pavedwave longboarding

oiledwonk · Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 2

the softest sabres that Mark had were 86s which I fear are too hard for my 150lbs. I am going to try Khiro white/orange barrel combos and a reflex 74 barrell for s+g's.

stocago · Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 227

I'm betting that because the Sabres are conical and also very reboundy that that duro might work quite nicely. I also weigh 150 and have been surprised at how some of the newer reflex-type bushings feel, especially the tall abec cones. Meaty+reboundy=turny. But decide for yourself. Bushings are so personal.

stocago · Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 227

To compare to a Bennett 6.0, I got a MHS Hybrid 55, which is actually about 1/3-inch wider. I still need to play around a little more with the wedging, but it feels pretty good with 8 degrees. I had this deck set up with a 6.0 and 11*, so I tried that first, then went to 15* and hated it, so I settled with the 8*. I want to try 5* next, then maybe 11* again.

It feels quicker turning than the Bennett, but it doesn't turn as deep. I removed the cupped washer that it came with because it would make contact with the hanger. Not bad for limiting wheelbite, but I wanted the deeper turn. So I'm using a small flat washer.

I've felt the need to use hard bushings for good return to center and also to slow the turn. The black 95a reflex conicals work surprisingly well. I'm currently trying a venom 93a barrel with a 92a retro cone, which also feels good.

The truck is so turny that I've had to tighten the purple springs of the rear truck to near max. Again, I think I'm going to have to play with the wedging up front.

I don't understand exactly how the geometry factors in, but in the comparison photos you can see how, even with less wedging, the kingpin leans more. The pictured 6.0 has 15* of wedging.

Note: The Pulse is my track-dedicated deck with the longer wheelbase and the Slippery Skates is set up more for all-around with softer springs and more wedging. I also interchange a 5.0 hanger when needed.

Click to see full size image

LDPanda · Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 418 Location: Seattle, WA

I broke my bennett so rather than fixing it, i decided to order an MHS hybrid 11 (yes, im that lazy). Its a 4.5 inch hangar which seems like a nice compromise between the 4.3 and 5.0 bennetts, especially considering i prefer the 4.3. Looking at your pictures, stocago, i notice you have a fair amount of riser on that front. Im wonder if thats a personal preference thing or if you were running into wheelbite issues? You mention it doesnt turn as deep as the bennett and I dont run a whole lot of riser with the bennett so Im hoping I wont have to use much with the MHS either. Correct me if im wrong, but did you end up using about the same wedging or slightly less on the MHS as you would with a bennett?

stocago · Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 227

The MHS Hybrids run lower than the Bennetts, so I'm guessing you'll need an extra quarter-inch riser, but you can try it lower just to see if it works for you.

With Bennetts I've run anywhere from 7 to 22 degrees of wedging depending on the setup/purpose, but with the hybrid I can't seem to go past 12 degrees and like it. It just doesn't seem to have that same tacking motion. The effort in turning seems to increase. From 8* to 10* has worked best for me.

I found that my kingpin was not secure after several sessions, so you might want to check it before installation. I think this is why I was needing to use such stiff bushings, because there was some play/sway.

Please post up a review after you've had some time with it.

LDPanda · Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 418 Location: Seattle, WA

My MHS hybrid 11 came today. Take this post with a grain of salt becuase i havent even gotten this thing on the pavement yet. As you observed, stocago, the kingpin is not secure at all. After playing with wedging for a few minutes, i unmounted it and put some loctite in and im letting it dry overnight. The KP is inserted like on a randal baseplate, neither pressed in (like a tracker or indy) nor gnarled (like a bennett). Its clear from looking at the baseplate that the stock KP was gnarled but has been removed and replaced with a smooth shank KP which, while stronger, is going to be less secure. Either way, the loctite should solve that problem. The KP angle with respect to the deck is quite a bit steeper than the bennet, Im looking at about 10* of total wedging as opposed to my normal 20* ish. Again, thats just a guess from standing on it in my kitchen, im thinking i might even go less. Otherwise, the geometry is quite simmilar to the bennet. It takes bennett sized bottom bushing combos quite well and the stock bushing combo i recieved it with was shimmed up. More to come soon!

LDPanda · Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 418 Location: Seattle, WA

So, Ive had a little more time with the ACE/Core MHS Hybrid 11, enough to write some first impressions. The good: One of the cleanest cast hangars Ive ever seen, nearly as clean as a CNC'd hangar. I didnt have to do any dremel work on it. Reasonably stable at speed with a fun surfy feel on the downhill. Initiates the turn very quickly and turns quite deeply (with the right bushings). The neutral: Doesnt really offer any height advantage over the bennett; if anything, i was running it a little bit higher. Doesnt offer much in the way of kingpin clearance advantage over the bennett the way it comes from MHS, BUT the kingpin length he chose is quite long and you could go shorter IMO, which would give you a clearance advantage. The bad: Almost no return to center. I tried many different bushing combinations, most of them much harder than i normally ride, and it always felt sluggish on the return. I had to constantly pour energy into the board to get it to pump on the flats and going uphill is exhausting if not impossible for me. It also was kind of twitchy when i was pushing, which was more than usual since i couldnt really get it to pump uphill. In many ways, it felt like pumping a much wider hangar in that it takes a long time to make a full turn left to right becuase theres no return to center.

I was testing between 10 and 12 degrees of wedging and when i come back to this, i will probably go less, maybe 5 or 7. Id eventually like to run it flat too and see how that works out.

I tried dozens of bushing combinations and to be honest, the best i found was the sabre cones that it came with from MHS. He had the bottom shimmed up a bit and it seemed to pump the best for me. Im actually really digging the sabre cones.

Right now Ive unmounted this and gone back to my bennett for the time being, too close to the next ultra to really dial in a new truck, especially considering how much difficulty im having with it. I have a hunch that i may end up not using this truck for LDP and put it on a pedestrian slalom cruiser type setup. Its a fun surfy truck but the return to center issue is too much for me to feel like its pump-worthy.