Slalom Trucks Wish List

[Steve Collins]

I'm interested in people's wish lists for slalom trucks.

Mine:
1. Bushings that are the shape of Bones Hardcores but without the core and using the same urethane as yellow Tracker Stimulators. They could even be a tiny bit taller than Bones but maybe a little bit shorter than stims, at least on top.

2. An inexpensive cast "offset", shaped like the Airflow or TTC, that doesn't cost more than $50 and doesn't have to be shipped from Switzerland. Who says all castings have to look like they were done down at the local trade tech?

3. 8mm axles standard, pre-sanded at the factory so your bearings fit.

4. Chaput-spec bases for easier wheelbase adjustments.

5. Did I mention yellow Stims shaped like Bones?

6. Seismic springs that compress down really small and have a totally smooth reaction with no jump.

7. A Seismic truck with a ball bearing hanger to kingpin/base connection.

[Guest]

a 90mm Aluminum Seismic with 8mm axles long enough to space out to 100mm and 110mm....50* and 25* baseplates. Urethane springs for the rear.

that would be perfect....like it will ever happen.

[Jack Quarantillo]

a 90mm Aluminum Seismic

I don't think that is possible, with the current spring sizes.

Q

[Guest]

ya think?

[Jack Quarantillo]

Mebbe Dan or someone more experienced will chime in, but if you look at the shape of the 105mm hangers, they have this fat, wonky end to them right before the axle. I presume it is there to keep the springs from popping out.

The thing is so big that a 60mm NoSkoolZ (untrimmed) will not fit. The lip of the wheel hits the hanger.

Q

[Guest]

no the current seismic hanger, 105mm, can't be cut down to 90mm, nor could the design work in it's current form. You would have to redesign the springs (smaller), spring seats and baseplate (since you are changing the spring angles). That is why I said I doubt I will ever see this.

You "might" be able to make a 96-100mm Seismic from the current 105mm as long as you ran sideset wheels like stradas, la costas or stingers....but even then you are pushing it.

Not having 8mm axles is a MUCH bigger problem as far as I am concerned....

[Jack Quarantillo]

yeah, I measured my Seismics 105, and 155 (I have some 130s too, but they were in the van.

the distance between the adjustment screws is 75mm, so 90mm would need a redesign.


well, they're working on the 8mm axle thing...
and the urethane 'springs'...


and I doubt it would be too hard for them to make 25° and 50° baseplates, but you could always wedge your way there...



Q

[Guest]

yeah, I measured my Seismics 105, and 155 (I have some 130s too, but they were in the van.

the distance between the adjustment screws is 75mm, so 90mm would need a redesign.


well, they're working on the 8mm axle thing...
and the urethane 'springs'...


and I doubt it would be too hard for them to make 25° and 50° baseplates, but you could always wedge your way there...



Q

Or stick to my PVDs were I have everything I want...hahaha

The metal Seismics are a nice truck, alot of bang for the buck....but the lack of 8mm axles and ability to run Avilas makes them not good for anything other than practice or screwing around....I know geezer is working on the 8mm axle deal but it should be a default option, period!

I exchanged emails a while back with Dan about all "my issues", I'm sure he thinks I have "lots of issues" eitherway....but he explained why different angle baseplates aren't an option (costs), the smaller hanger (redesign), etc.....

[Steve Collins]

...

and I doubt it would be too hard for them to make 25° and 50° baseplates, but you could always wedge your way there...



Q

I wedge em. Works great.

For the record, Gumballs, which are not side-set, fit beautifully. So do Cambrias.

[Jack Quarantillo]

ok, so here's the list so far on the 105s:

I'm talking stock, no trimming.

No worky:
60mm NoSkoolz
BDS Shogo Kubo 62mm (don't ask why...)
Avilas? really?

Worky:
Stingers
Cambrias
Avalons
Gumballs

The above (except the Avilas) I know from personal trial/error. There's lots more out there...

should we move this discussion to the Seismic forum?

Q

[Ramón Königshausen]

8mm axles standard, pre-sanded at the factory so your bearings fit.

rmn

[Barry Gourley]

you can run Avilas on a 105 seismic if you remove the little tit on the hanger. its real close but it never touches. are the PVD's a perfect truck as you all say??

[Guest]

you can run Avilas on a 105 seismic if you remove the little tit on the hanger. its real close but it never touches. are the PVD's a perfect truck as you all say??

