ABEC 11 bushings AWESOME!!!

rodgon · ABEC 11 bushings AWESOME!!!

ok so i bit the bullet and decided to go ahead and pay the 5 bucks people charge to get one of these babies for the bottom bushing of my 5.0 bennet. not having too high of an expectation, but still wanting to see how they ride.

i got mine from one of the people that do these on silverfish, i asked him to mold one Pink Bigzig 77a reflex bushing into the shape of a bottom Bennet bushing. it replaced my dual bushing setup of superglued white on white khiro barrel and cone. ( which at my 200 pounds worked amazing.)

well anyways, i took this new little setup out and took a spin around the block. ITS AWESOME!!!! damn its one hell of a good bushing to replace the dual bushing setup. i dont think ill go back to the dual setup at all.

it has better rebound and it seems like it will last longer as well.

aschmidt

Sounds great but how does it work? Do they supply the wheel or do you? What's the total cost?

Wait...I just reread your post- what's a BigZig reflex bushing???

Redline

Sounds interesting.
If you don't mind me asking, who did you get it from? Was it 'karrot'?
Also, how much was it w/shipping?
Thanks in advance.

stocago

I've tried several abec 11 bushings and was very pleased with their performance, but not their longevity, the reflex ones anyway. They hold up better than Holey and Tracker bushings, but not as well as Khiros. My pink and green reflex bushings ended up cracking/breaking apart, but my green 75a non-reflex barrel is holding up nicely. I'm sure they'd hold up in a rear truck, if you get a hard enough duro, but in a front Bennett it's too much abuse, whether it's on the top or bottom.

rodgon

i havent ridden it more than 25 miles yet, but there is no wear on it, less stress on it than if you had the double bushing setup. since it fits perfectly inside. i like it alot.

the total cost of the bushing with shipping was just 5 bucks. they have wheels they cut up and they also have alot of different duros.

you can hit up karrot since he does them too but i got mine from Clemson_fan.

if you get some from him tell him Rod told you about his bushings. ^_^

northcoast

75a barrels are great bottoms for clear rads Wink

i haven't actually tried my 86a reflex barrels for pumping yet

rodgon

still going strong on my pink Abec 11 bushing. over 100 miles now. and little wear. and still bouncy as when i got it.

i recommend these

edp_swakakin

Rodgon U freaking nailed this one....

BZ bushing ARE FREAKING AWESOME I had a friend give me a set from Austin. Can't believe I missed this thread... Confused

I've been riding on the same set for a month and a half and over hundreds of miles with NO tubing. Very lttle wear and is still springy as the day I got them as you stated. I LOVE THEM.

Khiro's IMO do tend to go dead after awhile.

My shop sells wheels separately - and bought them all to send off to karrot.

Otangs 80a and 83a

BZ 78a, 80a, and 83a

I CAN'T WAIT!!! Very Happy

edp_swakakin

Look I spilt my "Kellogg’s Froot Loops"

And yes....there magically delicious!!!

Belegnole

You guys are just sic...picking on poor helpless virgin wheels that way....

stocago

Left to right: Retro 77a reflex; Abec 11 75a non-reflex; Venom 81a

This is what my Bennett hanger does to a bottom bushing. Although they still function, return to center and rebound are gone. Until I get a Dremel I'm going to stick with Khiros on the bottom, as they last much, much longer. Abec and Venom bushings hold up fine on top.

LDPanda

Muah ha ha ha ha!

saturdaysfiesta

LDPanda

Lol yeah, he doesnt want to release them until his trucks are done tho . . . . Evil or Very Mad

saturdaysfiesta

do those belong to you, or are you taunting yourself as well?

LDPanda

LDPanda

My reflex stims came in today and although its raining pretty hard i got to try them out a lil bit. I tried using the pinks up front (bennett 4.3) and found them to be far too stable. I think im gonna have to try trimming them down into barrels for use in a bennett, the lips (im guessing) are adding all the extra stability. I put the 80a lime stim on top of my airflow. theyre super duper bouncy but 80a is a lot softer than the 90a eliminator so im Ill have to do some testing and see how it works out.

Basically, im really impressed with the urethane but the stim shape doesnt seem great in a bennett. Perhaps with a virage or airflow or splitfire front it would work out better.

LDPanda

http://www.silverfishlongboarding...shings-shipping-now-sk8kings.html

http://www.sk8kings.com/Merchant2..._Code=S&Product_Code=SKABC010

No joke this time! Reflex bushings on the open market!

