Some misceleanous questions to add to my understanding

peppermint rhino · Some misceleanous questions to add to my understanding

I just have a few more questions that I wanted to ask in order to further my understanding of what to get for an LDP setup. I think I've decided I'm gonna go with a Subsonic Pulse just because I like the looks, the price, that it's handmade and built specificly for LDP. That being said, here are my questions, I'm just gonna put them out there in list form, if anyone can answer them, I'd greatly appreciate it. BTW, I'm about 5'7" and 160 LBS, idk if that makes any difference with these questions but I figured I'd let it be known in case it does affect the answers.

1. What is the most efficient truck setup for an LDP board? It seems like it's a Bennett Vector 5.0 up front and a Tracker RT-S 129 in back but I've read so much I'm having a hard time keeping it all straight.

2. Is either the Bennett Vector 5.0 or Tracker RT-S 129 an alpine truck? or are they standard skateboard trucks?

3.What are the various angles for the different measurements of risers? I see stuff like 1/2*, 1/4*, & 1/8* but no measure of what degree that is. Can someone explain what these various fractions mean?

4. What's the difference between a riser pad and a Riser Rail? Why is one preferable over another?

5. For an LDP setup, I've read/herard that you want soft risers in the front and hard risers in the back? is this true? if not what's the best setup and why?

6. I have a set of 70mm 80a Orangatangs on my current board, are these good starter wheels or should I splurge on a set of Big Zigs? If so, what size would be best?

7. What durometer should I use where? Is it a good idea to use the same durometer for all 4 corners? Why or why not?

8. What's the optimum wedging for the front & back trucks?

9. What does wedging do for the trucks anyway? I thought in LDP you wanted a stiffer rear truck, so why would you wedge it?

10. probably the dumbest of the bunch, but here goes. What should the placement of the wedges and truck look like? I think Scott at subsonic told me to put the thicker end of the wedges facing the tail of the truck but I can't remember anymore. Which way do the kingpins face? on my current setup, the kingpins are facing opposite ends, the front one facing the nose, and the rear kingpin facing the tail.

Thank you in advance to anyone who answers these questions.

LDPanda

Good questions! heres my take:

1. I am currently riding a subsonic pulse with bennett vector 5.0 and tracker rts 129. I consider it an excellent setup at a reasonable price. It is a common setup that ive seen several others use as well. Is it the MOST efficient? I cant say, it would depend on your personal style and terrain to name a few variables. But its a very good starting point.

2. I dont really understand this question, but both bennett 5.o and tracker rts are available at many online retailers (make sure you get singles and not two pairs of trucks).

3&4. The measurements you mention are most likely in inches, not degrees. Those would be measurements for flat risers, a 1/4" (one quarter inch) riser would mean a quater inch flat riser. The measurements for angled risers would be more like 15* or 10* (degrees). There are three common ways (i can think of) to add wedging. There are hard angled risers, the ones Khiro makes are about 7* but add a lot of height. They are easy to find in skate shops, but not particularly useful for ldp (except maybe in the back). There are soft angled risers, the ones made by Khiro are about 7* and add a little height. I use one in the front and one in the back to reduce vibrations and wear on the board. I dont usually see them at skate shops, but theyre available online in both 60a and 80a duros (id suggest 80a). The third and most common way of wedging is by using a rail kit. it looks like this: http://sk8kings.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/SK8KINGS215F.jpg It can be used to wedge your trucks to just about any angle you want.

5. Hmm, id personally say its the other way around. I run my back: with soft wedge, hard wedge, soft riser. I run my front: Soft wedge, hard wedge. In general I want more performance out of my front and more grip and comfort out of my rear. But you can certainly go full comfort (soft) all around or more performance (hard) all around. Its personal preference.

6&7. Those would be fine wheels to start on. if you had extra money to spend, you might want to go just a little bit bigger, more like 75mm, or possibly softer (depending on how rough your usual terrain is). I run 75mm 80a up front and 75mm 73a in back, but again, i prefer more performance up front and more comfort in back. Also i had a problem with my back wheels sliding out on bad surfaces, so i switched to a lower duro.

8&9. This is tricky, youll probably want to do a fair amount of testing to see what works best for you. I can only tell you what i do, i wedge my front bennet with a soft angled riser (7ish degrees) and 15* wedging rails (the largest in the khiro kit). Thats a total of around 22ish degrees. This makes the truck turn sharper, that is, it takes less force to move the hangar as far, this is important to efficiency. I dewedge my rear tracker with a soft wedge (7*) a hard wedge (7*) a pair of 1* wedging rails (for height, not angle really) anda 1/8" soft riser. This is about a total of 15* of DEwedging. Dewedging is the opposite of wedging, it makes the truck turn less, in other words, it will take more force to move the hangar as far. This is also important to efficeincy. See the gear page for a great illustration of how to properly wedge and dewedge, but in general, you will want the skinny side of your wedging to be facing the nose or front of the board, for both trucks.

10. Check the gear page, look at the pictures. With the trucks youve mentioned the kingpins should be on the side towards the center of the board. they will look like they are facing away from each other. As i mentioned above, the skinnny side of your wedging (for both trucks) should face towards the front of your deck. Its better to just look at the pictures on the gear page (of this website) its a great resource.

Batalero

Hi Peppermint, I'll try to answer ;
1) Bennett 5.0 & RTS 129 are great for LDP ,you can't loose with that choice.
2) They are standard trucks and cheap Razz

3) 1/2' 1/4' are the height mesurement for flat risers, for wedged risers we speak in degrees, the common wedging are around 15° for the front truck and around 10° for the rear . It can vary a little, it's up to your liking, test !
4) A pad is.... a pad and a rail a rail, seriously with rails you have a great choice of angles for the wedging , I suggest you to buy the Khiro wedge kit,you will be set for every type of wedging you need.
5) Soft risers reduce the amount of vibrations you can use them or not, it's your choice. some do others don't. You can use them in front and rear.
6)+7) Tangs are great for LDP and 80a is a good overall duro. For real long distance ,over 10or 15 miles,75 or 77mm wheels are prefered ,Big Zigs or Speed vents or Tangs do the job really well. Same duro on the 4 wheels is cool ,some do some don't ,again it's your choice.
Cool

See # 3
9) Wedging makes your truck turn more. You're right you need a stiffer truck in rear , that's why we" Dewedge "it to make it turn less and have more traction.
10) Mount the thin side of both pads facing the front of your board.

Hope it helps, I recommend you to read all the threads in this forum, it's a goldmine.
Last advice, take the time to experiment, what works for some don't for others, we all have a different style, a different board, wheels , and one of the most important thing, where we ride , flat or not so flat, smooth or rough path and so on.
Kind regards
Sylvain

Batalero

Oops Panda was faster than I am. Very Happy

LDPanda

lols, i type fast for a living, dont feel bad.