You are pushing your luck there buddy. I saw a guy that did this running soft 72a Avilas.....the wheel "fit" but the inside of his wheel had a dark ring around it. I pointed it out to him and he shrugged "Idontknow"....I pointed out that it was the wheel deforming in a turn and rubbing the hanger. It is so close that high speed turns that deform the wheel will buck you off in an instant.....watch it if you are running that combo...

PVDs...I hate to admit it sometimes but they are all that and a box of chocolates too. They aren't "perfect", no truck is, but i ride them because they allow me to adapt to 90% of riding situations I face. While most other trucks can do 10-20% if that.....they are an aquired taste though, liek Seismics, you love them or hate them and you gotta put the time in and figure them out (like any truck) but the lerning curve is steep.

I like them more than I ever liked gnarly pivot fulltracks way back when (3 years ago) and those who knew me then know just how much that was.

[Barry Gourley]

Chris,
I will look into the truck/dark ring, what is the differants between the pvd 2 and the 3's??

In your opinion the PVD's are the real way to go? I love the seismics and from what can see with all the adjustments on the PVD's they should fit into any slalom catagory.

someone is selling a PVD 2 with some extras for 250 does that seem like a deal? do they even still make them? where you could get replacement parts?

thanks Barry

[Keith Hollien]

The only trucks you need are Radikal Titanium II Pro Racing Trucks. The front trucks comes at 3.5"(with 1/4" axle) wide and you can go all the way out to 5"(with 1" axle). The rear swing arm truck come at 4.25"(with 1/4'" axle) wide and go to 5.75"(with 1" axle). The axles come in 6 sizes(1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" and 1").

If you want to turn, this is the truck to use.

I almost forgot to mention the Radikal bushing that come in 5 sizes(75A, 80A, 85A, 90A and 95A). The will work in any standard truck with some minor sanding.

I know I am a little biased(since I have riden Radikal trucks for 25 years), but they are the best. The biggest complant on the Radikal trucks is after you use them all other trucks just DO NOT work anymore.

Later Keith, Teams Radikal & RoeRacing.

[Barry Gourley]

Well I had to pass on the PVD, I really wanted it but it was a little hi dollar for me right now (I'm sure it worth it) and it was only 1 truck. There would be no telling when if ever I could find another one to complete the set, I can't have mis-matched stuff, it drive me crazy.
Now onto these radicals, do they perform as good as they look?? with the bearing apposed to bushings they look like they are as turny as seismics or better. I love the way my seismics turn but I'm wanting to try some state of the art trucks.
My wife thinks I'm f##ked up but this is my process when getting into a sport. I end up spending alot of money buying S/B's, motorcycles, and guns and then finding out I should of just bought the best to Begin with, then loosing my ass selling off the stuff I don't like.
Ok a little long winded today but that's just how it goes. Maybe I could get together with Rick and test drive his trucks first before buying, how bout it rick???

[Eddy Martinez]

Barry beware 66 let me ride his board with Radikals last year, and I was hooked. These babies Rock!!!!! They're addicting. Eddy Texas Outlaws.

[Rene Carrasco]

Eddy-
.............addicting you say ?

....I got your ADDICTING right here !


TRACKER TRUCKS - BABY ! - TOTALLY ADDICTING !




1976 - Rene' Carrasco @ La Costa Sunday Races -
RIDING TRACKER TRUCKS - - -
PHOTO: Glenn Miyoda.







2003 - Rene' Carrasco - FCR LAKE ELSINORE RACE - GIANT SLALOM -
STILL USING TRACKER TRUCKS ! ! ! -
[ notice front of helmet and front of t-shirt & sticker on truck -LOYALTY ! ]
PHOTO: by "Captain" Glenn S.




Thanks Larry, Buddy, Linda, and all the gang @ TRACKER TRUCKS !

[Glenn S]

Glenn,
Do you have a set of Radikals?? Are they as good as the price reflects? I've been thinking about getting into a quality set of trucks but man , 350 is a lot of money for a set of trucks but i guess you get what you pay for. Radikals have alot of different axles for ?? I’m not sure but they are 8mm from the get go. I was going to have GeezerX install a set of 8mm axles in my Seismic’s but he told me it cant be done because the axles are molded into the hanger Any info would be greatly appreciated

Barry,
I don’t have a set of Radikals but have ridden them a few times. I think that Radikal Trucks have their place and could be “the” truck for slalom for many riders. 350.00 for the set is not bad deal considering that they are basically custom machined metal of a high quality.

