pavedwave distance skateboarding distance skateboarding, flatland pumping, cross-country adventuring, boardwalk cruising, and all things skateboarding and good times
The Vite first impression -- in a couple words -- Smooth and Effortless!
The very day these arrived, we had a couple days of sun, long enough for the trail to almost dry out. So I was able to bust out of the office early for a couple 13-mile commutes before sunset (5 p.m. these days) and work from home to make up the extra hours
I've tried one bushing configuration so far, a double-orange Khiro barrel. I'm still so jazzed as with the rear Virage, in being able to just mount a thin flat shock pad on and mount the truck, with 75mm wheels. The deck height is just a little under 4.5", and it should lower a touch more as I did put one thin flat riser underneath for wheelbite insurance and found it's not needed.
No goofing around with angled risers so far, just went with the stock angle and dug it. The turns are quick when you need it, and overall the smoothness and precision of the turn translates to better control -- which felt really stable going faster downhill. It's an early impression but I feel like the predictability of the turn might address that feeling people get of the "bennett dive"-- the Vite just felt fluid at speed.
A lot more review to come after tomorrow morning's session, playing with some other bushings, axles, and risers and getting some of the Cascade bro's to check this out.
As you can see from the pics, the Bennet hangar (or at least my spherical version) sits lower on the kingpin, so it looks like I can only run 70mm wheels max, but then, as this is a truck designed for tight slalom, I wasn't expecting it to be high enough for 75 mm wheels so I was surprised to see that pavedwave is running 75's without a problem.
Maybe I wont need to wait for the LDP version after all, and just get the hangar along with one of those nice 5* alu Virage wedges.
The Vite baseplate has approx +14* extra angle, here's a pic against the Bennet sitting on 14* worth of khiro wedges;
As I prefer my Bennet more toward the +20* mark, I've set this up with an extra +5* of wedging, BUT I cannot tell you what this rides like as we've been snowed under here in Wales since receiving this little beauty in the post _________________ Pulse II
Vite LDP - White Khiros
Virage LDP - Yellow Khiros
Speedvents front
Avilas back
VRSIII
Bennet 4.3 (Sph) +7* White khiros
Seismic 30* 130mm -10* Red springs
EW Smokers
I got the opportunity to ride the Vite for a bit this morning. It was mounted on a Pulse 3 med flex with Avilas and a Virage rear. My first impressions were very positive. Obviously, it looks great, very clean workmanship and the right combo of retro and post-modern styling. It definitely captures the positives of the Bennett geometry while smoothing over some of the deficits. While it initiates a turn as quickly as a Bennett, it finishes the turn much smoother, taking away some of the "diving" sensation. I found it effortless to pump with little ankle pumps, i mean truly effortless. I didnt take it uphill but i bet it would blast uphill with minimal effort. Once i got it up to speed, it felt a little narrow (being of slalom width) but handled itself fine none the less. I could totally see riding the Vite as is for LDP, but I would like a little more width. The point i noticed the lack of width the most was transitioning between tiny ankle pumps and full speed cranking, it took a bit to accelerate to cruising speed. I think this could be solved by bringing the hangar width closer to 125mm. The ride felt plenty smooth, i didnt notice the "deck stiffening" feel i got with a modified Bennett. The only thing i think i might change (other than the hangar width) is making the area around the pivot point a little beefier. Where the pivot ball sits on the hangar seems kinda thin on material, i doubt it would be an issue but if I were to put my take on it, id beef that area up a bit. Overall, a very positive review, another example of the great work Virage is doing for LDP. I just hope stridey can get a production LDP version out in time for summer _________________ Subsonic Pulse V2 - Bennett/Airflow - BigZigs
Clutch Double Tap - Roleys - Speed Vents
AXE II - Radikal/Splitfire - PPS Cone Crushers
Sayshun Speed - Surf-Rodz - ZigZags
... I cannot tell you what this rides like as we've been snowed under here in Wales since receiving this little beauty in the post
Nice to hear your input on the Bennett + Vite baseplate. While last week I was able to get a couple solid, long sessions on the Vite, since then the rain relegated test of the Bennett 5.0 hangar+extra baseplate to the garage session last Sunday. I've been pushing to work through hard rain and puddles on the rollsrolls since then. If this weather doesn't let up I'm just going to go downtown and pump laps in the garage for several hours!!
Somehow I've got a bit of tweaking to do to get the Bennett + plate to work as well as the full-on Vite. It could be a lot of factors including the flex of the deck. I'll need a few more long sessions.
