pavedwave longboarding

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

I just tried venoms on my rear truck and had mixed results. I started with 90a barrel on bottom and 93a cone on top. Almost instantly the cone was destroyed, not shredded, more like deformed. I was using an inverted cup washer which has been fine in the past. I liked the 90a barrel on bottom though and tried that with a few other bushings on top, but nothing was quite right. I decided to give the venoms a second shot and cut about an eighth of an inch off of the other 93a cone (sk8kings gave me a mislabeld super carve set instead of standard, oh well, it worked out). I cut the 1/8 inch off the narrow end of the cone. i put back on the inverted cup washer and it seems to be pretty nice now, no visible wear. Im not sure if ill stick with them in the rear truck, but i love the super soft blues up front.

Edit: had a chance to do some more experimenting today and settled (for now) on my usual Bennett stock red urethane bushing on bottom and the Venom red (90a) barrel on top.

Second edit: Maria at sk8kings was kind enough to send me a replacement standard pack of 93a green venoms. I tried the green barrel on bottom with the venom red 90a barrel on top, it works great. I had to crank it down quite a bit to get the right feel, but they were very responsive and have a great bouncy feeling. I will probably stick with this combo for a while.

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

I have stuck with the green/red combo in the rear and now with my switch to an airflow i continue to use it. I did order 2 sets of the new 'eliminator' model venoms [stepped like stims] becuase i think their shape will be more beneficial with a precision truck. Ill be sure to let you all know how they perform. I love how venoms feel in the rear, im not entirely sold on them for the front but i do use a blue barrel on top in front (with khiros on bottom).

wavechser · Joined: 28 Feb 2009 Posts: 6

Yes, please let me know how the stim shaped venoms go. I run 90a barrels in my back and was wondering if the eliminator is worth switching for. Looks promising.

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

My eliminators just came in, unfortunately im in the middle of freak march snowstorm and cant really test them out. As far as i can tell, and dont quote me on this, Daddies Board Shop is the only retail who has these currently in stock. I beleive mile high carried them too, but has sold out.

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

Wow. Just, wow. I dont want to sound like too much of a fanboy, but if youre using a precision hangar you owe it to yourself to drop the 10 bucks on a pack of venom eliminators. The upgrade from barrels to eliminators was more noticeable than the upgrade from the RTS to the Airflow, no joke. They fit the bushing seat on the airflow 'almost' perfectly (i would like it if the inside step was about half a mm wider, but the tiny bit of slop is not noticeable when its snugged down). They made my setup feel 100% more precise and reliable. I feel perfectly confident pushing my entire weight into the rear on a huge pump, no fear of slideout. Despite the fact that i was a little under the weather today, i made the best time i ever have on my usual route, it felt amazing having the precision and stability to pump harder and deeper than i normally do. Im not sure how they work in the lower duros or on standard trucks, but if youve got a precision truck go buy these now, you wont regret it.

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

Oh fanboy are you from silverfish? Laughing

Just kiddin man, I'm so glad to hear your +++ review, because I've been running the last of my green and yellow stims in my Splitfires, one's completely shredded, another's still got a lotta miles but one thing fo sho I've always liked the feel of them better than the fat Radikal bushings. Wasn't sure if it was just the urethane but no doubt the fact that they seat just perfectly into the Splitfire hangar must make some difference. Time to blow some coin I suppose!! What duros did you get?

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

I got 1 pair of 93a greens and 1 pair of 90a reds. I ended up using a green bottom and red top, snugged down a little less than i had cranked down on the barrels. Theres a good possibility i may switch to two reds, ill have to do a bit more testing.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the eliminator is shaped specifically to accomodate a spherical bearing in the hangar. It works just fine if you dont have one (i dont) but if you do, you wont have to do any reshaping, it already fits just fine.

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

So, i split a second blue venom barrel in less than a month. Ive been using these as a top bushing in front. I had one split and disappear completely a few weeks ago while i was on the trail. then yesterday i got to my turnaround point and noticed that my blue venom barrel was split about halfway thru the bushing and was going to be gone soon. I replaced it with an orange khiro and went about my ride but it got me thinking about the durability of venoms and i have to say, i wish it was better. Its an amazing urethane, huge rebound, but i dont think they have the longevity to stand up to LDP.

Click to see full size image

Correction: I think the eliminators in the harder duros are awesome, im concerned about the softer duros in a front truck.

stocago · Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 227

I also love the Venom and Abec bushings, but they don't hold up to my abuse in the Bennett. So I've been sticking with Khiros mostly.