Dr D Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 I picked up a DREGS longboard on the cheap the other day. not sure what model but its 56 or 57 inches long pintailed with a slightly rounded nose. Fantastic flexy deck. anyway I had the foresight to go get some harder bushings at the skate shop to accomadate my weight. I did not however factor in the possibility of them breaking in halfway down the hill. I proceeded to develop a nasty case of speed / death wobble and piled it up in a ditch going somewhat faster than I can run. the helmet works I rang my bell a little and got scraped up from top to bottom but the most damage was my foot. I rearranged most of the bones in my right foot so badly I couldn't walk on it. After a trip to my Xray machine to see if I broke it I had it adjusted and today after my second treatment I would say its at 90% Hurray for good Chiropractic:biggthump I will lay off it for a week or so but I know the board will get another workout. So questions can I find even harder bushings? Are the Dregs trucks prone to speed wobble? Can I at 275# realistically find a set up that won't throw me off at speed? I couldn't brake because I could hardly stay on the thing. Its better since I tightened them down but I still wonder. The bushings are inner core designed Xbones or something bones if that helps. Also what wheels are ideal? It has 70 mm Dregs on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 I have no idea what trucks you're on but when it comes to speed not all are created equal, I have some Origionals here that scare the **** out of me at about any speed faster than I can run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxguitarist Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 its not necessary- and actually not a good idea to ride smokeys (or any other pivot bearing truck) if you're not used to very sensative trucks. speedwobbles are your ankles and your overall comfort, sorry. at your weight, yeah, you'll want somewhat harder bushings, khiros would be a good choice. i weigh about 160, and ride their orange bushings, next to softest. black and purple are very hard, and will probably limit your turning a bit- midrange & practice would be better. if you want to upgrade trucks, look at crails first, then consider some bear grizzlys or randal 180s, and if you're into some serious speed, consider the force C7s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 they are a combination of your ankles and lack of experience. Some boards (like drop decks) help alleviate this but any board will wobble given the right conditions. Stiffer bushings are a better option than super tight kingpins, stable trucks are another option. The Grizzly Bears are a very good choice over the more conventional Indy/Tracker style trucks you now have. At your weight Khiro blacks and purples would be good....if you use Bears I would use a combo of Barrels and B.i.t.c.h. bottoms.... oh yeah and I can't say enough good about Landy Hawgs wheels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Some speed wobs are ankles. But there are some you can't avoid - the mechanical system of truck/wheel/deck has a natural resonance that you are going to hit at a certain speed, and once you get that thing vibrating it's going to buck you off. If you're new to skating there's no way you should be going fast enough to require Randall DHs though. Try some RIIs, they're a good all-round longboard truck and plenty stable at sane speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 in my experience wobbles are the result of my ankles inablity to deal with that resonance...the scariest case I had was DHing the MT Fuji approach road on my 42" drop through pin. It was a resonance thing the board started flexing on it's camber so much that I almost ate ****...only luck and big carves prevented me from a case of monumental road rash. Knowing how to respond saved me in that case and was what I was refering to when I said experience RII's are great but they require a few extra $$ to make them as good as the Grizzly's are out of the box, plus the Grizzly's are 8mm axels. That alone is worth the extra $10 (US). Don't get me wrong I love my Randals but refacing the hangers and changing the bushings, washers and kingpins was a hassle that most people won't go through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Why do you need to? Mine work fine out of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Randals have crappy bushings, grade 5 kingpins and cheesie cupped washers. The Bears I have seen come with Khiro reds, Grade8 kingpins and flat washers. The hangers are also much better faced than Randals and enough can't be said about 8mm axels; until you have ridden on them you just can't understand the difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted May 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Alright so here's more info Its a Dregs Supertanker 56" with gullwing trucks the dregs site seems to indicate a randall 180? as an upgrade option I put hard bones bushings in it and they are way stiffer than the stock ones. The wobble was definitely a resonance thing. I could ride it straight and stay on it after the wobble but I lost the ability/ confidence to actually