on this if you haven't read them.

As indicated above, tighten the trucks up to the point where they feel too tight. Ride and loosen them. One thing I will add is that the double kingpin truck will cause confusion to new riders. With that, tighten the upper (close to board) truck pretty tight, more tighter than the lower for sure, then ride only adjusting the lower truck. Work on one truck at a time and don't bite off more than you can handle. Get the board to ride right with in a sense one truck setup, then once you have confidence and want to carve more, then and only then play with the upper truck bushings. But do a little at a time. I didn't mess with the upper adjustment too much for that when I got my lower setup right the board road the way I wanted it to, carving the way I wanted it to and didn't feel dangerous or unstable at high speeds. Was going to play around with swapping out the stock bushings with OrangeTangs before I returned the board, harder durameter on top and lower on the bottom, but never got to that. I run OraneTangs 89a durameter on my Metroboards, running the double conical bushing on the top and bottom which make the board carve like a dream with only a single kingpin truck. MetroBoard offered this upgrade and its a good one. It had a barrel bushing for the top bushing like the GT has. But with the conical bushing, it now has less resistance hence why it carves better, so I *really* had to crack down / tighten the bushings up compared to when I was running the lower conical and upper barrel bushing. Freestyle / skatepark boards run a double conical.

Again, this is rider preference but you first have to understand how tightening and loosening the bushings feel and affect your ride. In no way should riding feel dangerous or out of control.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask if something doesn't feel right. We all want everyone to have fun but also not get hurt while doing so.

 

I think the Venom bushings are a good (easy-to-find) choice to replace the stock Evolve boardside barrels which are much to mushy for me. The Venoms measure 15.24mm versus the stock Evolve bushings which are 16.5mm. To replace the stock streetside cones, I'm using short barrels from RipTide Sports, specifically their Krank Short Street series. I'm 210 lbs. and while I like a carvy feel, I need a stiffer setup, particularly at higher speeds which were never possible for me before I got my GT. So I go with all barrels. But so you know, RipTide offers their short bushings in cones too. Their short bushings, (both barrels and cones) measure 12.7mm versus the Evolve stock cones which are 12mm. In the end, this is the best setup I've found sizewise.

From boardside to street I run the following for bushings on both trucks:
* 97a Venom SHR (pink)
* 96a RipTide Krank ShortStreet (gray)
* 95a Venom SHR (glow-in-the-dark)
* 93a RipTide Krank ShortStreet (maroon)

Links:
Venom Skate Products | Barrels
KranK ShortStreetBarrel Duro Choices