What do y'all recomend people starting out in terms of trucks?
Widths and degrees? Brands? Split or symetrical truck degree angles? Bushings split? How soft should bushings feel? Anything that is a good starting point for a first pair of trucks.
What do y'all recomend people starting out in terms of trucks?
Widths and degrees? Brands? Split or symetrical truck degree angles? Bushings split? How soft should bushings feel? Anything that is a good starting point for a first pair of trucks.
Symmetrical 44degree 158mm raked cal 3s. I think the customizability at base + stability from the plug barrels is honestly one of the big factors that drew me to them starting off. The stock venom 90a hpf bushings are good enough to start on, in my opinion.
Calibers would be fine but I would suggest paris trucks instead.
50/43 plates, 150 or 165mm depending on deck size. 85a front, 90 or 93a rear, pat's risers inserts, flat washers, replace stock pivots with riptides. (This would also work with cal 3s)
My gripe with the cals is that the 50 plate doesn't allow tall bushings, so you'd be stuck on regular height bushings with that shim in the 44 plate. Just lazy design to not make the 50 plate take talls.
No matter which brand you pick, you'll want split angles (50 or so up front, 43 or lower in back).
You want a relatively soft front and relatively deader rear truck. If you want to go super fast you can do an even lower rear truck angle, but 50/43 is pretty good for all around freeride and downhill.
Another option would be to get sym 43 plates and then wedge/dewedge by 3*. That would get you to 46/40, which would also work fine.
@David Serate I feel that bushings not matched to rider weight is top 2 things that messes up the feel for starters on a new setup.
To clarify what you said; is there a weight range that you think the factory bushings are good for?
@Gabriel Fockler You think the pivots are worth is for a average starter? Or just someone who wants to max out the stats?
@Matt Needs Wheels definitely worth swapping the pivots right out of the box. It's like $15 and generally makes them feel smoother.
Unless someone is under ~140lbs or over ~170lbs, the stock bushings in most RKPs should be fine tbh
I always feel like you need to be able to bomb a hill on Paris trucks before you can properly appreciate any split angles, bushing upgrades, and precision.
I'd recommend 50° sym (or the 50/43 split) over 44° or less symmetrical trucks. If it's a beginner rider, they won't be going fast enough to feel a meaningful difference in stability, and the 50s would give them more steering control or agility at the generally low speeds they'll be sticking to.
And, even as an experienced skater, I find that low angle sym trucks require me to either go faster or put in a lot more effort into kicking out a slide compared to when I have a 50° in the front (both sym or split). And most beginners I've taught prefer the least risk/least effort options, excluding the fun ones who don't fear losing skin.