turn it with that kind of chaos happening underneath me. I am definitely a newbie to this whole thing so a setup that is more forgiving as opposed to world class is in order. I do feel like wheels need an upgrade and I can probably trade for some Randall trucks if I do it soon. The local shop carrys loaded and dregs boards and randall trucks and seems to have some brains. I really feel like the bushings broke in and softened up some during the run. I tightened them a turn and they are better. The shop said I could tighten them until three threads were showing but no more than that. they are at one and a half currently and were jsut flush with the kingpin when I lost it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 don't you mean the 10mm axels? Nope I mean 8mm I have one truck that has an 8mm axel, my Chindy on my slalom deck, and the way wheels roll on it has lead me to seek out a front 8mm truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 ah yeah, gottcha... they are now making both 8 and 10 ummmm, aren't 95%+ of all trucks 8mm or am i just confused nope your confused almost all skateboard trucks are 5/16th" and all 100% of all 608 bearings are 8mm which creates a bit of slop. Most higher quality slalom trucks use 8mm axles with the threaded portion turned down to 5/16" since thats the standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surf-Rodz Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 DR D, As far as road carving, most skateboard longboard products are inferior due to the fact that they don't think about body proportion and their truck systems use 8mm axles and should be using 12mm. The trucks should also be in proportion with deck length. If you think about it, most skateboard development is still way behind vs snowboards and surfboard design. Surfboard development is now pushing far ahead of it all.... take a look at road carving.....i'm working on it.lol stay safe and as aways enjoy the ride. Wayne Wayne Gallipoli Surf-Rodz, LLC http://www.surf-rodz.com wayne@surf-rodz.com product preview_ http://web.mac.com/surfrodz http://www.malfunctiondesign.com 203.530.2668 mobile 203.937.5722 fax/office 162 Bellevue Avenue West Haven, Connecticut 06516 USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted May 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 DR D,As far as road carving, most skateboard longboard products are inferior due to the fact that they don't think about body proportion and their truck systems use 8mm axles and should be using 12mm. The trucks should also be in proportion with deck length. If you think about it, most skateboard development is still way behind vs snowboards and surfboard design. Surfboard development is now pushing far ahead of it all.... take a look at road carving.....i'm working on it.lol stay safe and as aways enjoy the ride. Wayne Wayne Gallipoli Surf-Rodz, LLC http://www.surf-rodz.com wayne@surf-rodz.com product preview_ http://web.mac.com/surfrodz http://www.malfunctiondesign.com 203.530.2668 mobile 203.937.5722 fax/office 162 Bellevue Avenue West Haven, Connecticut 06516 USA sweeeet looks like I need to up my life insurance again:eplus2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wavechaser Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Anyone looking for longboard/slalom info should also check out www.ncdsa.com forums...loads of info there. "PSR" is especially helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 You guys are making my head hurt. Now I gotta start learning all this longboard tech stuff and equip. stuff like moving over to alpine 4 years ago. Guess I gotta read and ride. Ordered my wheels trucks and bearings kit this week (Gumballs,randalls)and ordering maple plys to build the board. Reading the thread by Dr D took me back to being a kid on the local hill getting the road rash wobble. Best thing we could do was get to the road edge and tumble into the plushiest lawn. Had me openly laughing. Thanks for bringing back memories while also being mor ecareful on my first trip out in 20+ years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wavechaser Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 More crash stories to make you wear your helmet... http://www.ncdsa.com/17/Skateboard-Crashing-Stories.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted May 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 You guys are making my head hurt. Now I gotta start learning all this longboard tech stuff and equip. stuff like moving over to alpine 4 years ago. Guess I gotta read and ride.Ordered my wheels trucks and bearings kit this week (Gumballs,randalls)and ordering maple plys to build the board. Reading the thread by Dr D took me back to being a kid on the local hill getting the road rash wobble. Best thing we could do was get to the road edge and tumble into the plushiest lawn. Had me openly laughing. Thanks for bringing back memories while also being mor ecareful on my first trip out in 20+ years you got the scene pegged. only difference, an extra 200 lbs and my head is 3 ft higher off the ground. the ditch was mowed but it wasn't what you would call a plush lawn:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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