New Virage 'Vite' front quick turning truck

[Philip Bond]

Can't wait for mine to arrive, gonna mount it on Harveys Pirnack, he sold me, and try and match it with the Radikal Tail, also that came form Harvey. If that fails I guess i'll be buying another Virage rear. Oh for next years competitions.

[Michael Stride]

Cheers Phillip, your parcel went out today, look out for the orange bag!

Ive also sent out trucks to the U.S., Brazil, Sweden, France and the UK. It has to be dry somewhere?

Cant wait for you to get them and give them a go.

[Philip Bond]

For all you Northern hemispherers.

[Pelle Gustafsson]

totaly WOW

[Philip Bond]

Pavel Pirnack Virage Vite -5*, Radikal Dragons Tail -4*, Orangatangs 4 presidents 80/83



Pavel Hopkins Roadster Virage front/rear Zigzags 80/86



Pavels in the sun, only 43C today, too hot to skate, just playing with my toys.

[Philip Bond]

I know this has been written about before but I couldn't find the thread, so here goes. I have just put a Pavel Pirnack together with a New Virage Vite front truck and a Radikal Dragons Tail rear, Thing is the rear is 97mm wheel edge to wheel edge, the front is 85mm, even with an extra 12mm of spacers (6mm per side). The board rides well but I would be interested in any feedback, opinions or stories ppl have on this. I don't want to have the Radikal hanger machined unless it's absolutely necessary. I think I'd rather buy another Virage Rear, than do that. Let me know what you think JudgeK

[Sam Gordon]

Hi JudgeK; what cracking setups!

I have a Pirnack like that myself, with the Vite up front and regular Virage in the back. It gives excellent snappy response with zero slop. At the moment we are under a few feet of snow, so I am quite jealous of your weather!

Given that all slalom skaters regularly tweak and adjust their setups for that perfect flow, here are a few suggestions to try out before you either do any machining or make any extra purchases (sorry Michael).

From your pictures it looks like the Pirnack has a longer wheelbase capacity than the Hopkin Roadster. If this is the case then swop both sets of trucks over, running the regular Virages on the Pirnack and the Radikal/ Vite on the Roadster.

The fast turning Vite/ Radikal combo will then be on the shorter wheelbase board and will be a great setup for tighter slalom. The Vite is designed to run most naturally when flat mounted onto the deck (or with flat shock pad). Steering should be both snappy and progressive. It may be a bit warmer in the Southern Hemisphere, but up this way I run the Vite with two white Khiro barrel bushings. I weigh around 65 kilos. The Radikal rear is a very fast turning rear truck, so can handle a lot of wedging to bring the kingpin closer to vertical (this is how Pappas drives his board).

The longer wheelbase Pirnack with the regular Virage will make an excellent hybrid board that can handle everything from tight to giant slalom. It looks like you have the wedging pretty down to make that setup fly.

As regards the difference in truck widths, this shouldn't really be an issue. The key is to acclimatise to the way the board rides and then optimise technique around your setup, doing very small changes at a time. Keep us posted as to how you get on!

Sam


Vite reverse wedged by 3 degrees on the Pirnack in order to be run flat on the upturned nose. In fact the angle is around 2 degrees.

[Philip Bond]

Thanks Sam, I will try the swap, I didn't really want to mess with the Roadster, but I guess it's only a case of putting it back together. It had taken me a year to get it sweet but it was one of my plans to swap front trucks anyway. I'll let you know what happens. Yea the weather here is too good, last 6 days have been 37c, 39c 40c 43c 44c and 25c.

[Pelle Gustafsson]

[Sam Gordon]

Ha Pelle, you romantic hound from the land of meatballs and rollmop, I see you are running the two white blocks up front also.

Have you managed to turn in anger yet? There must be an underground car park with your name on it...

...or is Philip going to become the most experienced authority on riding the Virage Vite?
Until, that is, he melts!

Sam

[Pelle Gustafsson]

it just arrival today whith that buching on,will trye it on my way to work tomorrow and at training after work as well.... maby i put it in my bet tonight just beacause it´s so sexy!!!!

[Sam Gordon]

That board looks very like a 161 to me. Have you been shopping locally by chance?
Didn't know that they sold porn in Ikea.

[Philip Bond]

OK had my first real ride of the Pirnack with VITE, well this is how we went. I set my normal 40 cone course up, almost flat, 6' offsets with some 6.5' thrown in into a major offset curve followed by 20 stingers at 6'. Not world class level but challenging enough for a fat git like me, BTW 120kg and decreasing. Did the first couple of runs on the Roadster, which is set quite taught and runs smoothly when pushed hard. Had a gusty side/headwind so full speed not achievable. Two clean runs st8 off at reasonable pace with my back leg giving its all. Out came the Pirnack, VITE with Pink Reflex barrel bottom, nearest BP, and white Khiro top. Nearly fell off when pushing into cones, not use to the extra wb and front end wobble!!! Anyways, ran the course twice in total disbelief at the difference, not clean runs but quick and smooth. Shit the Pirnack generates a lot of power from the rear with the Rad tail and it's instant like hitting a gas pedal.
The Vite felt like it was gonna washout a couple of times but just hitched its skirt up and carried on without fuss. Turns were quick and if anything it oversteers pushing you wide until you take control. I changed out the white Khiro for a blue venom cone, ugghh, st8 back to white Khiro barrel thankyou. Will try the pink barrel/ pink cone next time when the wind has died down. Got the roadster out for another run and bugger me I couldn't ride the sucker, it felt like it wouldn't turn. Checked my foot placement and yea they were all wrong, tried another run and bullied it thru' clean as a whistle but it felt like i was having to try real hard.

