Penny Board trucks for best turn radius

Hey guys and gals,

I’m thinking about converting my electric longboard to a dual build. Therefore I have a big ass SK3 in spare, and want to make a fun build out of it. Nothing should go to waste here. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ve been searching a bit about various Penny board builds, and it seems like putting regular “wide” trucks on a penny board makes the turn radius pretty bad. Or am I wrong? I do not have any experience with penny boards whatsoever.

I have an Enertion mount as well as 83mm flywheels with one of the long SK3 motors, and would like to mount that underneath a penny board deck. Which trucks do you recommend for that?

Links to various trucks (and cheap penny decks) are appreciated. :smiley:

The downside to having small trucks is that it becomes less stable, more speed wobbles, etc.

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Do wide trucks have a reduced turning radius? I don’t think so I think it’s more so the length of the board

If been dying to get my hands on a narrow truck+motormount bubblegum boards is a failed kick starter he had nice small welded trucks that I would like under my penny but can’t find these parts ! I’ll keep searching ! Good luck

I don’t have a formula but turning radius mostly depends on truck placement on the board, measurement between the trucks, shorter the distance the tighter the turning, and degree of truck movement on the pivot point, doesn’t matter how long the truck is more the hanger base plate, meaning a caliber 50 deg would have a little more turning potential then a 44 deg.

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Its both. Wide trucks also reduce turning. But board length makes a greater difference.

If the trucks are able to get to the same angle or degrees in a turn why would the axle length matter?

This issue has been debated ad nauseam in the DH community - idk if it’s “lean” or “turn” or “diveyness” but for whatever reason, all things equal - narrower hangers do help maneuverability.

Could you explain what community is that? Down hill riders… ?

Maneuverability encompasses a lot as you say but if two trucks with different axle lengths are at the same angle with the same wheelbase I don’t see how they’d produce a different radius

Agreed. Turn radius has to do with the spacing between the two trucks, not the trucks itself.

But, even after all this talk of wheel maneuverability, if you are even going only 10 mph, which most eSk8s, if not all, can typically go, I don’t think turning is the issue, as at that speed even a slight lean could cause a decent turn. As I said before, I think the main thing to think about is stability and reliability, which is why I didn’t go with the penny design. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of cool designs that incorporate the penny, but the smaller wheelbase makes high speed challenging, and, as I said earlier, the same with the truck size. In my personal opinion, I think a bit of portability is worth the sacrifice for a smooth and stable ride.

Hmm, okay. I really just want to do this as a second fun build, to take with me home in the weekends. I’ll still use my main board on the work days. And portability is more important here. :slight_smile: So to sum up, it would actually be possible to mount my enertion trucks to a penny? :stuck_out_tongue:

It would definitely be possible. I would look up the sizes of each truck to see whether you might need drill other holes in the board, but pretty sure it should be good!

Yeah, downhill skateboard racing. The more technical runs (more turning vs flat out speed) the more you will see racers running both shorter wheelbases and narrower hangers. Maryhill has been won frequently in recent years by guys on 21-23" wheelbases with hangers in the 115-135mm range…

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yeah narrower trucks definitely turn better than wide trucks, anyone who says otherwise is spending too much time infront of a computer and not enough time skateboarding.

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