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Loosen longboard trucks have numerous benefits while riding on it. To get the smooth carve or have a great turn in your longboard, you can try to loosen trucks in the longboard. This will also make your longboarding safe and comfortable.
To Loosen Longboard Trucks, Follow These Steps:
- Get the necessary tools for Longboard maintenance
- Place your longboard on a Table
- Loosen the Trucks
- Testing the Looseness of Trucks
- Practice loosening trucks
- Adjusting your longboard Trucks
How To Loosen Longboard Trucks In 6 Steps
Follow the 6 easy steps to loosen your skateboard or longboard trucks.
Step 1: Get The Necessary Tools For Longboard Maintenance
To adjust a longboard regularly and need basis, a longboarder should have the following tools for his own:
While you are, loosening or tightening your longboard or skateboard trucks, the tools you need most are the wrench and the plier. Most trucks are supported by a 14mm wrench appropriate for other skateboard and longboard maintenance.
Step 2: Place Your Longboard On A Table
Now time to place your longboard or skateboard on a table. The table must be enough stable and robust. You may use other hard surfaces too.
Step 3: Loosen The Trucks
Place your wrench on the nut of the first truck. Set the wrench and rotate it anti-clockwise to loosen it. Check the truck and confirm that it gets the desired level loose. If you don’t have a wrench, you may use a plier to do the same. After completing the first truck, follow the same steps to loosen the second truck.
Step 4: Testing The Looseness Of Trucks
After looseness, use your two hands to examine that the trucks are loose enough and not more than necessary. It is required because excess loss causes an imbalance in your riding. Follow the same process for both trucks. When you satisfy the trucks’ tightness, now it’s time to practice on the ground with loose trucks.
Step 5: Practice Loosening Trucks
Now step up on your longboard or skateboard on skate parks or roads and different surfaces. Try some different riding styles like cruising, Ollie, and turning. Check that first, are you feeling comfortable or not? Does it slip while turning? If not, then it’s okay. There is no standard level of tightening or looseness for longboard trucks. All the actions depend on rider comfort and riding styles.
Step 6: Adjusting Your Longboard Trucks
Suppose you found that your longboard or skateboard trucks loosen more than necessary and make you uncomfortable while riding. In that case, you can tighten the trucks. Just follow steps 01 to 03, but you have to rotate your nut on trucks by plier or wrench Clockwise. After the necessary adjustment follows step 04 and 05 again to get the most comfortable adjustment for you.
Why Does Longboarding Need To Loosen Trucks?
A longboard is longer than a skateboard. However, the question is that, how long is a longboard? The answer is longboard is, in most cases, longer than 36 inches up to 60 inches in length. The width of the longboard deck is 9 to 11 inches. Longboard has the same parts as a skateboard, like Deck, Truck, Wheel, Bearing, and Grip tape. Let’s compare the ratio of all the components between the longboard and the skateboard. We will find that longboard parts are more significant than a skateboard.
Longboard’s design varied a lot. The size can be different, but other parts of the longboard need to be changed. However, all the changes depend on some parameters like the rider’s riding style and rider size. Riders use longboards for local commuting, freeriding, cruising, downhill, and sometimes even while traveling. Therefore, different types of riding styles need other longboard trucks and wheel setups.
A rider can speed up a longboard up to 100 km while riding. He needs to turn the board in a different radius to follow his street when riding a rider. Tighten trucks make the turning difficult for a rider. So, trucks need to be loosened while riders turn a radius at a more incredible speed.
Besides this, loosening trucks make the emergency turn easier. Downhill, carving needs difficult balancing and smoothness in the wheel turning. When the trucks are tightened, this is more difficult to synchronize your feet on the deck. On the other side, minimum loosened trucks make it easier to step your feet on the deck and control the longboarding.
FAQs
Loosening your longboard trucks can enhance your riding experience by providing more maneuverability and a greater turning radius. It allows for smoother carving and makes it easier to execute tricks such as slides and pivots.
If you find it difficult to turn or make sharp turns, your trucks might be too tight. Additionally, if your wheels don’t touch the ground when you lean to one side, it is an indication that your trucks need loosening.
To loosen your trucks, use a skate tool or wrench to turn the kingpin nut counter-clockwise. Start with small adjustments, one-quarter turn at a time, and test the trucks by leaning on them. Continue to loosen until you achieve the desired level of looseness.
The ideal tightness of your trucks can vary depending on personal preference and riding style. However, as a general rule, you should aim for a balance between stability and maneuverability. Start with a slight looseness and gradually adjust until it feels comfortable for you.
While loosening your trucks, consider factors such as your weight, riding style, and the type of terrain you will be riding on. Heavier riders may prefer slightly tighter trucks, while lighter riders might find looser trucks more suitable. Experiment with different settings to find what works best for you.
It is not necessary to loosen both your front and back trucks equally. Riders often prefer different levels of tightness for their front and back trucks. Some riders might tighten their front truck for stability while keeping the back truck looser for increased maneuverability. Experimenting with different combinations will help you find what feels most comfortable and suits your riding style.
The Bottom Line Of Adjusting Longboard Trucks
Adjusting is necessary for the rider before riding. Loosening or tightening indeed has an impact on riding. Tighter trucks create difficulties while sliding and turning. It also makes some skateboard tricks and flips easier too.
On the other hand, Loosening trucks are necessary while you are focusing on cruising, sliding, and turning on a velocity. It makes the rider comfortable and balanced on a longboard. If you follow the steps accordingly, you will know how to loosen longboard Trucks. Are you struggling with skateboard wheels? Find the best skateboard wheel for your daily cruising.
While riding a longboard or skateboard, always wear safety gear. If you have any questions, simply put your question in the mail.
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