I remember when Peter Verdone (PVD designer) posted that Radikals were junk, before they were released to the public, him and Mark McCree had a meeting in FL when John Gilmore was there. But look what they have won since their release, aside from the main Radikal riders that have done great on them, guys like Chris Barker and Jack Smith pulled off big wins on them (Barker-WLAC and Smith-JPL). That proves they work. These guys did not have a whole lot of time on Radikals before these wins. C.Barker less than J.Smith. I get the feeling that these guys would say they did better because of the Radikal trucks. Barker came out to WLAC and smoked the GS hill on them, and this is not a meager hill at all. Many that are "names" of the sport that live here in So Cal stay away from this hill (I'm not naming names) but look at who in the area are not on the WLAC GS roster all the time. It's not my type of hill either, it is scary. Barker smoked this hill on Radikals and I think he was fairly new to Radikals. This happened before J.Smiths win at JPL and seemed like a big testament to me at the time.

I think initially they were thought of as a TS truck. My feeling is that Barker and Smith proved that theory wrong.

I feel Radikals are more "precise" than conventional’s yet not as precise as pvd's. This is key for me, PVDs are too precise for someone like myself that is older and new (getting back into skating after over twenty+++ years off) to the sport.

When I first got PVDs I knew that they were great. Pumping around without cones I knew that they were the best ever pumpers that I had ridden, with “unbelievable” traction. I could never get my stock Trackers or Indy's to perform like the PVDs right out of the box. But just pumping around and actually riding cones are two completely different worlds. When I'd attend practices with the SSS crew guys like Chicken and Evans would say that they were too unforgiving. Get off track on a PVD and they take more to recover than conventional trucks which are not a precise pivot like the PVD's. I feel they are right. I get the feeling that Radikals bridge a happy medium of precisness between the properly tweaked conventionals (Tracker RTS-Indy 101s) and PVDs.

But also back then when I first started slalom I did not know how to setup my conventional trucks good at all and I was riding PVDs already. Conventional trucks take a bit of "knowledge" is my feeling. Guys like Steve Evans and Richy Carrasco knew a ton about setting up conventional trucks like the Tracker and Indy's. I was struggling on my PVDs then hop on Richy deck with Trackers (setup properly) and it worked. I learned a ton from them about conventional trucks. So I'm gunna say here: Have you learned yet how to tweak your conventional trucks to preform to their maximum? You gotta go to some races and check out riders who are placing at the top in the pro class that ride conventional trucks. Walk up to them and demand that they let you check out their deck, don’t be shy! feel the action both front and back. Look at how they are wedged. “Check them out”! Learning how to setup your conventional properly is key.

I stopped using PVDz both front and back. I’m not good enough for them. I started using the PVD just in the back because they have the best back traction of any truck I've tried. And a tweaked Indy in the front because it allows me to recover. And setup properly the Indy 101 is a Great front truck!

So I'm gunna suggest first if money is a factor that you get a set of TEAM MONKEY WRENCH trucks from Geezer-X, either Tracker RTX or Indy 101s with trimmed Stimulators up front. That this would be BIG improvement on a stock Conventional truck of either of those brands. But key with Conventionals is wedging them properly. Geezer has done almost everything but wedge them for you. How they are tightened is key too; somewhat loose up front and fairly stiff in the back. This is where feeling a better skaters trucks that has good knowledge about them will help.

If you got the money I say get both a set of TEAM MMW and Radikals. My acutal pick would be a Geezerized Indy 95mm (longer kingpin, Trimmed Yellow Stims, 8mm axle) for a front truck and a 95mm Airflow OS-Truck for a back truck. And this would cost you well under $200.

Also I worked my butt off this week, especially today, and just had a few beers with the crew on an empty stomach after ten hours of hard work. So what I just said might not look the same to me tomorrow

Good luck!

[Barry Gourley]

Glen,
Your beers didn't affect you writing at all. I hear everything your saying,the 95 indy is a 101 cut down ? I have a set of Tracker S/X would they work? or is the indy better suited for the mod? I have seen the airflows around the net and the 3TC split axle. they look identical are they? I would rather support HG before going over seas to some name I'm not familiar with. I'm not sure how those tucks work with the extensions welded on to give it a split axle appearance/ride but it just doesn't look stable enough to last, has anyone ever bent or twisted a set of these truck that you know of ? I just sold one of my guns to fund my S/B building project. Who has the best price on the 3TC? Who has the yellow stimulates? all i find is the med. green and i already have a set of them. I need to do a little reshaping and see what happens. I was going to order a set of Radikil bushings and grind on them until i red you post. Do you know of anyone selling the rear 3TC truck for a decent price? Thanks again for responding to my posts,you ALWAYS have the correct answers. I just read that Wesley has some practice going on in SC on some big-ass hill,I might have to barrow someones balls to skate down that.