ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

Do most people run an offset rear truck for hybrid courses? 6 foot spacing or more with offset cones. Or do they hinder your pump too much. What width as well? I'm interested to know how many do or don't...

Chris,

IMO "Offset" = "Linear" which is a synonym for "Confidence"... That goes well in any style course.

I personally run my rear Splitfire narrow (90mm) and pretty darn dead and tight.
Pumping, for me, (In slalom mode at least), is more a product of how fast and angular I can initiate turns with the front truck with my weight transfers.
As far as wheel spacing goes, it will affect your bushing choice and both of those will kind of depend on your deck's width and the leverage your weight, stance and style put on your edges.

If you're pretty new to this and don't want to spend alot, An RTS Tracker dewedged ALOT
(say 10-15*) or a 105 Seismic make good rear traction trucks too... Just a thought??

Tod

It seems that so far, I'm the only 'non Offset user' to vote (hey, but I'm 20% of the voting population!) . However, I'm using old German Seismics or a Geezer-X Tracker RTS, relegating my TTC to T.S. usually. The Seimics aren't offset, but are linear (no twist in the turning action) and the axle is quite near the pivot axis (10mm or so).
IF I had the money, the unobtainable PVD R-2 or Radikal Offset would be my first two choices, and within my meager funds, the Airflow [or TTC] are my second choice truck from what's out there currently. I'm itchin' to try the new Fyre truck, but that'll have to wait until springtime.

I personnaly always prefer "offset" trucks (meaning linear - i.e the axles are in the same line than the kingpin) when it's about slalom (and I should also add for speed downhill too when available).

I'm getting addicted to the new GOG rear truck with adjustable angle, that probably allow differents things than offset+wedging pads.
but I'm also very used to Splitfire and Airflow OS. The only one that I left on the shelf is the Radikal, probably because I couldn't set it up a proper way for me due to lack of specific bushings and axles.

When I come back to "standard" rear truck, I really feel like I have less grip on the rear. The slide is less predictable and so I cannot get so much power from the pumping.
Off course, some guys don't feel that, they probably have another way to ride but in any way I find "offsets" could not be appropriate for hybrids or even giants.
It's probably between a big cones offset, when you go fast, that you'll feel the more the control and grip that an offset will give you compared to normal trucks.

one question chris:why do you think any offset hinders your pump?

Just because I've done some research both here, and elsewhere, and it seemed to be a theme among others' posts, when they talk about set-ups for Tight Slalom.

I've never tried an offset, and being new to slalom, I haven't had much experience with GS, where I can see an offset being essential, and can see most of my time (for now) spent on hybrid courses. I only have one setup right now, which is geared more toward tighter courses. So I thought I'd get an opinion before dropping the $$ on an offset and then not really need one.

Thanks for all the info, I figure I'll just drop the coin and try it myself for different applications. It's snowy here, so my mind works in overdrive when I can't skate...

There's two strikes against Offsets in Pumping, especially at speed; 1st is that many offsets are not really well aligned, that is, the axles actually end up being either not "in line" with the true pivot axis, or they (in the process of twisting thru the pivoting motion) have leverage issues where the forces you input get "lost" or cancelled out (IE; 'dead spots'). 2nd, The other issue is that those trucks with extended 'offset arms' that re-locate the axles in relation to the hanger have FLEX, not that you'll notice this early on, but after awhile, you'll feel it, or worse, SEE it as a bent axle arm.

