Interesting trucks sold in Europe

Slalom Skateboard Trucks

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Pierre Gravel
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Interesting trucks sold in Europe

Post by Pierre Gravel » Sun Nov 02, 2003 2:52 am

I found these on a Swiss web store,
http://sk8shop.ch/index.asp?spr=e

First generation Radikal look-alike:
Image

This offset looks cool:
Image

Carbon fibre base plate and shiny hanger!
Image

Anybody tried any of these??

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Post by Glenn S » Sun Nov 02, 2003 3:47 am

Pierre,
It is interesting that you brought this site to our attention.

Here are some other pictures of this offset split axle truck that I've found:
110mm and 129mm:
Image
129mm:
Image
110mm:
Image
95mm:
Image
Last edited by Glenn S on Sun Feb 29, 2004 3:02 am, edited 7 times in total.

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Post by Wesley Tucker » Sun Nov 02, 2003 4:24 am

And they're $100. I wonder what the duty and shipping charges are to get them to the US?

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More about

Post by Ramón Königshausen » Sun Nov 02, 2003 12:21 pm

You'll find more about this truck on http://www.airflow-skateboards.com/
(Equipment)

rmn

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os-truck

Post by Martin Siegrist » Sun Nov 02, 2003 6:14 pm

hey guys, the offset truck uses a normal allen as pivot, but the head of the allen is rounded. The pivot works whitout problems. We (Raffael Schaffner and me) produced the truck that you can see on the picture. There is a new production ready in a few weeks, sold through AIRFLOW. There will be two different widths in two different colours, black and blue. The baseplate will be something from tracker, but I don't know which one right now. We had a few good results on our os-truck and almost the whole Swiss slalom scene uses this truck. go for it

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Post by Pierre Gravel » Mon Nov 03, 2003 3:11 am

I found a better picture of the Of truck at your website;

Image

I think the move to Tracker baseplates is a good one the one in this pic looks a little "generic", will you use the RTS baseplate ?

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OS-TRUCK

Post by Martin Siegrist » Mon Nov 03, 2003 9:40 am

the truck is called OS-TRUCK and I think the new series come with RT-X. They will be available soon...

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offset truck

Post by Paul Keleher » Mon Nov 03, 2003 3:40 pm

I have a pair of these trucks, bought direct from the www.sk8shop.ch

I can confirm that the pivot is a "allen" bolt.

also the base appears to be a standard G-truck. I'm not sure how well the "new models" will work with the Rt-X base, as i have investigated this with my own RT-x, and it would require a change in the Pivot angle from the G-truck ( which is very similar to indy 101). My only criticism is the Kingpin tends to rattle until its cranked down hard

on a plus side, the truck works very well and is machined superbly and it appears to have 8mm Axles as a bonus.....i have some lucky Abec 3 bearings which just won't fit on, yet my PT7's slide on nicely but with no "slop"

In my Case it made a viable Alternative to a TTC, which were no longer available.
Last edited by Paul Keleher on Mon Nov 03, 2003 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Pierre Gravel » Mon Nov 03, 2003 3:59 pm

Thanks for this info Paul, do you think the kingpin "rattle" is caused by a hole drilled too big? Did you try a new kingpin? Hope it can be corrected cause i hate rattle. I'm curious why they wouldn't use the RTS base as it's more suited for a back truck. I'm gonna try to get one anyway...

According to Airflows website it is called the Of Truck:

"OF Truck, especially for Slalomrace, faster acceleration by direct power transmission. Only suitable as back truck. Soon available in 129mm."

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Post by Paul Keleher » Mon Nov 03, 2003 4:15 pm

Pierre,

the rattling Kingpin was due to the hole being to big , and yes a replacement bolt did the trick..grade 8 of course!!

like you say an RT-S would have been the prefereed geometry for a rear truck, but with the off set i'm not so sure its so important as mine don't "twist" around the kingpin as on a regualar truck.

to get this hanger to fit on the RT-s base, would require some serious modifications to the Pivot screw

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OS-TRUCK

Post by Martin Siegrist » Mon Nov 03, 2003 9:53 pm

The truck is called OS-TRUCK. Raffael and I produced this truck and we call it OS-TRUCK. It's an error on the airflow website. The first production fits on a RTS, I'm using it like this. Please wait until the new ones come! Any questions?

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Post by Paul Keleher » Tue Nov 04, 2003 10:05 am

Martin,

I'll have to re-check my trucks against the RT-s baseplate....

Could you tell me what the threading is on the allen bolt pivot....is it Metric or UNF/C or something else

cheers

Paul

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Post by Martin Siegrist » Tue Nov 04, 2003 2:24 pm

The threadings are metric, except the kingpin. Hey, it's a swiss product! Haha :-)

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Post by Paul Keleher » Tue Nov 04, 2003 4:33 pm

cool, thats what i was hoping for....

