Longboard Buying Guide: Freeride
Freeride
Freeride longboarding as we know it is a relatively new discipline in the world of skateboarding.
Choosing Your Freeride Trucks
Covered in this Section (in order of importance)
Grab some Reverse Kingpin Trucks with a 50° Baseplate
Trucks for freeriding purposes tend to be sized at 180mm (10” from tip to tip)
1. Choosing Truck Design
Being that the trucks are the part of your board that actually make it a longboard and not just a good lookin’ plank of wood or bamboo, they’re pretty important! Luckily for us, skateboarding and longboarding as a discipline have been around for long enough to have some very functional designs. While most trucks feature a bushings suspension and turning system, some have springs, and other “progressive” elements to provide turning capabilities. We prefer the bushing style because the design is simple and they have stood the test of time.
Get Reverse Kingpin Trucks
Whether you've decided on a drop-through or drop-platform deck, the ideal style of truck for getting in to the freeride discipline is going to be what many refer to as a "longboarding truck" — a reverse kingpin truck like Randal, Paris, or Bear.
Click on a product to see more details.
Baseplate Angle
For freeriding, some riders prefer to have a truck with a lower baseplate angle (40-45°) for stability, while others like the aggressive turn they feel from a baseplate with a higher baseplate angle (50-52°). The Muir crew prefers trucks in this higher range (50-52°) to give us the most power in forcing the wheels to break traction and initiate a slide.
Additional Info
What about "normal" skateboard trucks? Do you mean traditional kingpin trucks like Independent and the Surf Rodz INDeeSZ? Sure! If they're wide enough and the mounting holes match up correctly, they can be very fun. We'll consider these to be a more advanced choice for freeride trucks, so stick to the reverse kingpins that we've mentioned before.
2. Choosing Truck Width
The width of the truck should be as close to the width of the deck as possible to ensure proper performance. Look for a truck listed as 10" or 180mm (plus or minus a few millimeters will not drastically affect the performance so don’t worry about it).