First impression of the VITE Whoa, it turns quick and precise and isn't worried by washout. From a rank amateur in his rookie year, that may not be a perfect impression but i am impressed. Mikes trucks are the dogs and I wish I had bought a second Virage rear, but saying that The Rad Tail is so much better than the Rad Wing I have, I can generate so much go thru it and the VITE just soaks it all up.

I think I will swap the front trucks over tonite and give the boards a go tomorrow evening.

Just swapped the front trucks over and surprise surprise the Pirnack now has a shorter wb than the Roadster. The VITE lengthens axle to axle wb. Didn't expect that. So I will have to either use the longest WB on the Pirnack with a standard VIRAGE front, or try it as is, should be very quick indeed.

[Michael Stride]

Ooooooo its allk looking rather good for the Vite. The initial reviews in Seatle for LDP have been excellent and I know its looking good for slalom too of course. So good to see them being treasured!

Here is a short clip of the Vite hanger being milled , must apologise as I only had my phone and I held it up the wrong way.....anyway you can see the block, which is drilled first , then held in place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV1hlIid7Uc
[/url]

[Philip Bond]

Had a short session tonite, wifey insisted, had the Roadster set up Vite/Virage/Zigzags. Felt as good if slightly faster than the Virage/Virage set up and was way more responsive and answered to change of direction tout de suite. As a comparison I had the Pirnack Virage/Rad Tail/O'tangs. Now this was also quick/smooth/fast turning but felt slower by comparison and also was quicker to pull up at the end of the run, which to me equals slower. I made no adjustment to bushings or nuts from the last session, just a st8 truck swap, with both boards at max wb. To me the Roadster/Vite/Virage set up is a winner for tight slalom. I will now try the Rad on the Roadster and full Virage on the Pirnack, then Vite/Virage on the Pirnack, I also want to swap the wheels over, the O'tangs feel smoother but slower, is this me??.
I am keeping a record of the different wedging and rising required so when I find Nirvana i will be able to replicate it. Again Mike your trucks rock. BTW how many sets are there in Aussie?

[Philip Bond]

Had a rippin' session with my young friend Ghost Rider today, he is new to slalom and has benefited from riding my set ups. The down side is I keep changing things around to get the perfect/ best set up I can. Today we set a 40 cone course on a nice slope with good surface, this was the first time for 40 cones at this venue, which we skate every couple of weeks.
The difference in a 30 cone to 40 cone course was staggering, the last 15 cones were taken at a speed I hadn't done since my 1st comp. last year. The up shot of all this is the Vite is an awesome truck, it handled the pace with aplomb and is snappy and quick to respond. I have started running 89a Zigzags on the front and have had no problem with sliding, although Mark, a very good DH and free skater, had the rear end sliding, probably due to technique more than anything else. I have at the moment tho' found the Radikal Wing best compliments the Vite, but this is an angle issue that i need to sort, as previously I had a Virage rear that worked well with the Virage front. This was all on the Roadster. The Pirnack mean time has a matching pair of Virage and was just as quick thru' the cones but is probably more suited to Hybrid, ditch and GS, as suggested by SamG. It didn't feel as comfortable but certainly hustled thru ' the cones.

I also just wondered how many of you guys used higher duro wheels for tight? I feel they work better than some of the softer duros and certainly generate sustainable speed.

BTW being a big lad the Vite was loaded with green/pink Reflex barrells, with the softer duro board side. I run Virages the opposite way, harder duro board side. I find with the different geometries of the trucks, this give a better snap back. Only 3 weeks to season start, can't wait!!!

[Philip Bond]

A reasonable close up of the Vite in action. Tight Hybrid, green/pink Reflex Barrels.

[Ramón Königshausen]

So what's the deal on DH trucks? Just going with the trend?

rmn

[Michael Stride]

Ramon...
The Virage Vittesse wil be ready when we have a design that adds something to whats on offer at the moment, seems like everyone and their dog have DH trucks in their line up.

[Ramón Königshausen]

seems like everyone and their dog have DH trucks in their line up.

I've always liked your style of speech But that is very true.

rmn

[Sam Gordon]

Downhill???

Does this mean I have to do some 'balls out' testing? Uh oh.



Blindfold please.

And bucket.

[Rob Ashby]

Any old excuse to get your balls out eh Sam?

Surely one Virage Team member (no pun intended) with a penchance for "plums out" riding is enough?

[Denis Hildebrand]

CHRISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST

What a lovely truck Mike!!! U outdone urself!!!!1

Are they on octane for sale???
Just front trucks or u making rear trucks too??

[Curt Chapman]

Any news on a new run of the "Vite"s?

Available in the USA when?

Any changes to the design?