Boards that roll crooked

JohnFP · Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2004 9:30 am Post subject: Boards that roll crooked

Things that cause a board to roll crooked.

1. One of the trucks are not mounted parallel to the other. To see this hold the board upside down and flat up to the level of your eye. Look down the edge of both trucks. That is, the flat sides where the mounting screws go. You should be able to immediately see if the two trucks are skewed. If so, it is probable the holes were not drilled correctly. If it is off just a little, you may be able to loosen the nuts on the errant truck and skew it correctly then tighten back up the nuts. This may hold for a while but probably will not hold for good. If it is too back you may need to get another deck. If you have the opportunity to check your deck out before you buy it, take a tape measure and measure as accurately as you can the distance from the one edge of the deck to all four mounting holes on that side (2 – each truck). They should be all the same.

2. If the two trucks are parallel it is possible that they are not parallel to the board. You must insure step one is correct to check this step. Take a tape measure and measure the distance from the edge of the board to the same flat of one of the truck flat sides as above. Do the same for the other truck on the same side of the board. If these numbers are not exactly the same then the board is skewed relative to the two trucks. This you will have to live with or replace the deck.

3. If you constantly skate one way, it is possible to wear your bushings out leaning to one side. This causes the axle to lean. To check this place the board on a very flat surface, a glass table top is great. First look to see if all the wheels are touching the flat surface, you should be able to see a problem right away and this indicates that one truck is leaning more then the other. One may incorrect or they both may be incorrect. Next, with a tape measure while the board is still sitting on the flat surface, measure the distance from the deck to the flat surface at each of the axle points. If the distances are not the same, either the one or both trucks are leaning or the wheels are worn to different diameters. If it is the bushings, you can replace the bushings or rotate them both 90 degrees (top and bottom). This puts the high to low spot on the bushing front to back which is not that important. It is a simple fix and will buy you some time.

4. Measure the width of each wheel. That is its diameter across the center. You should be able to hook the tape measure on the outside middle of the wheel and move the other end back and forth along the opposite side of the outside middle of the wheel. The largest number you get is the diameter. Check all four wheels. If you constantly Power Slide one way it is possible to wear two wheels on one side faster then the other side. Having one side of the board’s wheels smaller then the other side will cause the board to turn to the smaller wheel side. A simple fix it to put the two small wheels in the front or back and the two large wheels in the front or back depending where you put the small wheels. This should buy you some time without replacing the wheels.

5. If you have risers, visually inspect both sides of each truck to see if the thickness of the riser looks the same on both sides. If it is noticeably thicker on one side replace or remove riser.

6. Hold the board upside down at eye level sideways and look down the length of the axle. It should look straight but may be designed with a curve in it. If in number 3 above the distances from the deck to the flat surface is not the same at every axle but the bushings are good and the wheels are good, it may be that you have a bent axle. Unfortunately the truck needs to be replaced

7. Deck may be warped or cracked. If you suspect this, there is no correction other then replacing the deck. Remove the trucks and lay the board on a flat surface right side up then upside down. The two straight edges of the board should be the same distance from the flat surface and the entire desk should look symmetrical except for the concave on some boards. It should be quite apparent if the deck is warped with this method and it eliminates all of the above possibilities. If it is too bad, you will probably have to replace the deck.

Hope this helps.
Happy Straight skating!

Jeff · Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2004 1:25 pm Post subject:

wow, good job

arkansass_own · Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2004 1:43 pm Post subject:

great work on that

how long did it take?

JohnFP · Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2004 9:17 am Post subject:

Thanks, not long.

Is there anything anyone can think of that I missed?

frontsideboardslide · Not So Newbie Joined: 09 May 2005 Posts: 7

your bearing could be faster on one side

h.t.k · Alley Cat Joined: 03 Sep 2004 Posts: 199

zerothorns · Alley Cat Joined: 15 Apr 2006 Posts: 179

you may just need to re tighten the kingpin

and1boy · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:42 am Post subject:

Great effort... i will av to show mi friend, bcoz his goes crooked.

wildboysk8tr&bmxr · Growing Guppy Joined: 08 Feb 2007 Posts: 42

I have a pair of indipendent stage 9 lows, and the back truck leans to one side, I removed the bushing and adjusted it. They were straight for a while, but went back to being crooked.

Foundation666 · Tadpole Joined: 20 Nov 2007 Posts: 20

HONESTLY NOW--WHO WOULD TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE THAT .... ENLIGHTENING FOR SOME IT MAY BE BUT SERIOUSLY...WOW-JUST WOW!

wildboysk8tr&bmxr · Growing Guppy Joined: 08 Feb 2007 Posts: 42

yeah, I'm stoked you would take the time to leave such a *Fellow Member of Substandard IQ* comment either, but by the looks of your username thats all you like to do, type stupid *Poop* on a computer Laughing