What's the consensus like on wedging TKP trucks, seems like a lot less of an exact science than RKP. I see comet and happy board co. doing it, and while I've tried it myself, it seems to make the trucks a lot harder to tune.
What's the consensus like on wedging TKP trucks, seems like a lot less of an exact science than RKP. I see comet and happy board co. doing it, and while I've tried it myself, it seems to make the trucks a lot harder to tune.
Depends on what you're looking for! I've done a lot of wedging and dewedging on pumping setups that use TKP trucks, like Bennett / Tracker setups.
For cruising, I'll do anywhere from a 5 to 7 degree wedge on the front and a similar dewedge on the back. Makes the front really turny and the rear follows. Bushings are just what I normally would do for my weight. Hopefully that helps!
The mechanics of how the angles work on tkp trucks is a bit of a mystery to me, but I wouldn't overthink it.
+/-7 seems to be standard for the comet cruiser and happy, so I would just go with that. Doing the same amount front/back should also keep the truck heights aligned, so I wouldn't want to do different angles.
@Terence Liu I think @Gabriel Fockler has given the best advice on it:
I wouldn't overthink it.
Unless you're trying to do something technical with TKPs, +/-7 is a great spot to be in. If it feels too squirrely, drop it to +/-5.
Out of curiosity, what kind of trucks are you considering wedging?
@Zach Maxon I actually have bear trucks (de)/wedged 7 degrees as of right now. Definitely haven't figured out how exactly it works though. I'm finding that the back is a lot softer almost no matter what I do. 97 w/ stock short in the back, and 87 w/ stock short in the front. Any lower on the front isn't comfortable, but I can't exactly go harder on the back. I might play around with riptide street bushings in order to actually dial it.
@Terence Liu I haven't had an opportunity to mess with Bears yet, but I definitely want to. As you dewedge the rear end, it starts to become closer to zero, and is only really meant to lean and follow the front.
Bushings are definitely going to be a big component of dialing a setup like this in. With Riptide, I generally use APS, but for street bushings I've heard really good things about Krank formula. Funny enough, I normally just go with Bones Hardcore bushings, but I don't think they'll fit since the boardside bushing is a 0.6" bushing instead of a 0.5" according to Riptide's compatibility chart.
If you have a chance could you post a picture of the setup and the bushings? I'm curious about these now, haha.
Way back when, I used to do venom Elim bottoms and bones hardcore street cones on top. Not sure if those are made anymore but that might be the trick.
@Gabriel Fockler they do make them still! Wild, considering the first time I thought about them in a decade was when they were posted on here recently. Could also consider Riptide Chubbies, they have that stepped portion, too.
Sk8kings or someone used to have a guide on setting up TKP trucks on wedges. Somewhere around here, I've got a guide on riding Indies downhill saved...I'll have to see about digging that back up.
