Gullwing Mission 1

These trucks were the first pair of trucks I owned. And in all, their decent trucks escpecially if you put hardcore bushings (get ) in the bottom and a venom barrel bushing on top (78a). These trucks are decent in most aspects, they carve, handle speed, and can take a beating. I seriously recommend switching to this bushing setup as it makes a huge difference in the trucks performance. there relatively light truck and overall appearance is rather appealing. Only thing I disagree about is the price, they are around $60 and I would price them closer to $40. In all, 4/5.

Lewis

Gullwing Sidewinders

Gullwing Sidewinders

Eh. Sidewinders are a cheaper version of the S series truck, that fell short. Just a little over $20.00 for a set of 2. If your wanting some cheap carvy trucks hit these up. The reason why I'm not a fan is the fact that your ride height goes up sooooo much that it makes freestyle hard, and that if they get even a little wet they squeak like mad.  If you buy these be fully aware that these are carving trucks and nothing else. Looks 4/5, performance 2/5, and getting what you paid for 2/5. 

-Lewis











Ah yes, Gullwing Sidewinders, In My Opinion, a blight on the longboarding world. These were the first trucks I owned on a Sector 9 cruiser deck. While i was content with what I owned at the time, once i got into longboarding, I wanted to throw these in the bin instead of sell them! These trucks are uncomfortably high with the double bushing seats, which also means my setup would cost an extra $20 for bushings. They promise carve, but doesn't deliver as Original S Series trucks do. Once I even hopped on Original trucks I saw the faults of these trucks, and furthermore when I started riding Randal's or Bears. As these are uncomfortably high, its harder to have a constant push going, and they turn about as well as my Subaru Forrester, Like a truck. I would not recommend these trucks at all, let alone any other Gullwing trucks. I give this truck a 4/5 misleading look factor and a 1/5 for performance.

-Adam


The gullwing sidewinders... i got them on my second board. I thought, ya carving sounds fun. looks awesome. That board was the sector 9 aperture. these trucks feel like they make any board flexible. i feel that whatever board they are on it turns more flexible. which leads to stress cracks, which leads to SNAP! also, the second pivot area dug into my board when carving. There are now huge dig marks in the front.Also these trucks add like another inch to pushing room from ground to board. They just arent good trucks. But if you want a good carving truck thats small and low get some s6's.
-Theo

Review -Wheels-Sector 9 Raceforms 69mm 82a

Sector 9 Race formula 69mm 82a

These wheels are excellent for sliding and slalom. The smaller size and the square lip contribute to the slalom/DH factor. Grippy when new and even when broken in still very responsive. If you want a buttery slide I would definitely recommend these wheels. Relatively cheap, set of 4 for around $40.00 depending on the shop. 4/5 on looks, 5/5 on what you pay for, 3/5 for Dh and 2/5 for cruising.

-Lewis

Abec 11 66mm Strikers 88a

88a
66mm.
47mm Width.
Center Set.

These were my first real freeride wheel once i started learning what was a good wheel, and what wasn't. Once I found out that Round lipped wheels were the way to go, I found these Strikers and though higher duro must be better right?
Well that's not really the case in most instances, but i have to say these wheels were surprisingly smooth.
At 88a, the slide was still very long and quiet, but still had that classic thane wear factor, which I know all to well now. After about a month of freeride here and there they had been reduced to about 60mm. Now this is quite a lot of wear for an 88a wheel!
While i do love these wheels because of their smoooooooth slide and grip when you need it around corners, I was disappointed at how much they wore.

I would give the Freeride capabilities of the wheel 4/5, appearance 5/5(love the look of Abec 11 wheels :) ) and durability a 2.5/5.

-Adam

Original Skateboards Pintail 43

Length - 43"
Width - 9"
Wheelbase - 30.5"

Alrighty, to start, I've been riding this board for 1 and a 1/2 years now, and I use it for everything. My current setup is s'8 trucks with Orangatang Simulus 86a wheels. This board is a great beginner's board. I would reccomend this board without a doubt. It's shape really utilizes the s'8 trucks to give you the best carve you will ever get. If you don't mind it getting banged up, you can use it for a little freestyle but, the board was not meant for this purpose so you'll damage it. There's really no incredible aspect to this board, except the fact that the pintail shape was one of the first longboard shapes made, and the fact it features artwork by artist Jay Alders. A great board, all-in-all, if you are a beginner to longboarding or want to add a fun cruiser to your quiver.
4/5 for performance and 5/5 for looks.

