Post
by Eric Brammer » Tue May 08, 2007 7:24 am
The Gullwing 'patent' is a moot point. By the time it got into the patent office, there were three or four other truck companies using designs so similar (mechanically speaking, not, though, in turning performance), that other featrures actually were the source of a patent. One of those, I think, was that the angle of the axle in relation to the pivot was adjustable, something few others have tried to do.
1976, Speed Spring, which was based on the Spring-Equipped 1975 version.
Gullwing HPG Split Axle came out in late '76. By early '77, Radikal was doing the 3-bushing Slalom truck (man, if that truck had been made with better axles.. Whew, could've been 30 years ahead of everyone!). Variflex made the first 'wide' through-hanger truck in early '78. Randal strated toying with a more laid-back geometry type in mid-'78.This wasn't reborn until the early 90's. There's a few others, one Slalom-specific truck I'd seen on a few european decks in the late 80's that I never got the name of. Before Magnun made their Dh truck, Moe racing was doing custom trucks for Luging, and Roger Hickey had a bit to do with a split-axle version that used internal bearings to keep things rolling at speed.And now we have several near-Randal types (including Gullwing, again), plus 10mm axled Bears (Jim Z trucks), and the Talon! It's nice to see that the idea is being steadily improved upon in more than one or two disciplines. Slalom and DH should both take note of what's working in the other cousin-sport, as they're similar enough, and at this time, the quickest evolving segment of Skateboarding.
Racing, it improves the breed!
"Surfin' these Old Hills since back in The Day"