RiPPer

Wow. I'm shocked because Chaput had been quoted as saying he would not sell bushings unless they were in his own trucks. I believe he said 'why would I give my competitors the advantage of my bushings?'

Anyway it will be interesting to see how these perform. Now I have to buy these and venoms to test against khiros.

LDPanda

My impression of reflex bushings (at least homebrew ones, i havent tried Chaput's yet) is that the duro is a bit misleading. I feel like the bushings are softer initially in a turn but harden up fast. That is, they initiate a turn well but dont provide a lot of range of movement (if that makes any sense). For that reason, i suspect theyll work better as top bushings than bottom bushings. I tried lime stims top and bottom on my airflow and it was fun and bouncy but way too soft for efficient pumping.

Also, just to spread some rumors around, i hear the next wave of production abec bushings will include stim and jimz shapes (right now its barell, small cone, and tall cone). I, of course, would like to see a bennett sized abec like karrot does but that may be a while off.

northcoast

YES!
i've been fiending around for some 89a abec bushings forEVER!

LDPanda

FYI: Read the fine print, these 'compatable' bushings are a limited production run. Later this year Chaput will discontinue the 'compatable' shapes (i.e. the ones that fit most standard trucks) and will ONLY sell reflex bushings in the size/shape that fit his Liquid and Fyre line of trucks. Personally, Im not happy about that decision but it proves he is quite the businessman. Get people hooked on your product and then take it away and make them buy a much more expensive product. Makes sense from a business persepective but still kind of a dick move. His explanation has always been that he didnt want to improve other people's products with his bushings. I wonder if hell make his whole wheel line only fit custom 9mm bearings and axles now, that seems along the same business strategy. Rolling Eyes

stocago

I just replaced one of my white Khiros with the new Abec11 74a and I just love it. It's meatier and bouncier. I hope these hold up better than the ones cut from wheels. I had to go from a flat washer to a cupped one because it was sliding around so much. It held up to a 20-miler no problem.

edited 5/17 for new info

LDPanda

Just got some of the new Chaput abec bushings. I got barrels in 74a, 77a, and 89a plus a 80a tall cone for my slalom setup (which i wont be discussing here). Overall, i was a little disappointed. First off, they are not, as some have claimed, the perfect size for bennetts. They are the same dimensions as, if not a little bit smaller than, khiro barrels. Running two barrels will not work for a bennett, at least no better than two khiros would. I find the bushings dont hold their shape well and want to squish out of the bushing seat. They have amazing bounce but end up just sliding around instead. I havent tried gluing one to a small cone yet but thats probably something i will try in the future and see if it solves the problem. I tried the 89a in the bottom of my back truck and although it felt pretty nice (when i snugged it down hard) it was getting really deformed really fast, like within minutes. I moved it to he top of the back truck with a 90a paris/venom barrel on bottom and its working pretty well for now. I think the pink 77a would work well as a top bushing in front (i have an orange khiro there now) but i couldnt get it to stay in place. It would just squish out of the bushing seat and then get clamped on when i turned back (if that makes any sense).

I think they have a lot of potential but need different shapes. If the barrels were wider so that they fit the bushing seat better or if they were stim shaped i think they would work out a lot better.

randelpink03

Really??? Man I am in love with mine. Im rockin the 74a on the top with the 77 on the bottom and the fit (and ride) just awesome for me. The barrels I received are for sure larger than khiro and venom barrels and I have had no issues with them sliding out of the bushing seat. I am rocking 2 cupped washers for top and bottom, which may be why they dont slip for me. Also, after about 50-60 miles or so on them, I have no signs of wear or deformation. Thats crazy man, no idea why ours are so different...

RiPPer

I wanted to get some pics for comparison before I started skating on these bushings. Both pictures show from left to right;

Khiro, Venom, Reflex

Khiro, Khiro, Venom, Reflex, Reflex

LDPanda

Your photo evidence is pretty convincing, assuming those are all new, unused bushings, the reflex might be a hair taller than the khiros but i still think the outer diameter is smaller. I dont use cup washers anywhere in my setup so that may be a primary difference. Ill give it a try this weekend or something and see how it goes. I guess my main concern with the abecs is they feel greasy or oily, they slip around a lot in the bushing seat instead of being firmly planted.

