Once you’ve picked a skateboard, it’s time for trucks. Trucks let your board turn and grind, and they hold your wheels onto the bearings.
What to keep in mind
- Your deck width. Your trucks should sit under your deck as neatly as possible. Think of a car: the wheels don’t stick out past the body or tuck too far in.
- Check the truck width. Every brand uses its own scale, so read what the brand says about width.
Width
Pick a truck that matches your deck width. Every brand measures its own way. On our site, each truck lists which deck sizes it fits. Held against your board, the truck should stick out no more than half a centimetre past the edge, or sit no more than half a centimetre in from the edge, on each side.
Height
Low trucks are generally chosen by street skaters, higher trucks by transition skaters. Lower trucks have a shorter kingpin and tend to give a bit more stability while rolling and grinding. Higher trucks let you turn faster and run bigger wheels, which makes them ideal for nimble cruisers.
Bushings
Bushings are the little rubbers between the metal parts of the truck, and they come in different hardnesses. Hardness is given as an A value: the higher the A, the harder the bushing. A hard bushing keeps your trucks less loose, so they respond a little stiffer. Soft bushings make your trucks react quicker, so your board turns more easily. So if you like really loose trucks, softer bushings are often the way to go; if you like them locked in, go harder.
Two things to note
- Don’t set brand-new trucks too tight or too loose, the rubber still needs to settle in first. Too tight and the rubber can crack; too loose and the truck can come off.
- And every truck already comes with bushings fitted, so you don’t need to order extra to build a complete skateboard, unless you’ve a specific preference.