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"OS TRUCK"

Post by Glenn S » Tue Dec 16, 2003 12:41 am

Paul Keleher wrote:I have a pair of these trucks, bought direct from the www.sk8shop.ch
SNIP
also the base appears to be a standard G-truck. I'm not sure how well the "new models" will work with the Rt-X base, as i have investigated this with my own RT-x, and it would require a change in the Pivot angle from the G-truck ( which is very similar to indy 101). My only criticism is the Kingpin tends to rattle until its cranked down hard
on a plus side, the truck works very well and is machined superbly and it appears to have 8mm Axles as a bonus.....i have some lucky Abec 3 bearings which just won't fit on, yet my PT7's slide on nicely but with no "slop"

In my Case it made a viable Alternative to a TTC, which were no longer available.
Hey Paul,
I got a bunch of G*Trucks in an eBay auction here in the United States over a year ago. Out of the 80 or so that I got, I believe that about 3 that I know of ended up having a somewhat loose kingpin that made a tick or click sound when turning. The weird thing is that the G*Truck version baseplates that I have are really husky and appear more solid than most conventional trucks on the market. Is this a problem that is common with G*Truck baseplates? Also the "OS-Truck-G*Truck" baseplate looks a bit different than what I've got. Click G*Truck above to see mine. Yours on the OS_Truck looks more like an Indy baseplate.

Eric Wallgren told me about a "Loctite" product that he said would, and does, remedy the problem in conjunction with a kingpin swap, but I forget which Loctite stuff it was right now. But it would be good stuff for anyone swapping out a kingpin anytime.

Also Paul those trucks appear to have a longer than normal axle, which you say is 8mm and not just the 5/16". Nice. For that reason alone they just might be better than a stock TTC. Bearings would fit nicely on those axles and it looks like you have room to space them out more if you wanted.

I'd be interested in seeing some pictures of the truck taken apart to see the bushing cups and stuff.

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OS-TRUCK

Post by Martin Siegrist » Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:46 am

Yes it is a precise 8mm axle. The axle is longer as an axle of a normal truck. This provides that the bearings aren't on the thread (german: Gewinde). It's not meant to make a bigger width between the wheels! Bearings roll much better and much more precise like this. And I think a bearing lasts longer. The angles are corrected now. It fits exactly to the RT-X! And with the RT-X, the kingpin rattle is a thing of the past.

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OS_Truck

Post by Glenn S » Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:19 pm

Right on Martin,
I had bought some PVDs which have precise 8mm axles and have had Eric Wallgren (GeezerX) redo all the conventional Tracker RTX trucks that I'm usings to 8mm axles.

I just don't understand why any truck maker would do otherwise. You don't have to crank your wheels down to make them not rattle, they just don't.

Too bad that it will probably be hard to get them in the States. But it is a great thing for Europe.

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Post by Paul Keleher » Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:52 pm

Glenn,

i've just had Geezer-x mod some rt-x axles for me, plus he made some precsion spacers to go on my OS truck, to replace the rattly 7mm spacer that comes on them, it is possible to space the trucks out to about 125mm, but there will be about 1.5 threads on the outer bearing...if you can live with it its an added bonus...

i'm thinking of getting G-X to make some decent pivots for me, as the OS uses the same system as the 3TC...the ground down allen head screw!!

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Post by Glenn S » Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:54 pm

Paul,
Does the OS_Truck have a bushing "cup" on both the both top and bottom sides of the hanger? The TTC only has a bushing cup on the bottom and the top of the hanger the bushing just sits on the flat and there is nothing to hold it in place. From the pictures above it looks like there is an cup/indent for the bushing on the top side of the hanger. How about the bottom?

Would it be possible to take a picture of the top and bottom of the hanger removed from the baseplate that you could send to me?

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Post by Martin Siegrist » Sun Dec 28, 2003 3:30 pm

Yes Glenn, the OS Truck has a bushing cup on both sides of the hanger!
ride on, martin

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Scruples

Post by Troy Smart » Sun Dec 28, 2003 6:17 pm

I just stumbled across this thread and am a little surprised.
How someone can blatantly rip off someone elses design and then be so enthusiastic about it amazes me.
Shame on you for ripping off anothers idea and shame on anyone who buys it for supporting that kind of behavior.

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Post by Terry Kirby » Sun Dec 28, 2003 8:41 pm

Troy, there is a lot of shame in that last post of yours. I see your point though. It does look like a replica of Howards truck.

On the other hand these guys are way over in Swizerland or France or somewhere. I'm betting they made them out of simple necessity.
Is it cutting into HG's bidness? Maybe, maybe not.

How about all of us who bought made and stole Indys original Offset design. Must we feel shame also? TK

PS Hows the kids?

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Rip off?

Post by Glenn S » Mon Dec 29, 2003 1:15 am

Who invented the conventional truck design? Are all other trucks that use the conventional truck design ripping it off? I am currently using Trackers Trucks; are they the original thinkers of the conventional truck design?

Here is a design that tries to do a similar geometry (getting the axle more inline with the kingpin) with the conventional truck design as the OS_Truck does, and I'm gunna guess that this truck came before any of the pictured or mentioned trucks in this thread besides the original Indy Offset:
Image
Who is ripping off who here?