Edit: i put a cup washer on top of the 89a barrel in the back and it felt really good. So far this is definitely my favorite of the abecs i got. Ill have to try some of the softies with cup washers tomorrow.

holios551

I am also using the new abec bushings, green tall cone bottom and pink tall cone top. Installed originally with flat washers, and they did seem to slide out a bit. I went ahead and slapped on cup washers top and bottom, that seemed to cure the slippage. Although, the cup washers stiffened up the truck quite a bit, so now I went and removed the cups and put in nylon flat washers, nice and turny again. The slipping doesn't bother me too much, just have to see how these pan out over time.

Since you are using barrels maybe just use a larger washer, one that is maybe slightly larger than the diameter of the bushing. This may help contain the bushing into its seat. If you put on a large cup washer it would definitely remedy this, but it may stiffen up your truck.

I am still fresh and new to the art of pumping so my suggestions come with no real experience behind them. Along with that, I am rocking Randalls and not bennetts.

egret

I wish there was a way to try out bushings before purchasing. It's not just brand but hardness. I spent about 60 bucks on venoms to conclude I prefer khiros. So far I'm estimating about 30 bucks for reflexes with shipping. Maybe I can put the venoms up for a trade with reflexes.

saturdaysfiesta

When I threw my pink barrels on my mini, they slipped around a lot. I then did what I do to all my bushings which is slide the bottom, top, and edges over some griptape for a a few seconds to remove that waxy layer that makes them slip.
after that, I had no slippage, just loose carvey bliss

stocago

Hey, thanks for that tip. I'll have to try that.

I most recently tried an orange barrel bottom and lemon barrel top with cupped washers on a Bennett and they held up fine for one ride. I'm mostly concerned about the bottom one, but hopefully with that duro it'll be fine.

egret

Got some from Sk8Kings and they are impressive. On virage front I asked for a trim and spherical scooping. I'm 170 lbs and have settled on orange+ barrel bottom, top orange with lime barrel top. I like them. 40 miles so far and they look good. Powerful pumps and they hold nicely at speed (15 to 20 for me).

On the bennett 6.0 I'm using lemon barrel bottom with cupped washer and white khiro sliver, top orange. only about 12 miles on these. I had been looking for something inbetween orange and blue khiro and these are just that. I hope they stay in production.

stocago

It's been almost a month and I haven't torn or blown apart any of my new abec11 bushings. I've been monitoring them closely and flipping them after every ride, which can't hurt. If they turn out to be nearly as durable as khiros that would be sweet.

Has anyone tried one of the tall cones in the bottom position on the Bennett? It's the shape of the khiro barrel/small cone combo. I only got one in the 92a duro, but it's great for return to center and straightaway speed. I'm using a pink barrel top, with cupped washer top and bottom. I tend to prefer harder bushings than most on the bottom, so your results may vary!

LDPanda

Well, i should probably take back everything negative ive said about abec bushings. Im now running almost completely abec all around. Im using two 89a barrels in back and a pink tall cone top in front with a 74a barrel (glued to a sliver of an orange khiro cone) on bottom. After splitting 90a venoms over and over again (both paris and venom pours in both barrels and eliminators) i finally made the decision to switch over to abecs. They are at least as durable as khiros with quite a bit more rebound. But shhhh, dont tell anyone, i want to hoard these before chaput takes them away from us Rolling Eyes

Moddos

Reading about all this has me a little excited Smile

I'm looking for ways to make my board feel a little more "alive" again after it doesn't seem to have the original reboundy-feeling while pumping (I can still keep the pump going, but it feels like I actively initiate both turns, whereas previously I'd get some energy back at the end of each pump).

I'm not yet sure why this is, it might be the wheels (I'm waiting for a set of new O'tangs, using Avilas now), but I feel I should try swapping out bushings -- I've been using the same OWO set all along (cone+barrel glued together).

Since I've managed to run out of white replacement barrels (trimmed one where I shouldn't have, and the other is superglued to a white cone, and I can't get the glue off..), I'm thinking of trying abec bushings.

Trying new bushings is cheaper and less work-intensive than trying Virage trucks, though I'd love to do that some time in the future. I also lack the tools (and confidence) to modify the truck/kingpin, though that sounds very interesting too.