~Stefen

Bustin Robot 41"

Slide Rails

41"
9 ply maple.
10" wide.
5/8" Radial Concave.
31" wheelbase.
The Bustin Robot 41.

What can i say? This board is an absolutely amazing board to ride and one of the only boards i felt the absolute HUNGER to buy from Bustin. After the release i just had to have it!
The price was relatively cheap at $135US for the deck, which is almost 1/2 that of other freeride orientated boards.

This board is made for GRIP! The grip tape is one Vicious mother, extremely rough and grippy which I love about the board.
To add to this it has Slide rails, so as the board gets to the edge it drops and kicks back out. |__     <-------Like this. Then over these trails there is grip tape which acts almost like a gas pedal which is great when you're freeriding.
The wide wheel base means it gives a comfortable stance for someone like me who loves a wide wheels base, and luckily this board come in 36" also, for smaller riders.
The noses of the Robot are awesome and with the Robot being a drop through, I was surprised to find that the trucks don't get in the way for tricks like Shuv-it's at all.
The deck itself is quite heavy and very rigid, which makes it Ideal for speed and freeride! This is my favorite board for freeride and Downhill.
Another notable feature are the dropped in parts at the center of the rails. This makes early grabs a breeze as there is a handle to grab onto.
The Wide platform means you have plenty or room for you feet, and also a nice platform for dancing, if you enjoy the casual walk up your board like I do from time to time.
I would give the looks for the board a 4/5, freeride and Downhill capabilities a 4.5/5 and General ride a 4/5. Great board!

-Adam

Rayne Mini Killswitch Topmount

Ok, where to start?
Specs i guess
Length - 35.5"
Width - 9.5"
Wheelbase - 29" 
Add a 3/8th radial drop and a crazy ass graphic and you have a Rayne Baby Killer.
When i first got this deck about 4 months ago i was shocked at how light the board actually is and also how agressive the W concave was.
It is far more intense than i ever expected, and when i first rode it it felt rather invasive, but after about half an hour i began to settle on the board and find the sweet little pockets up against the drop.
Being a radial drop, when in a tuck it positions you're foot up beside the drop rather than just behind it, this creates a massive feeling of control at speed, also with the massive W it helps position your back foot for toe side corners and it honestly feels amazing.
Having a 29 inch wheelbase and being as stiff as it is, it is nice and stable yet still very responsive.
I have had this board up over 50 comfortably on rather loose Paris trucks.
Another nice feature of the board is the complete lacking of tails, this is great because it is far easier to drag the board back up the hill rather than carry it and without tails it makes this so much easier.
This is also a bit of a bummer when you want to have a play with shuv-its and other freestyle tricks as it makes them all but impossible.
All in all this is a solid DH/freeride board and is surprisingly comfy for taller riders (some of my mates are 6 foot and don't feel cramped at all).
-Saxen (painy)

Cult Classics 80a Magenta

70mm
80a
0ffset
Before i bought these wheels, I had been told by numerous local skaters how awesome they are and that they adore them. So i just had to give them a try, and they were right.
These wheels are awesome for freeride! They have a nice, smooth, predictable slide which helped me to learn stand up slides in just a few days on them. The 80a formula means they make very little noise, but surprisingly they wear very little. After riding them for about 2 weeks, and 4 days of 10 hour skate sessions, they haven't worn much at all!

I love the look of these wheels also in the magenta green colour, and the blue core. They are Cheap, Fun and Fast!
I expect not really to get any flatspots or huge wear from these wheels as they leave no thane lines (I know, bummer right) which may also be a positive because they will last you longer
They are offset wheels so imagine that they may cone faster than a set of center sets, but as of now, they are awesome freeride wheels!!!!
Highly recommend that you try these wheels! They are comparable to Abec 11 Strikers, with wayyyyy less wear!
5/5 for slide, 5/5 for looks and 5/5 for wear. Never need another wheel for freeride :)

-Adam

Paris 180 Adam Colton

These were my first bushing truck I got after riding Original S8s for about 10 months. I've been riding these trucks for about 5 months on my Apex 37, and they ROCK. I highly recommend them. These trucks for one look SICK with the monster design by adam colton himself. A great part about them is that they are really light, and if you are coming from OS trucks like I was, it makes a huge difference, it is better for freestyle especially. They are the really good carving trucks, and the best carving bushing truck I've tried.  Again, if you are coming from OS trucks, they carve almost as well (at least on the apex 37). They are at an angle of 50 degrees which in my opinion is a great balance between stability, and carving power. I really like how the Adam Colton trucks come stock with a softer bushing at 86a, instead of the 90a for other Paris 180 trucks. This is better for carving, and freeride and all around performance. (unless you're more into downhill) Another plus is the lifetime warranty put on all Paris trucks, if the hanger every bends from too many jumps or whatever, you can get a new truck at no cost totally free! I highly suggest you check out these trucks. 5/5 for all around performance, and definitely 5/5 for looks.


