trucks

skateboard trucks

The two main parts of a skate truck are the hanger and the base plate. The hanger coats the axle and sticks with the so called pivot in the skate truck base plate. The hanger is then tightened to the baseplate with the kingpin – the bushings for cushion in between.

skateboard_truck_parts_en

SKATEBOARD TRUCK WIDTH
The width of the skateboard trucks should match the width of the skateboard deck (or be a bit more narrow)!
Unfortunately some skateboard truck manufacturers – like Thunder Trucks –  measure their skate trucks in millimeters while others measure them in inches. Withal some just measure the width of the axle while others measure only the width of the hanger (hanger width + 2,5″~2,625″ = truck width).
The following chart helps matching the different major skateboard truck companies’ sizes and meaurements to your deck size:

deck size up to 7.0″ 7.0″ to 7.25″ 7.25″ to 7.5″ 7.5″ to 7.75″ 7.75″ to 8″ 8″ to 8.25″ 8.25″ to 8.5″ 8.5″ to 8.75″ long-boards (from 8.75″)
Crail Trucks

129

133

136

146

160

180

Destructo Trucks

4.5″

4.75″

5.0″

5.25″

5.5″

Element Trucks

5.0″

5.25″

Fury Trucks

750

775

800

Grind King Trucks

4.25″

4.75″

5.0″

5.25″

5.5″

Independent Trucks

109

129

139

149

169/

215

Krux Trucks

3.0″

3.5″

4.0″

Phantom Trucks

7.0″

7.5″

7.75″

Royal Trucks

5.0″

5.25″

Ruckus Trucks

5.0″

5.25″

Silver Trucks

7.5″

7.75″

8.0″

Tensor Trucks

4.75″

5.0″

5.25″

Thunder Trucks

145

147

149

Tracker Trucks

85/

105

106

129

139

149

161/

184/

219

Venture Trucks

5.0″

5.25″

SKATEBOARD TRUCK HEIGHT
Many skate truck companies offer their skate trucks in “low”, “medium” and “high”. Generally speaking low skateboard trucks are good for streetskating because the lower center of gravity makes flip tricks easier and adds stability, medium skate trucks are best for allround skating and high skateboard trucks for cruising because they allow you to ride larger wheels. But you can always make a skate truck higher by using risers…

BUSHINGS (GROMMETS)
The two urethane cushions pushed above and under the hanger are called “bushings” or “grommets”. Like skateboard wheels the hardness of bushings is measured on the A-scale with very soft bushings starting around 73A, medium bushings around 95A and hard bushings going up to 100A.
Softer bushings make turns easier whereas stiffer bushings give more stability. Most skateboard trucks come by default with medium bushings which are best for beginners and all terrain skaters. Very soft bushings are only recommended on carving skateboards. Also bushings break in over time and get softer so you might want to change them (or tighten the kingpin nut).

SPEED RINGS (WASHERS)
New skate trucks usually come with 4 washers: 2 on each side of the axle of which one should be placed between the outside bearing and the axle nut and the other between the inside bearing and the hanger. Washers are meant to ensure the right seat of the wheel and reduce friction to make the wheel spin faster.