Which ABEC bushings (shape+duro) should I go for if I'm mainly looking to replace the OWO front set? I'm using Khiros in the back (red and yellow), I've not really changed those much, but if it makes a difference I'm happy to replace the back bushings too.
I'm using a stock Bennett 5.0 front truck, without anything to prevent bushing wear, will that be a problem? The threading has eaten into my orange barrel quite a bit, but it didn't look like a problem yet (I might be wrong).

Shipping (to Europe) is probably more expensive than the bushings themselves, so it's a lot cheaper to buy a few too many than to get the wrong ones and wait for a second shipment Smile

Thanks for any tips!

LDPanda

OWO is pretty simmilar to what i was running before switching to abecs. Id say pick up some 74a green barells, some 77a tall cones, some 89a or 92a barells (for the rear) and possibly one or two 77a short cones (to shim up the green barells in front, i use a trimmed orange khiro cone for this purpose but i imagine the 77a pink short cone would work well too). In front, a shimmed up green barell with a pink tall cone on top is by far the bounciest combo ive found. In the rear, i found the 92a to be a bit to hard and caused some sliding problems for me but they were still very bouncy. I preferred the feel of two 89a barells.

One great tip i got from this thread was to rub the bushings on your griptape for a second to remove some of the mold shine and 'greasy' feel that they come with. That helped a lot with the slippage problems i was having.

As for bushing life, if you cant replace the kingpin (which you should, imo) it would be wise to at least clean up the bushing seats on the hangar with a dremel tool. Theyre cheap (<$100) and youll use them all the time, polishing up the bushing seats and pivot points, trimming down hardware, routing out wheel wells, etc.

Little Bob

LDPanda

There you go Smile

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Little Bob

Thanks LDPanda, much appreciated - I'm going to order a load of reflex bushings and give them a try.

I'll try this combo up front and a pair of 89a barrels on the rear tracker.

What kind of weight are you? - I'm 168lbs and use Khiro red & yellow barrels at the back with WOB on the front Bennett, looking to try something new to improve things if I can.

How are your reflex bushings holding up?

Do you think they will as durable as Khiro's?

Little Bob

Thanks LDPanda, much appreciated - I'm going to order a load of reflex bushings and give them a try.

I'll try this combo up front and a pair of 89a barrels on the rear tracker.

What kind of weight are you? - I'm 168lbs and use Khiro red & yellow barrels at the back with WOB on the front Bennett, looking to try something new to improve things if I can.

How are your reflex bushings holding up?

Do you think they will as durable as Khiro's?

LDPanda

Im about 200lbs but I like a very loose setup. With khiros I had been using double red in the rear and BWO or OWO in front. The bushings are holding up really well. the only problem I had at first was with the pink tall cone in front. Id suggest using a large washer with it becuase when i first tried that combo I used a small flat washer and the bushing squished around the washer and shredded it. I now use a large cup washer upside down and it hasnt been a problem. The 74a green barrel in front takes a bit of a beating and ive had to replace it after maybe 300 miles but Id say it holds up better than a khiro white. What im really impressed by is the 89a in the rear. Usually i have to replace rear bushings every 100 miles or so but these hold up amazingly well. The only 89a ive had to replace was one I lost when i busted a kingpin.

Little Bob

Great - I'll get these ordered and await their arrival from across the pond.

JeffVyain

Word of advice: Don't pick the custom bushing setup option from Sk8Kings. I got two of them with the upgrade for reflex/venoms since I wanted to try out those bushings. I assumed after putting in my weight (160 lbs) and that I wanted an LDP setup I'd get an assortment of colors/duros that, in different combinations, could be fun trying out. I paid an extra dollar each for them to pick out a green 74a barrel and tall cone Reflex and a blue standard 78a barrel and tall cone from Venom. The tall cones are worthless to me, and so are the barrels at those duros. Compared to my stacked white Khiros, I can go about half the speed...they seem to have pretty good rebound but I can't get any power out of them at all. Might be worthwhile if I wanted to pump up a mountain, but I live in Indiana. $20 down the drain. I wish I'd have done more research beforehand and picked them out myself, but I suspected if they were offering this custom option, they probably understood the bushings much better than I did.

Not to get down on Sk8Kings...I just recommend against using this option. Do some research and pick em out for yourself!

Little Bob

I picked some specific duros and shapes from SocalSkates in the end, along with a set of White Black Ops Avilas.

They've delivered to my brother in NYC who is over in England next week so I'll get to try them out pretty soon.