Bushings are crucial components of your skateboard or longboard trucks, influencing how your board turns and leans. This guide provides a detailed explanation of bushings, helping you understand their impact on your ride and how to choose the right ones.
Skateboard and Longboard Bushings Explained
What Are Bushings?
Bushings are the small, often colorful, urethane pieces found within your trucks. They are the primary factor in determining how your trucks respond to your movements, controlling the lean and turn of your board.
Close-up of various longboard bushings
How Many Bushings Does a Truck Need?
Each truck requires two bushings: one on the boardside (closest to the board or baseplate) and one on the roadside (closest to the road or kingpin nut).
Diagram showing boardside and roadside bushings on a longboard truck
Durometer: The Hardness of Bushings
Bushings are available in various durometers, indicating their hardness. Durometers range from soft (around 60a) to hard (around 100a). The “a” refers to the Shore A scale, the standard scale for measuring the hardness of urethane. Softer bushings compress more easily, resulting in a looser, more responsive feel, while harder bushings provide more resistance, making the board feel stiffer and more stable.
Different Trucks, Different Bushings
Trucks come in various sizes and designs, and they often utilize different sizes of bushings. However, trucks can be categorized into two primary types:
- Traditional Kingpin (TKP) Trucks: Commonly found on skateboards.
- Reverse Kingpin (RKP) Trucks: Commonly found on longboards.
Side-by-side comparison of traditional kingpin and reverse kingpin trucks
It’s essential to select bushings that are compatible with your specific truck type.
Various bushings designed for different truck types
The Impact of Rider Weight on Bushing Performance
Your weight significantly impacts how bushings behave. Heavier riders will compress bushings more, making the trucks feel looser and easier to turn. Conversely, lighter riders will find that the same bushings feel stiffer and harder to turn. For instance, a 93a bushing might feel quite stiff to someone who weighs 121lbs but feel moderately stiff to someone who weighs 165lbs.
Achieving the Desired Feel: Softer vs. Harder Bushings
If you prefer a stiffer feel and more stability, choose harder bushings. If you’re looking for a looser, more responsive setup that is easier to turn, opt for softer bushings. Finding the “goldilocks” zone means choosing bushings that give you a good balance of responsiveness for turning with stability and control for your specific riding style.
Exploring the Variety of Bushing Shapes
Bushings come in various shapes, each with distinct performance characteristics. Common shapes include cones, barrels, barricals, eliminators, kegs, and chubbies.
Cone Bushings
Cone bushings offer the least resistance to movement, resulting in very quick and responsive turns that may feel unstable.
Close-up of a cone-shaped longboard bushing
Barrel Bushings
Barrel bushings provide a balance of responsiveness and stability, offering a smooth and controlled turning experience.
Close-up of a barrel-shaped longboard bushing
Barrical, Keg, and Chubby Bushings
These are generally thicker than barrel bushings and offer more resistance, allowing for an initial turn but preventing further compression.
Close-up of a keg-shaped longboard bushing
Close-up of a barrical-shaped longboard bushing
Combinations of Bushing Shapes
Most trucks use a combination of bushing shapes, with cone/barrel combinations being the most common. Other combinations include barrel/barrel and barrel/keg. The goal is to find a setup that provides the ideal balance of turning responsiveness and stability for your riding style. Many riders choose to place the more voluminous shape on the boardside of the truck.
Understanding Different Urethane Formulas
Bushings also come in different urethane formulas, which impacts their rebound and overall feel. Even two bushings with the same durometer can perform differently due to variations in their urethane formula.
The Rebound Factor
Some bushings have more rebound (or “springiness”) than others. For example, Venom Skate offers HPF (High-Performance Formula) and SHR (Super High Rebound) bushings. SHR bushings have more rebound, making the trucks feel springier, while HPF bushings offer a smoother, more controlled lean. SHR bushings are often favored for cruising and carving, while HPF bushings are more suited for downhill riding where you want to minimize the bounce effect.
Brand-Specific Characteristics
Bushings from different brands can feel different even if they have the same durometer rating. For example, Venom bushings often feel stiffer than Hardcore bushings of the same durometer. This highlights the importance of understanding how different brands and formulas affect bushing performance.
Seeking Expert Advice on Bushings
If you’re unsure about which bushings to choose, it’s wise to seek advice from experienced riders. Online communities like r/longboarding and Longboard Family are excellent resources for real-world feedback and recommendations.
Real-World Examples of Bushing Setups
General Rules for Bushing Setup
- Harder Bushings Boardside: Typically, the harder bushing is placed on the boardside (closest to the baseplate) to better support your weight and prevent a wonky or unstable feel.
- More Voluminous Bushings Boardside: Often, the more voluminous bushing (like a barrel) is placed on the boardside to enhance stability. However, this rule can be broken by more experienced riders who have a firm grasp on what they need from their trucks.
Diagram illustrating the placement of bushings with more volume on the boardside
Bushing Setups for Cruising
A common setup for cruising is a barrel and cone combination. Many trucks come stock with this setup, which provides a balance of stability and responsiveness.
Image of longboard trucks with a typical barrel and cone setup for cruising
Some riders prefer softer barrel bushings for cruising, as this setup allows for smooth, gradual turns. For example, a 75kg rider may find the stock 90a bushings on a Landyachtz Drop Cat 33 sufficient, but may prefer softer 87a bushings for a more controlled turning experience.
Image of longboard trucks with soft barrel bushings installed, suitable for cruising
Bushing Setups for Downhill
For downhill riding, a barrel/barrel setup is the standard. This provides a good balance of stability and allows for controlled turns at high speeds. Some riders may opt for keg or barrical bushings on the boardside for increased stability and control during slides.
Image of longboard trucks with a barrel/barrel setup for downhill riding
Bushing Setups for Longboard Dancing
Although this is a less-explored area, most riders use a traditional cone and barrel combination for longboard dancing.
The Role of Washers
Washers are the metal pieces that hold your bushings in place and can be further customized to change the feel of your trucks. Exploring washer options is a great idea for advanced riders who want to fine tune their longboard even more.
How Tight Should Your Bushings Be?
Tighten your kingpin nut until the washer barely spins with your hand. Then, you can tighten it an additional full rotation. Avoid overtightening or undertightening your bushings. If you find you need to tighten or loosen the nut excessively, it’s a sign you may need to try different bushings with a different durometer.
Conclusion
Understanding bushings is crucial for optimizing your skateboard or longboard riding experience. By considering factors like durometer, shape, urethane formula, and your riding style, you can fine-tune your setup for maximum comfort and performance. Experimentation and seeking advice from experienced riders are also invaluable in finding the perfect bushing setup for your needs.