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Post by Howard Gordon » Mon Dec 29, 2003 2:08 am

Martin Siegrist's OS-Truck is a direct copy of the TTC (now 3TC), with the only modifications being metric axles and a rounded allen screw. Martin showed me the truck last summer, noting that because the TTC's were out of production, he thought someone should continue to produce the truck, and I didn't discourage him. Martin's not the first to consider producing the design - Tracker was going to build a cast version, but never got around to it. There have been other split axle trucks produced over the years, including the old Gullwings, but the TTC was unique in its ability to fit on an existing base and the adjustability of the pivot. However, I chose not to patent the design, so it's basically in the public domain.

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Post by Heiko Schöller » Sat Jan 10, 2004 7:11 pm

Airflow OS Truck in 110mm blue and 126mm black. Retailprice is 89€ in Germany.
Image

Very nice trucks "Made in Switzerland" by Airflow Skateboards.

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Post by Chris Hart » Thu Jan 29, 2004 7:54 pm

it is very nice to see,that there is such a big interest about the OS airflow Truck. Tomorrow i will check out how much the shiping cost is from Switzerland to USA. The price for a OS Truck is 78 US$.
For orders,you could give me a short mail or go to my website(www.airflow-skateboards.com)
keep on rolling
chris

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Post by Jani Soderhall » Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:14 am

89€ in Germany and 79$ in the US. Strange for a truck made in Europe.
Chris, can you set the record straight here?

(79$ = 64€)
(89€ = 110$)

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Post by Glenn S » Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:25 pm

Hey wait Jani, Chris said $78US, and we here in the USA are holding him to it!!!!! ;-)

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Post by Chris Hart » Mon Feb 02, 2004 7:03 pm

sorry dudes

i dit a littel mistake between Euros and Dolars.
The Airflow OS Truck is
100 US Dollar or 87 Euros

Shiping costs:
Priority: 4-10 days till 2 kg 40 USDollars

Ecconony: 10-15 days till 2 kg 32 US Dollars

(the weight of a Airflow OS Truck is around 400gr)

i hope this is still a good price
and whait for your orders.
chris from swiss

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Post by Chris Hart » Mon Feb 02, 2004 7:06 pm

this prises are for America!

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Post by Glenn S » Tue Feb 03, 2004 2:32 am

No problem Chris that seems like a very good price for what looks like a very good offset truck. And since 2kg = 2000gr or roughly 5 trucks @ 400gr = 2kg. Take into account the packaging weight and you could maybe send 4 trucks to the USA under the 2kg total package limit for $32US Economy or $40US Priority.

With the price of the truck at $100US each, that breaks down to:
1 OS-Truck sent economy is $132US for one
2 trucks sent economy $116US each
3 trucks sent economy $110.70US each
4 trucks sent economy $108US each

===================================

Chris got back to me and said that the shipping weight of five 129mm trucks packed up was under the 2kg limit for the prices he quoted.

Contact Chris Hart first, but secure payment for USA orders for the OS-Truck can be made via credit card at www.sk8shop.ch
Last edited by Glenn S on Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by Glenn S » Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:37 am

Here are some pictures that Martin Siegrist took with his cell phone so they are not so clear. But you can see the top and bottom of the OS-Truck hanger showing that it has a bushing cup on both sides of the hanger.

Top:
Image
Bottom:
Image

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Os 95

Post by Ramón Königshausen » Wed Mar 24, 2004 5:32 pm

Hi Glenn!

Have you tried out the 95mm OS truck yet?
Any feedback?
I'm also trying out the 95 OS truck. The "traction control" in tight slalom feels much better than that of a 110 OS truck (the 110 slides a little bit more). Doesn't it?

rmn
Last edited by Ramón Königshausen on Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Glenn S » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:13 pm

Ramon, my OS-Truck is only 95mm, not 85mm.

I don't know about the 110mm version sliding, all I can say is that I am extremely satisfied with the 95mm OS-Truck and the testing I've done with it so far. It replaced a welded 105mm RTX offset, and sticks much much better. For me all back trucks have the PVD to measure up to for traction, and this one is the best offset conventional truck I've tried so far.

The Swiss workmanship is excellent as should be expected. The OS-Truck hanger lines up perfectly with the Tracker RTX base it comes with. The pivot is killer and tight, fitting the pivot cup perfectly. The axles are true 8mm and bearing are tight as a glove as well, expertly threaded, and straight. And there are bushing cups on both sides of the hanger. You guys really did a great job with this design. Tell Chris Hart thanks for making me a custom 95mm!!!

But it does look as if you could go even narrower still than 95mm. Are you really using a 85mm OS hanger? When measuring my OS hanger, 85mm seems totally doable. How deep does the axle thread need to go into the hanger? And how narrow could you go with this truck and have enough thread in the hanger for the axle, and not have the hanger touching the wheel?

-----------------------------------
Ramon, you must have been online that same time as me and changed your measurement to 95mm.

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Post by Ramón Königshausen » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:23 pm

I'm sorry Glenn, you're right! I was online at the same time as you were.
Of course, I meant 95mm.
(85mm Tracker B2 hanger vs. 95mm Airflow OS Truck hanger)

rmn

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