pavedwave distance skateboarding

swellbow · Joined: 12 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: FC, CO

Hey all, still trying to get a handle on what works best for LDP. I'm using old Indys front and rear with no wedging, which is pumpable, but running with the front truck real wobbly (emulating the bennet setup) sucks pretty bad at any kind of real speed (wobble wobble).

Reading the thread about Virage trucks piqued my curiosity (though not my wallet). From there it looks like the idea is having a 60 degree kingpin front and something more normal (15?) on the back. The thing I like about this idea is the high speed stability.

I'm considering trying a randal 60 degree baseplate with a 125 hanger in front to try to get the same effect for a much cheaper price. Not sure about bushings yet. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

holios551 · Joined: 22 Mar 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Windsor,CA

Hey swellbow, I went the 60* randall route for the same reasons you stated. Right now I do like the feel and pump of this setup. A few suggestions to you before you go and buy the baseplate.

1. just get a 50* plate and wedge it 10*, the 60* costs about $35.00 after the additional special order fees are tacked on. Plus the 50* is drilled for old and newschool mounting.

2. hog out the kingpin hole in the 125 hangar to allow more movement. You can do this with a unibit.

3. if you are able to, move the truck forward to maintain a longer wheelbase (a suggestion from ian the grove worshipper).

I have my truck setup with green reflex tall cone bottom, nylon washer, hangar, nylon washer, pink reflex tall cone top. It is mounted with a shock pad only, wheelbite was not too bad but I routed in some wheelwells to eliminate it altogether. For giggles and sh!ts I picked up a bennet to compare. The bennet is nice but does have the infamous dive everybody speaks of. As of now I am favoring the randall until further experimentation with the bennet.

good luck
_________________
Peace

Todd

swellbow · Joined: 12 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: FC, CO

Thanks for the tip Holios. I am going to give the same thing a try! I don't think I will move the truck forward on the board. I'm still figuring some of this out, so it's fun to experiment. I'll give it a try and post back here with my results. Thanks!

stridey · Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 79

Its certainly worth a go to experiment. I have tried similar here. I would say that the relative distances between kingpin and pivot is important, which is approx twice as much as a Virage front. we took our cues from the GOG and Radikal salom trucks which are essentially the same dimensionally in that area. That would be the major difference with Virage dimensions, together with the way the axles on a Randal are more in line with the pivot rather than raked forward.

This is why the turning properties wont be the same (well that and the spherical bearing and integrated wedge and big pivot)...but you may well get an effect you like.

I would swap the kingpin for a longer one too. When we developed the Virage we did try without a spherical, and although it would turn, it was kinda like a delayed effect. maybe thats fine for LDP, but if your heading for a cone the delay was unacceptable.

swellbow · Joined: 12 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: FC, CO

Well, I have tried out the Randal 125 with a 50 degree baseplate wedged 5 degrees (that's the only wedge riser I could get my hands on). Initially it feels great! It's a major difference from my old pool Indys (duh). The one I ordered came with Randal reds (92), so I tried Khiro blacks (95) and Khiro blues (85), but seeing how everyone else is using pretty squashy bushings, I'll try to grab some Khiro whites (73) and orange (79), so I can start trying out different combos. Right now, although the action feels much better, it also seems to stall out more quickly...in other words it's almost easier to get going slower but more difficult to maintain it faster. So switching bushings will be a lot of fun.

It seems I have happily eliminated wheelbite, one of my original concerns along with mega speed wobbles.

For the record, I have an unwedged Indy with Khiro yellow (92) on the back.

Stridey, your points make a lot of sense. The Randals of course are much taller, and granted they do not have the advanced features of the Virages. I'll be messing around with it till I get it somewhere that I like it, so I'll post back with some findings as I go. My commute is 10 miles with a few nice hills, some flats, and some gradual ups and downs, so I get to try a number of different terrains with this setup and see how it goes.

Thanks! All about fun, eh?

swellbow · Joined: 12 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: FC, CO

Sorry it took me forever to get back with results. I love the feel of the Randal front. I still have an old Indy back. To avoid any possibility of wheel bite, the randal is on the slanted riser and the back on TWO full 1/2" risers. It's a high roller! That might be a little odd for efficiency or tipping (and at low speeds it is weirdly tilty), but as a blend between efficient cross-town LDP and turnability for speed control, I love it. When coming down a big hill I can carve super tight (6' width max) and keep my speed controllable, a good thing on some of the crowded hills on my commute!