NEW
30 × 10.7
WIDER NOSE
WITH CONCAVE
SHOP BY
WALKER
Shawn Peddie
STREET SERIES
OCEAN AVENUE SURFBOARDS, INC.
WALKER SKATEBOARDS
P. O. Box 626 317C OCEAN AVE. (A1A)
MELBOURNE BEACH, FLORIDA 32951
PHONE (305) 723-9420
DEALERS,
Get THRASHER Hot
off the press and
keep pace with
skateboarding's
new
frontiers.
call:
415-822-3083
write:
PO Box 24592.
San Francisco.
CA 94124
AMMER
ACCESSORIES
Plate
$2.50
FREE DELIVERY!
味
GENERAL ISSUE
ACS 51
Powell strt bones
prec'n bearings
SIMS STREET CIC
930 deck
Indy 131 trks
Sims snake whis
prec'n bearings
DRAGON 3
7x28 deck
ACS 500 ks
Powell strt bones
ABEC-1 bearings
JAMMER
Indy 131 Irks
Sims snake whis
Prec'n bearings
STREET ISSUE
Handware incl/No installation fee
Vinyl nose
$2.00
WABEC-1 C7
Write your choices on paper with prices and quantities
included. CA residents add 6% sales tax. All orders inside
continental USA, FREE SHIPPING Orders outside US. add
$10.00. For faster service, send MONEY ORDER or request
CASH ONLY C.O.D. ($1.50 will be added to all C.O.D. orders)
You can also use your MASTERCARD or VISA, Fill out form,
below or telephone your order. Ph.# (213) 630-4088. No collect
calls, Please. Personal checks will delay order 2-3 weeks. Be
sure to include your full address, zip code & phone
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skatepark //
PARAMOUNT
14925 PARAMOUNT BLVD. PARAMOUNT, CA 90723
(213) 630-4088
Limited offer. Lakewood members, get off Paramount
membership with your Lkwd. card. Say you saw it in Thrasher
magazine
TALKIN' SHOP
with
DEL*13, SKATE MECHANIC
TRUCKS
I always wondered why they call these
things trucks. They don't have any
resemblance to what I had always
considered a truck, like a Mack or a
Peterbilt. The dictionary says a truck is
"Any class of self propelled vehicles of
various sizes and designs for transporting
goods." I suppose a skateboard is a
propelled vehicle that transports goods
(skaters). I know that railroad cars have
trucks on them. Lots of things are called
trucks but they all have one thing in
common being a metal frame of sorts, to
which wheels can be attached, making it
roll and turn at the same time.
Skateboard trucks are really no
different now than when they were first
invented. The first skateboard trucks
were, in reality, rollerskate trucks removed
from the skate and mounted on a board to
create what we now call a skateboard.
They are, to this day, no different in actual
function than they were then. Some of the
earliest truck companies like Chicago and
Sure Grip still make trucks that were
designed more than twenty years ago. Of
course, some avant garde types have
tried, with limited success, to completely
re-engineer the truck in hopes of dramatic
breakthroughs (Remember the Stroker?).
I believe skatetrucks are one of those
simple feats of engineering that cannot be
improved upon, in basic form or function.
HOW THEY WORK
Trucks are basically an axle in an
aluminum housing and a baseplate. The
axle housing sticks into the baseplate at
the pivot point. The housing is also
suspended by two rubber or urethane
bushings which are set on a kingpin, a
bolt that sticks out of the baseplate. The
angle at which the axle housing, or
hanger, enters into the baseplate deter-
mines the turning radius of the truck. The
angle at which the kingpin sits in relation
to the baseplate and hanger angle will
determine the ability of the axle and its
hanger to rotate on its pivot point angle.
These angles and relationships are
referred to as the truck's geometry. The
geometry is determined by the manufac-
turer and most of the trucks on the market
today have pretty much the same
geometry. About the only way to radically
alter the angle of a truck is to use a
wedge under the baseplate, a la Rad
Pads. By tightening or loosening the nut
on the kingpin a skater can adjust the
action of his trucks. Crank it down and the
action is stable but with limited turnability.
Loosen up that nut and you get much
quicker action but at higher speeds or
under heavy G-forces the truck would
tend to become "squirrelly."
In order for the skateboard to turn
properly the trucks must be mounted to
the deck with the bushings facing towards
each other. So when the deck is tilted one
way the two truck axles tilt towards each
other causing the board to follow the
direction of the tilt.
Enough technical B.S.
HOW TO MOUNT
Most decks come pre-drilled. If the
board you're buying isn't drilled, it's
probably some cheap, off the wall brand.
About three inches of nose and six inches
of tail works well for most situations.
Freestylers like more nose, slalomers like
less tail, and downhillers prefer less of
both. If your deck is not drilled, follow
these simple instructions. First, find the
centerline of the deck by randomly
measuring in about six places the width of
the board, making a mark in the center.
Lay a yardstick down and draw a line 4 to
5 inches long where each truck is going to
be mounted. Place the middle of the
baseplate on the line. Now lay the
yardstick next to the two baseplates and
check to see that they are parallel. Mark
the holes onto the bottom of the board,
remove the trucks, centerpunch and drill
the holes from the bottom to the top using
a size 11/32 drill bit. Now you're ready for
mounting.
Put the deck in a vice or hold it between
your legs and shove the screws through
the holes. Use 10/32" truss-head screws
(anodized countersunk screws with Allen
heads are the best, but are expensive and
hard to find). This larger size is much
stronger and leaves less room for the
truck to move around during abusive
sessioning. I recommend using one small
Tracker space pad or two Cell Blocks, but
if you like your trucks loose, you may
want the thicker Tracker pad or 3 Cell
Blocks to eliminate any chance of wheel
rubbage. Either way, use whatever pads
you desire and install the trucks, securing
the screws with aircraft type Nyloc
locknuts. Conventional nuts with plain
lock washers will always vibrate loose, so
don't use them. Tighten the nuts until
snug, then place the yardstick next to the
bases again making sure they are parallel
before cranking the nuts down hard.
EVALUATIONS
There are a number of good quality
skateboard trucks on the market. Tracker,
Independent, Gullwing, Variflex, Motobilt,
ACS and Thunder all manufacture fine
lines of truck widths and accessories to
match. Between these companies a
skater is offered a vast selection of trucks
to choose from as far as width, weight,
workability and wallet damage are.
concerned. Check out what is available.
Try to ride other boards with different set-
ups so that you can compare. In essence,
what works best is what works best for
you. A certain type of truck will work
better in some situations than others. Like
banks as opposed to pools or ramps, or
freestyle compared with slalom or street
skating. I prefer some trucks over others
but you may have a different train of
thought. Go out and see what others ride
and then make up your own mind.
Remember that old saying. "Slip of the
grinder, lifetime reminder."
Till next month,
Del 13-Skate Mechanic