So, you have picked your skateboard deck, now you’re trying to find skate trucks to accompany it, but there’s so many different styles and sizes, it can be overwhelming. Don’t worry, we are here to give you a helping hand with this guide to skateboard trucks. Trucks determine how high the ride is, how smooth your boards turns and accounts for most of the weight on your set up.

PARTS OF A SKATEBOARD TRUCK:

• Baseplate: The baseplate is the solid metal flat plate that attaches to your deck. These are the parts of the truck where you put your bolts through to attach to your deck. Some brands have made their base plates different shapes and sizes to make their trucks more lightweight and stronger.
• Axle: This is the part that extrudes from the hangers and is where your wheels go.
• Hanger: The hanger is the most responsible for protecting the axel. It is also the part of the truck that is used to grind. Hangers and axles come in different sizes. The length of your truck, should match the length of your deck.
• Bushings: Bushings are the two rubber pieces that sit on the kingpin. You can change the bushings, they have durometers depending on their softness/hardness. Softer bushings offer smoother, easier turns. Harder bushings give the board and hard and rigid feel. Bushings are included on your trucks, but you can buy them separately.
• Kingpin: This is the bolt that attaches the bushings and the hanger to the base plate. Bushings go onto the kingpin and the hanger loop rests between the two bushings. This is secured with a bolt which can be loosened or tightened depending on how easy you want your turns to be, all depends on the riders preference. Some brands do offer different kingpin sizes as the size can interfere with more advance grind tricks.