These are the reasons I like what I see in PVD's, or Airflow/Splitfire/TTC's, or in Seismics. The geometries are fairly linear, or directly linear, and the construction dosen't offer any weak-spots that will show up within a few years of use. Granted, the TTC's suffered from some machining 'oopses', and are not sturdy in the axle's attatchments (neither are PVD's), but the right-stuff outweighs the wrong. Fyre's and the GOG may be really worth looking into, as may Radikal's new rear, once the axle arms are solidified into the hanger.
Seismics, well, take some getting used to, as the springs rebound at a differing rate than the elasticity of your soft tissues do. Nonetheless, I've found that for pump thrust, linear steering (no twist in the geometry),and (with the ol' 8mm German axles) Grip, Seismics work really well for me. I was very comfy with them at Morro Bay's Super-G course, where thrusting pumps well into the 30 mph range was key to maintaining your speed (cone offsets were two lanes across), but I could see that in the tighter Hybrid courses, the pump needed was differently timed, so Seismics weren't efficient there, and weren't 'damp' enough to deal with the rough tar.

No gripes here though, as it wasn't too long ago that there simply weren't ANY slalom trucks available!

There's two strikes against Offsets in Pumping, especially at speed; 1st is that many offsets are not really well aligned, that is, the axles actually end up being either not "in line" with the true pivot axis, or they (in the process of twisting thru the pivoting motion) have leverage issues where the forces you input get "lost" or cancelled out (IE; 'dead spots'). 2nd, The other issue is that those trucks with extended 'offset arms' that re-locate the axles in relation to the hanger have FLEX, not that you'll notice this early on, but after awhile, you'll feel it, or worse, SEE it as a bent axle arm.

These are the reasons I like what I see in PVD's, or Airflow/Splitfire/TTC's, or in Seismics. The geometries are fairly linear, or directly linear, and the construction dosen't offer any weak-spots that will show up within a few years of use. Granted, the TTC's suffered from some machining 'oopses', and are not sturdy in the axle's attatchments (neither are PVD's), but the right-stuff outweighs the wrong. Fyre's and the GOG may be really worth looking into, as may Radikal's new rear, once the axle arms are solidified into the hanger.
Seismics, well, take some getting used to, as the springs rebound at a differing rate than the elasticity of your soft tissues do. Nonetheless, I've found that for pump thrust, linear steering (no twist in the geometry),and (with the ol' 8mm German axles) Grip, Seismics work really well for me. I was very comfy with them at Morro Bay's Super-G course, where thrusting pumps well into the 30 mph range was key to maintaining your speed (cone offsets were two lanes across), but I could see that in the tighter Hybrid courses, the pump needed was differently timed, so Seismics weren't efficient there, and weren't 'damp' enough to deal with the rough tar.

No gripes here though, as it wasn't too long ago that there simply weren't ANY slalom trucks available!

experience collected from my side.when i picke dup that sport 2 1/2 years ago(with experience from the past) i moved to an offset really fast(airflow).why this?
because i got a lot of energy from putting pressure into the rear.without an offset i would not have been able to do that.
i never found a good offset to be"pump-destroying" at all.
offset trucks do make a good sense,once you know how to use them,also they bring the board easier in again,once you start to slide out during acceleration.
so-callled swing-arm offsets such as mod bennetts,indy's need to be perfectly alligned,other wise,the real purpose and benefit of an offset is not guaranteed.
more precise machining as it can be seen in the cnc'ed truck guarantees perfect performance.
seismics either as rear or front don't give what any other trucks gives in conventional racing,that's just my impression,but i tried those trucks out too.from the podiums and from the general use of trucks shown at races,seismics don't really play any competitive role.
but i think they are nice for cruising around and going easy...


to come back to the original question:i think that a good offset(see above) will improve your pump in general.

I too, find a good and "true" off-set allows you to focus more on steering the front truck in the direction you want, and frees up the split-second decision you have to apply pressure to the rear truck in order to maintain traction! Riding styles vary, but for me, I tend to rely on the front to be the dominate truck, and expect the rear to follow thru while holding the road! With a "conventional" rear you have to tend to it more often than "offset" Which in my instance distracts from the attention I give my front/or steering axle!
To each his own, I suppose.

a lot of the improvement from an offset is coming from the straight axles and hanger faces. I do ride offsets on some of my boards but also a rts or other truck with straight 8mm axles and true hanger faces will be almost as good