~Nate

These trucks are also surprisingly good at speed, especially with a lower angle Randal base plate.
I have personally taken then up around 60 kph with 50 degree plates on a Rayne mini Killswitch with an 85/90a barrel combo and it felt perfectly solid under my 165 pound weight.
All in all a wonderful 'divey' feeling all round truck and worth the money
-Saxen

As everyone else has said, these trucks look awesome. They make your bushings look awesome as well. but that doesnt matter i guess. it matters how they ride. i personally love paris trucks. The only complaint i have is that the bushing seat is too deep sometimes. If your rocking a cup washer (stock) and you put in some soft carvy bushings you can get washer to hit the hanger, which leads to some deep scratches. But if you just flip it over its pretty much a flat washer and works better.
-Theo

Abec11 Gumballs, 75a

Let me start by saying these wheels are very nice,
I first got these wheels for a nice soft cruising wheel and loaded them on my dervish.
But after the first couple of days the mould release wore off and boom, i had a really, really drifty wheel.
So i put them on my Mini Killswitch and was immediately throwing longer stand up slides.
Because of the wider contact patch they took a fair bit more effort to break out, but once they were sliding these were so easy to control and the hookup was perfect.
The only problem i had with these wheels was the wear and the massive lack of flat spot resistance, it only took a couple of sessions to wear 8mm off these and make them look like eggs.

All in all a great wheel, and i would highly recommend it to someone who prefers to freeride on 'race' wheels, as its a nice middle ground between grip and that mad drift we all crave.
-Saxen

Original skateboards S8

I have ridden S8 trucks for eight months. I've absolutely loved them. If you are new to Longboarding I definitely recommend these trucks. The patented spring system gives the trucks a really flowy feel, and are in my opinion the best carving truck out there. These trucks are excellent to learn how to slide, being able to turn so sharp. For those of you making the transition from standard RPK bushing trucks, I suggest going with at least red maybe white tension springs. When you first step on a board with these trucks, you first instinct may be to immediately tighten them. Don't. Give these trucks a chance. They'll blow your mind.

-Lucas H



These were the first trucks on my so called first 'REAL' longboard. Started with a Sector 9 cruiser with Gullwing Sidewinders and then moves onto an Original Pintail 40 with s8's and Inheats. When i first hopped onto these trucks, i thought i was gonna die and could never ride these. I had black springs on, but luckily bought red springs just in case. Once the red springs were in I immediately felt the difference! They were the easiest trucks to ride ever!
Carvey as hell, i was doing full 180 carves with 1m gaps between them and i was loving it. After about 2 months i could easily hit around 35-40km/h on them. These trucks are very flowy and easy to ride and because of the springs bounce back, a Joy to cruise on. These trucks are soooo easy to learn how to slide on, it take practically no effort. However holding out the slide was another thing all together. Because of the carve you cant hold slides out as far.
Another thing that bothered me with these trucks are their weight. If your looking to do freestyle, try using bushing trucks instead. These weight a lot more than regular trucks!
For this reason these trucks are great for cruising and carving or for beginners to longboarding. They are perfect for people looking to start sliding, and once they have the general idea down, they can move onto bushing trucks.
5/5 for pure carving bliss, 3/5 for control at speeds and 4.5/5 for looks. :)
-Adam




These are the first longboard trucks I ever rode. I've been riding these trucks for 2 and a 1/2 years, and I've attempted everything on them at least once. The provide a carve like no other truck, but have a few negatives. One negative is their weight. I have these on my pintail 43 and the board altogether weighs 9.3 pounds. This makes freestyling on these trucks a little bit difficult. Another negative is their instability at high speeds. Now, I haven't experienced any instability and I ride black springs, but I don't do downhill. It is not recommended to use these trucks for dh. The last negative is their trait of restricting your ability to hold out slides. This is where things get a little tricky however, because while it is true that it is very hard to hold out slides on these trucks, it is very easy to learn slides on these. I recommend these trucks for beginners to longboarding or people who want to learn how to slide. But I also recommend switching to bushing trucks once you do know how to slide though. S'8s slide easily and very fast, like the trucks slide by themselves, giving you little control. Because of the fact with bushing trucks you have to apply force to slide, bushing trucks give you more control over your slides. So the best course of action for learning slides is to get some s'8s, learn slides, and then transfer to bushing trucks. 3/5 overall, 5/5 carving, 3/5 freestyle, 3/5 freeride, and 2/5 for looks( because I like black trucks.)

