pavedwave longboarding

dmccoach · Joined: 07 Jul 2008 Posts: 41

Hi all...

First post from me - and I have been combing this excellent site - what a great resource.

Here is my question: Does a sperical-bushing (insert in hanger) setup such as the one seen attached provide any benefit? (e.g. I saw somewhere a bushing-saving-mod with a plastic tube over the kingpin to prevent thread wear to the bushing - might the spherical insert help?)

Any other benefits? More precise feel, kingpin last longer, etc.?

Or hey - "bad idea... don't waste the time/money"

Thanks

edp_swakakin · Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 189

Hey dmccoach!!!

Welcome – Please forgive I’m a bit new myself. Your truck I see it’s a Bennett but is it an old school slalom truck. The reason I ask is because of your reverse kingpin and cup tip. I’m very interested in both. Could you show us some extra views?

Hanael · Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 71

it's actually a regular 4.3 bennets with spherical bearing & pivot ball mod.
not a reverse kingpin too.

It'll be more..sensitive, i assume?

try, and then let us know. Razz

dmccoach · Joined: 07 Jul 2008 Posts: 41

Thanks for the interest...

I will have the truck on my Roe Mermaid in a few days and will let you know what my impressions are.

I was curious to see if anyone had done this before me for LDP (I have seen these spherical-bearing insert "mods" to Bennets and Paris for slalom purposes, but was just curious to any pumping benefits, such as, extended wear, better feel, etc.)

Dan

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1120 Location: seattle wa usa

this is some really cool tinkering-

the only spherical-bearing truck I've run for significant distance is the splitfire 107mm pro in the front, which are currently not in production.

it definitely has a more positive, and consistent, locked-in feel in that transition period between turns -- nice and precise, yet not robotic.

and seems to me another positive point is that you'd be dissipating the stress of the hangar against the kingpin over a broder area, thus reducing the chance of breakage.

one thing I sometimes did on the splitfire was just a couple drops of speed cream in the bearing, to alleviate some squeak I was getting on turns. other than that, maintenance-free. and it did seem like the bushings last longer, though I don't put as much actual mileage on that truck to say this conclusively.

great stuff!!!

dmccoach · Joined: 07 Jul 2008 Posts: 41

Top 'o the Mornin' to you all...

For the record - this is a Bennett 5.0 (although the picture does indeed show a 4.x - I have two setups like this and I am reviewing here the 5.0 on my Roe, w/an airflow deweddged 7 degrees on the back).

I put probably 5 miles on this setup this weekend and will do more this evening after work - and - I will take some pics of my Mermaid setup and post them later, but first impressions are positive... For the Bennets, it seems to "dampen" that hard "dig-in" you can get on a too-sharp, too-fast turn (near the turn extreme) when wedged (15 degrees) - And, the turns and pumping action feel definitively more efficient, but also more "technical" - maybe less "surfy" (if this makes sense).

Further, on inspecting the bushings (a combination of Orange cone/cut-white-super-glued on bottom and White cone-plastic-washer-insert on the top), there is practically no wear and "biting" at the pin/hanger (due to the exact fit/non-slop rotation that the bearing provides) -

I think (still thinking about it) that I like it... I want to put more on the 5.0, then also, next, put at least 5 miles on the 4.x spherical setup to compare before I decide.

Thanks

Hanael · Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 71

Installed a spherical bearing on my bennet..
It feels really different than it used to be, more responsive, and use less effort to make each pump.

Downside, i have to make..well...cut..the khiro top conicals to fit the new spherical seating. It's basically two white cones put together like a hourglass. So far, it's working nicely.

i guess i gotta upload a pic later on.

dmccoach · Joined: 07 Jul 2008 Posts: 41

I am going to post pics soon as I now have about 40 miles on these and I have learned a few things...

First, since the spherical bearing has a ball in the center, I find that you need to cut out the center of the bushings on both sides of the ball (top and bottom) to allow the "edges" of the bushing to better seat with the truck/outside of the bearing?

Make sense? Probably not - I will post pics soon.

Further, I have secured several "ball and cup" bearings and I intend to replace the pivot cup with a precise cup-joint and an inserted ball into the truck. So, I will update the results for that here when I complete that too...

But the bottom line is that I have virtually no king pin wear, no bushing chewing, and I personally love the feel...

edp_swakakin · Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 189

STOKED!!!

egret · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 84

ok

How is the mod done and where does one acquire the hardware?