The widest trucks I have ever ridden are my 180mm ronin and caliber trucks and they have a significantly wider turning radius compared to my 140mm short board trucks. So, I’m a little worried about going to a truck like the 12fifty or other 218mm hangers. I wanted to try out pneumatics but I also need to be nimble commuting in SF traffic. Can anyone compare turning on these super wide trucks to a 180mm hanger?
Running those wider trucks on a shorter wheel base should compensate for the truck length and give a tighter turning radius. The Jet Spud is a popular choice when going for a small deck but big wheels so can be quite agile if you choose to build on that. Hope this helps!
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AFAIK truck width will not affect turning radius given that you tune your bushings to give the trucks a reasonable amount of resistance for the same amount of tilt.
What matters is the truck angle, and on RKP trucks that’s usually perpendicular to the kingpin.
The width of the hanger does not matter if the length from the kingpin intersection to the axle (down the axis of rotation) is the same. So 180mm Paris trucks will turn the same as 195mm Paris trucks, because all dimensions except hanger width are the same.
Stability at higher speeds is another discussion.
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You are correct it’s not really turning radius that changes, I guess it is just more agile handling. The ability to quickly change direction. Like when you look at slalom boards they have the narrowest possible trucks.
I agree that the feel is slightly different. Due to the longer arm the ground will have greater leverage against the truck because of the change in trail of the wheel. A wider rear truck will improve stability, inversely a shorter front truck will also improve stability. Aka, negate speed wobbles / increase max reachable speed before wobbles.
Personally I prefer the wider trucks. With a split angle wedge setup it can feel just as responsive as a shorter truck, but you’ll still get the stability from the wide trucks.
IMO anyone with a commuter board should be using split angles with wide trucks. It will increase the speed at which you’ll start to need to put more weight on the front trucks, and for me it’s far more comfortable to ride balanced on both feet. Less lively? Sure. But it’s definitely more beginner friendly, especially to people who aren’t accustomed to higher speeds.
Regardless of wedging and such, using a double barrel bushing setup will help by increasing rebound of the trucks. I wouldn’t use a barrel and cone setup on trucks 180mm+
It also helped me to use a harder inner bushing and a softer outer. This decreased the pivot angle slightly and made it a little more turny to compensate for the slight sluggishness.
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I’m seriously considering the 12fifties. What spit angle would you suggest? Stock 50 degree baseplates up front and 25 degree in the back?
Are there low angle base plates made for the 12fifty and other Caliber trucks? I don’t think I can use wedge risers because I’m using a drop thru deck.
You can get a stock 44 on the back and wedge it a bit but I’d try that first and see how you like it. There are usually amazing deals on 44 baseplates I’m stores with overstock or second hand on eBay.
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