truck/wheel/kick/height combos

Truck design, construction, and performance.
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Maxten
Posts: 11
Joined: 09 Feb 2021 02:49

truck/wheel/kick/height combos

Post by Maxten »

Because trucks have different geometry, different trucks tend to pair best with specific shapes.
People tend to pair flatter kicks with thunders or ventures because they decrease the fingers of flat which give them more pop. Otherwise, if paired with a a truck that has a shorter wheelbase it will feel extra flat, thus resulting in moving your foot more inwards to adjust your stance for maximum pop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDDjHQ2mfBE
Typically there is something that some people refer to as "the goldilocks zone" his is when the truck/wheel/kick combo has reached the optimal amount of fingers of flat to pop angle ratio. Of course this involves preference but there is a point where most with agree the pop isn't that great.
In addition, if you pair a truck that has a shorter wheelbase, take mini-logos or aces for example, these paired with a mellow kick wouldn't get enough ollie height, especially with smaller wheels. (Although this makes for a comfy manual) This can be counteracted by adding riser pads and/or bigger wheels and how big those will be to reach the optimal pop will depend. This is referred to as the "wheelie point." https://youtu.be/KZdDsicDafw?t=141The length of the tail will also play a role. The shorter the tail the higher the angle. Its not often you see people with riser pads and this is because people tend to ride what pairs best with it rather than using the riser to make it work. I've seen people use riser pads with thunders on mellow kicks. I think thats a good pairing of balancing it out. However, this makes your truck higher which means if you did grinds you'd have to prepare for having it feel like you're grinding on a taller truck. Some people don't like this so they swap to bigger wheels. This can result in feeling an increase in weight. The width of the wheels can play a role in that as well. A skinny taller wheel will not feel the difference as much as a taller wider wheel. I've also seen people who don't like adding the risers because it messes up with their grinds so they just change to bigger wheels instead. The problem with this is, it is more likely to wheel-bite.
All in all, trucks that have shorter wheelbase geometry typically pair best with steeper kicks and trucks that have a wider wheelbase geometry typically pair best with mellower kicks. Trucks with shorter wheelbase geometry paired with mellow kicks must compensate with taller height or else you'll get no pop. & Trucks with wider wheelbase geometry paired with steep kicks must compensate with a lower height or else you'll get ghost pop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKTWEgFhQas
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