~Stefen

Bear's 852

I have been riding these trucks for 5 months, and i absolutely love them. The bushing seat is perfect, and to top it off, you can flip the hanger to make it less responsive and better for DH. I am running them on my Ibach, and when  flipped, they are amazing for Down Hill.

You get the nice turn of a 52 degree truck, but it is still nice and restrictive when you tighten the bolt down. The stock bushings are good, but replace the board side bushing with an 85a venom, and you will be fine for DH. Overall, these trucks are good for everything, except extreme DH. Go out and get some! 5/5 for overall performance, and 5/5 for looks!

~Eric


These are my favorite bushing trucks behind Caliber 50's. The stock bushings are quite soft, which aren't recommended for speed, so i put in a blue Khiro and a 85a super carves which made a world of difference. It still has a nice bounce to it, but still very stable which is great for Downhill. These trucks are awesome because you can flip the hangar to make it more stable at speeds.
These trucks also look great with the deep black colour and the green bushings. If your looking for the best all round truck I highly recommend the Bear 852's!
5/5 for all round ride, 4/5 for looks and 4/5 for speed.

-Adam


I love these trucks. Simple as that, they carve like a dream and are stable at high speeds. They look cool and when you reverse the hangar, it gives them an ideal angle for DH. These trucks can definitely handle anything you throw at 'em.

-Lewis

Caliber Fifties 10'(blackout)

I will start of by saying, that these are by far my favorite truck that i have tried out of about 8 types of bushing trucks. They look awesome, looking a lot like precision trucks with the rectangular shaped hangar and squared of edges of everything. It looks a lot cleaner in my opinion.

These are my favorite freeride/downhill trucks, however the stock bushings were too stiff for me. At the moment i am running 85a super carves road side and blood orange stock barrel board side which i have found is a happy medium for cruising and speed. I use these trucks on a Bustin Robot 41 with cult classics and its a dream for freeride. These trucks have a deep carve in them, but snap back to center beautifully making them increasingly stable at speed.
My first real ride on them was on a weekend skate trip to the hills in the South of Western Australia. Here i really got to see how far they could take me, learning stand up slides and hitting around 60km/h after the first day. The bushing seats, while similar to the Randal's IMO by feel, have a unique bounce back as the bushings sit tightly. Other people have said they lag and don't get bounce, but once you find your IDEAL setup for your ride, you will love these trucks.
These are now the only trucks i will buy because i love how they ride and how they look.
5/5 for performance and looks.
-Adam

Randal 180s (blackout)

These trucks were a godsend when i started freestyle and freeride on my Original Apex 37. They were the first bushing trucks i bought and never regretted it.
They are light, like most bushing trucks but have a nice ride feel. The bushing seat feels as if it fits the bushings perfectly so with a setup like 81a and 85a super carves for 140pound bloke like me, has the carve to cruise with but the resistance for speed. I have hit 50km.h with this setup and still carve on it like a dream.

They are long lasting, having had them for about 6 months and the guy i bought them of before had them for about a year. I have done hundreds of early grabs and tricks, and they haven't bent on me whatsoever. The base plate can be bought in 3 options, 35 degree, 42 degree or 50 degree. The lower the degree the more stable they will be at speeds and generally less carvy. Keep in mind the lower you go the more chance of wheel bite.
Highly recommend these trucks for freestyle/cruising trucks and all round performance for beginners to longboarding or bushing trucks.
I'd give these trucks a 4/5 for performance and a 3.5/5 for general looks.
-Adam


Personally, i am not the biggest fan of these trucks. Don't get me wrong, they are great, but not for my style of riding. The one flaw i see with them is the bushing seat. It is very weird, to say the least. And they trucks only feel nice when loose, so when you tighten them down, they don't feel very good. But the thing that is very good about them is that they are very solid. i don't think they are ever going to bend. Overall, if your looking for a truck that will last forever, and you want to use it for free ride, cruising and carving, by all means, get these trucks. 3/5 for performance, and 3.5/5 for looks.
-Eric