The Vite had a unanimous reaction much like Panda's. Thanks for those notes Dave! We had 12 people at our last session (pretty huge as far as that goes) and heard comments about the "ease of surfing the nose." Our crew ranges from competitive slalom racers like Jackman and Stryker to the LDP types like Dave, Blake and I, so we got a good assortment of pump styles to put these through some turns.
What strikes me most is the two trucks really feel like they're doing their specialized jobs down to spec: the rear provides stability and power and the nose just surfs exactly where you want it to. Hard to put into words how the precision-ness of the turn enhances the feel. I'll be trying out wider axles with spacers next to emulate a wide hangar because it is a bit narrow at present once you get some decent speed and want to power up a notch. One thing I'm stoked about is if history is any indication with the Virages, I really don't fear the axle being weak or other 'breaking' points. So this is really the first precision front truck I'd feel comfortable testing out on the long haul.
Of course more to say but I also want to put more miles underfoot. So for now, just some more shots. Some action would be better, I'll try to get that
I put on longer axles and wider spacers, I could see going just a little wider than this as an option. This pic was from Sunday, but last couple days have been pumpably dry!
No shredding so far. The ones I put on there started less than mint, but are holding up really well. I haven't been able to clock as many pump miles as I'd hoped, due to the wet days -- somewhere around 100 miles so far. In any case, I'll take some closeups of the current state of the spherical bearing and bushings all taken apart and get that up soon.
Sounds like these are the best front truck for LDP once the wider truck comes out. I'm not sure whether to replace my bennet front or tracker back truck now.
a few tips from France about the name:
- the V thread is a Very Valuable idea - join in the Various Vintage Valourous trade marks of quality !
- Vite is a french equivalent of "quick" -- perfectly chosen.
- in russian it is "bouistro" : in french it became "bistro", the cliché of the french café where you can get quickly whatever you want.
- don't mess with the final "e": "le vit" is an old word for "dick" .
apart from those semantic points of View, the trucks looks really sexy, and the details are really intelligent ... _________________ _________________________
Http://sakaroule.blogspot.com
(don't forget Virage means 'turn') Vite means 'quick'.
We are making some prototype wide hangers right now, James gets first dibs on one for all his sterling work and testing. I want one (!). These will be the same width as the Virage LDPs. The axles that ship do allow for a little extra spacing on top (or rather, side) if you prefer that. Don't forget that comparing the Vite to your current Bennetts is a trifle difficult, you should experience a little more turn per degree of tilt, so kingpin angle may well be less than on your Bennetts, also they should ride more stable at speed, so again width may be narrower for a corresponding degree of stability.
As soon as those protos are made and apporved by me I will press the button for a run.
The baseplate will be the same as the slalom Vite as it seems that any change in angle would be so slight and because angles can be very personal it is wiser to stick with one baseplate. This does actually mean if you are a keen Slalomer, you can buy the slalom version and space that out to Vite LDP width if you fancy, or get the dedicated width hanger.
One last thing, the second baseplate James is using with the Bennett hanger was an early proto, if you want a baseplate only its the same as the Vite. I seem to see he is using the slalom baseplate for the rear which is less tall than the LDP version (and the KP is slightly steeper) hence the risers.
The Virage LDPs are still proving popular, and ideal for many LDPers, for those who are riding Bennetts and want something similar in feel the Vite seems to fit the bill. Scott at Subsonic should have sets very soon from us, and Vites as soon as I have them!
I cant wait for the new slalom racing season to start, we are itching to race!!!
I think a good way to describe the difference between a Virage LDP and the Vite LDP would be the speed of turning.
The Vite LDP is derived from a tight slalom truck, not designed to be a high speed truck but one that will turn tightly and fast. Some LDPers like this effect, but there is a limit to how low the kingpin can go (too low and you risk grinding the kingpin).
The Virage LDP has a totally diffferent geometry, think of it like a really turny Randal, or a Splitfire front. It is more stable at speed, and as the kingpin can sit higher due to its design, it can hold more bushing above the hanger.
I think the answer to how they feel might lie in where your current set up falls. If you are running a Bennett on a tower of risers I think the transfer to a Vite would be easy. If you come from a different direction and prefer stability at speed on hills then the Virage may be your choice.
Sorry to confuse anyone, we did wonder whether a Vite might canabalise sales of Virage fronts, but just like with the slalom versions riders realise there are differences in properties that satisfy different riders styles and needs. The Vite slalom width is my choice for tight slalom, but for Hybrid and GS I go for the Virage. But I know some riders will like the Vite for Hybrid more than I would. Horses for courses!
The baseplate bushing seat is raised slightly to allow easy fitment of Venoms, Sabres and Khiros without shims, and is wide enough to not need cup washers.
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