jkallinen Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 I couldn`t wait till June to get my new board. Was riding it around playing with my son and one of the old bushings in the trucks fell out. There wasn`t much left of it after 26 years of abuse. So I decided to custom build a board at Streetboardz.com and think I found a pretty good setup for my boarding experiance. The board I got is a Vision Hot Rod 40" Randall 2 180 Longboard trucks and 73mm Gravity Super G at 78a. Looking forward to riding it. Take a look around there website and you might find a board you`ll like ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 The Randall bushings are kinda suckful - I set mine up the same as Doug. I actually use a fender washer between the Stimulator bushings and the truck base (where he has no washer)...it's a tad less turnier that way, but I figure it loads the bushing a little more evenly. Either way, it's a big improvement over the stock Randall bushings. joe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Originally posted by joecarve The Randall bushings are kinda suckful - I set mine up the same as Doug. I actually use a fender washer between the Stimulator bushings and the truck base (where he has no washer)...it's a tad less turnier that way, but I figure it loads the bushing a little more evenly. Either way, it's a big improvement over the stock Randall bushings. joe... Cool idea, I`ll have to order another set of bushings and see how they work out. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Damn that's almost the same as my DH/Carving deck...anyway some options for moding Randals 1) Flip the hangers they ride better when you are lower to the ground. 2) Change the damn bushings...stock bushings are next to worthless. I use 94a SuperCush but that's a personal preference 3) Change the king pins to GrindKing they are much lower profile and provide better gound clearance (good for avoiding rocks in the roads) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by Gecko Damn that's almost the same as my DH/Carving deck...anyway some options for moding Randals 1) Flip the hangers they ride better when you are lower to the ground. Interesting, please excuse my ignorance. Could you explain this a little. having no experiance with Randal trucks. ;) I am guessing your saying to reverse the truck mounting directions. Photos would help. 2) Change the damn bushings...stock bushings are next to worthless. I use 94a SuperCush but that's a personal preference Would Khiro bushings work on Randal trucks? 3) Change the king pins to GrindKing they are much lower profile and provide better gound clearance (good for avoiding rocks in the roads) Have lots of rocks where I ride, could you find a link where I could find these kingpins ? Thanks Jim:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by Gecko 1) Flip the hangers they ride better when you are lower to the ground. If you flip the hangers to get lower to the ground, wouldn't you then need to add riser pads to avoid wheel bite; cancelling the benefit of flipping the hanger? I have Randall 180's, and I'm interested in anything that nets better performance. New bushings are on my short list. But I'll give flipping the hangers a try, too. Question about bearing spacers: What's the benefit to using them? I am using them, but the only benefit I see is it keeps the bearings where they should be when I mount the wheels to the trucks. Is there a more subtle benefit? Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Question about bearing spacers: What's the benefit to using them? I am using them, but the only benefit I see is it keeps the bearings where they should be when I mount the wheels to the trucks. Is there a more subtle benefit? I would think that the bearing spacer would be a real benifit when tightening the wheel nut. Since the pressure would be on the inner bearing sleeve evenly so as to not cause any uneven pressure on the bearings. Would save on bearing wear and on the wheel from preventing the bearing from being pushed in to deep. More like making the inner bearing sleeve like one long sleeve out of 3. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Wow. It's amazing what a bit of searching NCDSA will turn up: http://www.texaslongboarder.com/pages/spacers.shtml FYI: Abec 11 wheels take 10mm, as do the 3DM wheels. (I use both.) Edit: Hey, I've also been shopping for spacers ... Abec 11 sells them for .25 cents a piece, but the shipping is $5 or more! Does anyone have a source on spacers where shipping won't be 5x the cost of the spacers themselves? Heck, they could probably be sent via 1st class mail for under a buck. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by Tommy D If you flip the hangers to get lower to the ground, wouldn't you then need to add riser pads to avoid wheel bite; cancelling the benefit of flipping the hanger? I have Randall 180's, and I'm interested in anything that nets better performance. New bushings are on my short list. But I'll give flipping the hangers a try, too. speaking of risers, what is the point of angled risers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by bobdea speaking of risers, what is the point of angled risers? AFAIK, angled risers are used to increase or decrease the turn 'quickness' of the trucks. For instance, if you have a siesmic 45 on the rear, but it proves too unstable or turny for you, you can use an angled riser to make it turn similar to a 30 degree truck ... Or, you can do just the opposite if you want a faster turning truck. I've never put that into practice, 'cause I like my fast turning Seismics and Randals. However, if I get into some high-speed stuff, I'll probably want to tone down the quickness a bit, and that's one option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 long board needs I use Mile High he's cool and sends stuff to an FPO. Bearing spacers insure that the wheel floats on a smooth spinning bearing. Do not use Angled risers with Randals...bad things happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by Gecko long board needs I use Mile High he's cool and sends stuff to an FPO. Bearing spacers insure that the wheel floats on a smooth spinning bearing. Do not use Angled risers with Randals...bad things happen. Cool, thanks for the link, found just what I was looking for. Khiro BIG BAD BUSHING Kit #1 Grind King kingpin kit Grind King Rims (silver) Spare set of sliding wheels. Kryptonics Hawaii K 70mm wheels (82a/blue) $22.84 Bearing spacers (10mm/0.400") RocknRon's Rocket bearings I`m all set now.:D Now cames the hard part of waiting for my board and parts to come. ;) Geez, I feel like a teenager again. 