If we talk about the truck, the first opinion that came up in many people's minds is the truck connected the wheel to the deck. That's why we can ride properly and turn, but actually, the truck is composed of 7 pieces that affect your riding potentially. Learning more about the truck helps us build a better e-skateboard.
WHAT IS TRUCK?
The truck is a piece that holds the wheel to the skateboard and allows the rider to turn. If you had ever ridden a skateboard/e-skateboard, you definitely know how important it is. There is no skateboard without trucks, There are many distinct features that vary from truck to truck; each of which will change the skateboard ride drastically.
Let's start with the structure of the truck to help you get to know the truck well, there are 7 parts composed of the truck, and each has its own function.
1. Axle
This part extends out from the hanger to hold the bearing and wheel. Axles can be 8 mm or 10 mm.
2. Hanger
This part of the truck works for turning. The hanger is suspended on the baseplate using bushings and a pivot cup to rotate.
3. Bushings
The center of the hanger enmeshed urethane bushing provides resistance when turning the truck. There are two sides of the hanger: the top (roadside) and the bottom (broadside).
4. Kingpin
This part holds the bushings and washer tightened on the hanger, the biggest bolt on the truck.
5. Baseplate
A bottom truck mounting plate that locks the truck assembly to the skateboard deck. Difference angles come with the baseplate change the turning geometry.
6. Pivot Cup
We can call it the bearing of the truck, It also controls some feel of the hanger turn.
THE FEATURE OF THE TRUCK PIECES
There are some qualities of a truck that interact with the performance, each part offers a drastically feeling difference after modification.
Kingpin
There are three main types: Reverse Kingpin Truck (RKP) and Traditional Kingpin Truck (TKP), and double kingpin truck (applied on the off-road skateboard)
1. reverse kingpin (RKP)
The reverse kingpin truck can be said the most applicable in the electric skateboard. This design allows responsive turning and remains smooth and stable at high speed. The ride height is typically higher than the traditional kingpin truck.
Kingpin face to the rear wheel
2. traditional kingpin (TKP)
The TKP (traditional kingpin)has more distance from the kingpin, so the hanger is more suited for grinds. The rider can get a better board rotation when doing tricks due to the lower ride height. You will feel more responsive turn and feel more of their trucks, this also struggles to remain stable at higher speed.
Kingpin face to the front wheel
3. double kingpin (DKP)
The double kingpin(DKP) is closer to the traditional kingpin(TKP) than the reverse kingpin(RKP). You can even get a TKP by removing the piece in the middle. We can say it's double TKP as well. That indicates it shares the same problem as the TKP does: hard to stay stable at high speed. You need double parts to keep it going since it's a double kingpin.
Hanger width
The width of the hanger decides the flexibility and stability of your board, you will feel more nimble with a narrow truck, but more stable with a wider truck.
The wider the truck is, the more stability at a high speed. Wider hangers are ideal when trying to avoid wheel bite, as they position the wheels slightly further from the deck. However, more width brings less grip. If you want to do tricks or downhill, the tiny truck brings more grip and turns as you needed rather than stability.
Baseplate angle
The angle degree of your baseplate determines whether the board is more fitted "lean" or "turn".
- Turn: change the trace of the wheel.
- Lean: change the angle of the deck.
SO, fewer angle degrees more "Lean" on the board, higher angle degrees more "turn".
Ride height
Ride height is a term that describes the distance between the bottom of your truck's baseplate and the middle of your truck axle. Measuring from the middle of the truck axle gives the truest measurement for truck ride height across various board designs. The deck design (dropped deck, dropped through, etc.) does affect the actual riding height.
The skateboard truck's height interacts with many things, the most salient is the stability at speed, lower truck equals stability with speed.
CONCLUSION
There is a lot of RKP truck designed e-skateboard you can find on various website, I have to say that It is one of the mainstream truck used on the e-skateboard due to the stability on the high speed, and the responsive turning. And you can see there are many Off-road boards using the DKP, that offer extra height for giant wheels and more responsive turning for the long deck, but it's wobbly insane if the kingpin is not tight enough, TKP is not universally used on the e-skateboard because the ride height can't be fitted big wheel to handle various pavement, you can gradually see some TPK debut, the e-board market is dazzle, but we have more choice.