Truck movement

[Opeth]

Hi, how much movement should I have on my trucks, they seem quite spongey, a guy at the skate park said I should tighten the king pin but I'm not sure, by how much. They are mini logo trucks.

Thanks.

[pete]

depends what your skating, but generally you want them as loose as you can cope with without too much bite (piece of string...I know!)

[airwave]

Tighten them as much as you like.
The big nut on the bottom of your truck will compress the bushings (rubbers) in your trucks.
The compression done by the nut adds to the compression you make when you lean the deck which compresses the bushing.
Experiment.
Have the nut on at least as far as the bolt is showing through the top of the nut.
You can tighten as much as you like past there.
Put on an extra 1/2 turn and ride it, see what it feels like.
If it's too tight, slacken it off a little.
Play with it.
The bushings in your trucks are consumable items, they won't last for ever and will probably need replaced at some point.
Some of the big lads on here will eat through truck bushings as fast as they get through shoes.

Don't leave the nut too loose or it'll fall off.
So have a thread showing through the top of the nut.
Other than that, have at it.

If you are doing high speed stuff, tighter is usually better.
For low speed stuff, tight enough that the wheel doesn't contact the board when you turn tight.
But it's all personal preference.

[tom.hoffman]

It is a matter of taste -- the only thing I'd say is "wrong" is compensating for bushings that are too soft for your weight and riding style by over-tightening them. If you're seeing more than two or three threads above the kingpin nut, you should get harder bushings.

[TonyB]

Loose Trucks Save Lives.

All personal preference, if you are having to crank down on the King Pin nut too much to compress the bushes to tighten up the trucks, try a harder bushing. Better not to crank down hard on a bushing you are removing it's effectiveness.

[Opeth]

Hi thanks for the info, might try some harder bushings, although I only weigh 11 stone.

Cheers