43 years old and out buying skateboards and parts for it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 IIRC, flipping the randal hangars changes their geometry a bit (just a few degrees). It's not about changing the clearance or ride height so much as the responsiveness. I haven't mounted my Randals yet so I can't say what the difference really is. However I will say that I really really really like my Seismic trucks, and I'm looking forward to trying my Randals soon. I'm hoping they're like Seismics, only lighter. The geometry seems similar, it's looks like just a matter of bushings vs. springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Originally posted by NateW IIRC, flipping the randal hangars changes their geometry a bit (just a few degrees). It's not about changing the clearance or ride height so much as the responsiveness. I haven't mounted my Randals yet so I can't say what the difference really is. However I will say that I really really really like my Seismic trucks, and I'm looking forward to trying my Randals soon. I'm hoping they're like Seismics, only lighter. The geometry seems similar, it's looks like just a matter of bushings vs. springs. I as looking at the Seismics and wondered about the weight. And then all the different spring options kinda led me to choose the Randals for something a little more simple and lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 It took me a couple extra sets of springs to find the ones I like, and they are a bit heavy overall. But I mostly ride pools and mostly stay below the coping, where the weight doesn't matter. Weight does bother me on mini ramps through, which is why I bought the Randals. I am still looking for the right deck to use with them. Speaking of the right deck - but not for mini ramps - a couple days ago I stumbled on a web site for a small longboard company that was just starting to prototype some drop-mounted boards... they have a forum... I posted some questions... and now I can't find their site again. I know that's not much to go on, but if anyone can steer me back to that site I'll be really thankful. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 take this as a personal opinion I have 15-20 hours on Seismics and probably 1000's on Randals. I didn't like the "Feel" of Seismics, where Randals (and every other truck including my beloved Independents) get progresively tighter as you lean further into a turn Seismics have a more uniform tension to them most of the way through the turning motion...I couldn't deal with the difference. Put another way it was too easy to put it on a rail and yes I tried lots of different spring weights. I guess I'm just not a new technology type of skater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 That's kinda funny, you just explained why I like Seismics so much. :) It took me a little while to get accustomed to the way Seismics feel but then I was totally sold on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Originally posted by NateW That's kinda funny, you just explained why I like Seismics so much. :) It took me a little while to get accustomed to the way Seismics feel but then I was totally sold on them. Too instantaneous for me, I started out riding ditches and pools...at highspeed especially in ditches I got bad speed wobbles...though I do understand how/why people would like them but for my long trained legs/feet the feel was all wrong. At slow speed they were great but I don't skate slow very often. there was also the issue of having to change springs just to tighten/loosen up...not good when you might skate 3-4 different spots in a day...I like being able to adjust a kingpin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Originally posted by NateW Speaking of the right deck - but not for mini ramps - a couple days ago I stumbled on a web site for a small longboard company that was just starting to prototype some drop-mounted boards... they have a forum... I posted some questions... and now I can't find their site again. I know that's not much to go on, but if anyone can steer me back to that site I'll be really thankful. :) NateM, don`t know how much help this will be since I don`t know the name of the company but its a start if you can recognize the name. Skateboard Directory:Longboard companies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Originally posted by jkallinen I`m all set now.:D Now cames the hard part of waiting for my board and parts to come. ;) Geez, I feel like a teenager again. 43 years old and out buying skateboards and parts for it. :D [/b] Heh, I'm 29, but my girl is giving me funny looks for buying skateboard stuff too! It's just too good of a tool for cross training, and plain ol' fun to pass up! I really like my Seismics too! But I like the Randals just as much. IMO, the Seismics are awesome for very smooth turns and fast return-to-center. The Randals are also awesome, but more for their stability (Read: Less tippy). FWIW: I will be using the Seismics on my 'shorter board' and the Randals on my 'longer board.' NateW: What springs are you using? I have Yellows and Purples, but the Purples are too stiff for me, and I'm looking to get some springs that are somewhere in between. IMO, the yellows that came with my Seismics are way too soft for a rider of 145lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkallinen Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Originally posted by Tommy D Heh, I'm 29, but my girl is giving me funny looks for buying skateboard stuff too! It's just too good of a tool for cross training, and plain ol' fun to pass up! I have a good excuse to use with my wife, I just tell her that its to help my 8 year old son learn to ride to. :D She just smiles and says " Ya, Right" ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Thanks jkallinen, I didn't find the board I had in mind, but now I have this to think about: http://www.raynelongboards.com/demonseed.htm Tommy, I'm using the red springs and the stable baseplates. The springs have the adjusters cranked all the way in for more stiffness, but I think I will be loosening them up as I get better. Or should I say, I hope I improve enough to feel safer with less preload on the springs. I think the red ones come stock with the stable 180s, but it's been a while so I'm not sure. I weigh about 180 and I also found the yellow springs much too loose. I think those came stock on the turny trucks. I started with a set of stable trucks and a set of turny trucks, and ended up swapping the baseplates on the turny ones to make them more stable. I have a Landyachtz UA with the stable baseplates and the angled ends of the UA give them the turny geometry, which is great for transportation and carving. But for pools I prefer stable to turny, I just wobbled all over the place with the turny baseplates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Concrete Wave out of Canada is probably the best niche sport magazine I've ever seen they cater to the Slalom, DH and Pool scene with a dose of old school mixed with up and coming rippers...there is also a shot of the normal man who still skates. In addition to an Eric Dressen interview this month there is a Road Trip to skate downhills in and around Yosemite. I've been getting it for a couple of years now and it just keeps getting better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemcse Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Hi guys I bought a 46" fiberglass long board and I am still trying to figure out how to dial it in. It has exkate torsion trucks and krptonics 78a wheels. I am having problems finding the right setup in the trucks. If I loosen them it seems fine until you get moving fast then the board feels really squirely. If I tighten them up it its not as fun when doing low speed turns. Are these trucks any good? I really didnt research this too much before buying. Is it just a matter of tightening and loosening the trucks and find the right balance? Also do you guys now of any good hills or places to ride in the NJ/NY metro area that are relatively steep and car free? Thanks in advance Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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