“Now, I’ve never done any tests to know exactly how sharply certain trucks turn...” I seem to recall a little test you conducted with a piece of chalk. Indys vs Krux!!
To all you ACE lovers out there: If you skate an 8.5” deck and can’t decide between getting 44’s (8.375”) or 55’s (9.0”) I’d highly suggest the 44’s. The trick is putting 3 or 4 washers on the inside between the hangar and the bearing and no washer between the axle nut and other bearing. By doing this you make your wheels stick out to the SAME EXACT WIDTH as any 8.5” truck like Indy & Thunder 149’s. This was a true life saver for me to be able to skate Aces on an 8.5” deck. Ace for life! Try it out & thank me later! 😂
Thanks for the info. I was only able to get Ace 55s before and on my 8.5" Andrew Brophy Girl deck and 54mm 101A wheels I had no issues. I guess I'll have to try your trick on a 9.25" or wider deck w/ my Ace 55s.
@@ginafrazier5408 Dumb question coming up. Is your 8.5" deck more narrow at the truck bolts? I've seen that with some other decks. 8.5" wide at it's widest point but close to 8" at the nose/tail.
@@TheReal_DeanDwell I mean it seems different at the bolts but I dont pay attention but it can't be different bc then the trucks wouldn't be able to go on so nah
I modified my ace 55's with some krux downlow kingpins and some bones bushings. I epoxied the nut into the baseplate so it works well, my favorite trucks now .
I'm glad you did another review on these. I love Ace, but I keep switching back to Thunder. Another great new designed truck is the new Destructos Team Lights. They have a really low kingpin clearance and the hanger looks pretty like Ace hangers and grind like butter also. Whats great about the Destructos is they set a hair back than ace. Kinda between ace and indy so you get the sharp turn with these as well. I wish to see a review on the Destructo team lights at some time. Thanks for the vids Ben.
I just got a pair of these trucks with a 8.38 board, super reds and 56mm wheels and risers, and holy it feels soo smooth to ride. I’m starting to think why I even rode 8.0 and low trucks.
Hi Ben:) and thank you for this truck review! I like your extras demos, your wheelings are great and its nice to see a session with your friends. You look like an expert and I suppose you helped us to discover things we ignored since we started skating long ago. Thank you for your humour "take it easy guys.." and for your faith in skateboarding 👍👏
When I bought my first pair of Aces, I didn’t like how they rode off the shelf. I ended up loosening 1 full turn and haven’t touched them since, love em.
deedz and jacopo ride ace, amazing street skills, deedz is so surfy, ronnie and oski, two of the best transition guys ride ace and they look so smooth and surfy. i was like damn, so i bought a pair of 44s to try but haven't been able to really try them cuz i rolled my ankle, but i was really surprised how tight are, the bushings are wider than indie and thunder but i bet after breaking them in they'll be nice. they seem like good trucks but without really riding them yet, my biggest complaint is the sizes. i like an 8.5 with 159s. i wish ace made a size in the middle of the 44s and 55s.
Oddly enough I watch your videos to relax and I usually skate shortly afterwards. But I would like to see your review of Tensor Mag Light Reg ATGs. Cheers mate.
I'm skating them now but had to swap out the baseplate for an indy forged bc they were just too light. I think the combination of magnesium alloy and hollow axles makes them feel and sound flimsy... I think i would prefer a solid axle or aluminium hangar to bring em closer too 300g. I like the stability and turning on em. Stock bushings didn't work for me. Got bones hards in now.
Yeah man you should get back to it. Even if it's just rolling around the flats. I just started skating again after 13 years off the board, 33 years old, damn it's fun! Don't have many of the old tricks but I'm getting warmed up again.
on indy 159's right now but was going to try out ace 55's for my next truck. I'm not too picky so won't matter too much to me just want to switch it up and ace 55's look super rad like mini indy 215's
I just recently got a set of Tensors to try and I'm happy. I had to get used to them and I changed bushings, but I like them. They grind smooth and turn quick, even with Bones hard bushings. I tried my norm, Bones mediums, but they were too soft for these trucks, my weight and the wheels, I guess. My previous trucks were Indy 129s with Bones mediums under a locally pressed Local5 7.75. The new Tensors are under an 8" Creature.
I bought the Tensor Mag lights 6 weeks ago and the back truck baseplate completely broke off while I was doing switch Ollies. I only Ollied a 4 Stair a few times so no high impact stuff. The trucks are super light and help with flip tricks but wouldn't recommend for anything high impact or if u want the truck to last u a long time. Tensor's warranty customer service is also terrible compared to Indy's. They asked me for a pic which I sent and I've been waiting 2 days for a response...
Sk8 4Life glad to hear you like them. I snagged a brand new SET of regular alloy on eBay for $16. $8 a truck is unreal value. I’ve heard mixed things about Tensor but have high hopes for them. Always wanted to try them out.
Wow I literally a week ago I was hoping you'd have a new ACE review and all of a sudden this video pops up. Ben's a genius. I have two setups currently one with Thunders 149 standard, the other Independent hollows 149.
Travon yo i’m trying to figure out if i should stick to indy hollows , or switch to thunder lights. i’m going up from an 8.38 to an 8.5 too so i was wondering if there’s a big weight difference between the trucks or if one would make moving up a size easier
@@geeked9658 In my personal opinion/experience, skating 8.5 boards is easier then when I've tried to go back to 8.25 or 8.38 and my indy hollows don't feel different than all the standard trucks I've ridden since 2003. For me I think it's a shoe size thing I'm size 12. example. by the time I learned switch Tre flipsI had moved up to an 8.5 so its all in your head. But still sometimes you just gotta try stuff out.
Travon i think ima stick with indys cuz thunders just don’t feel the same, it might be a little adjustment but i can get used to it. thanks for the tip g
I want to see him do Tensor ATG Mag lights. I think he might be surprised by how good they are, and also since he's a truck nerd they're far and away the lightest truck out there. Even the crazy ass $250 axle-less Theeves are like 30 grams heavier. Also if anyone is interested in Destructos they're really good (at least in my opinion), but just know that there's significant differences between the D1 and D2. D1 is a higher truck with a ton of kingpin clearance, barrel/cone bushing setup and a surfier turn, so if you're an Indy guy that's probably going to be what you like. D2 is a little lower, has less clearance, has a bit of a more responsive turn, cone/cone bushings, and pushes the axles out a bit more so it's probably better suited for people who ride Thunders. As for royals.... the less said the better. They're one of the only trucks I flat out won't ride ever again.
@J. Mtz I don't think they even still make Phantoms and they never made them bigger than 7.75 so highly doubt he's going to review a 7.75 truck. I'll give you the review for free though - they fucking suck.
like what you said: I love the way the alloy grinds. Although the 55s will jacknife if you're not careful when you're going at speed if you ride them super loose. lose trucks save lives but they may also break your collar bone. If the wheelbase was slightly longer or the same as an indy with that indy pop I love, they would be perfect for me. but, oh well.
Ace’s really are incredibly squirrelly and I can see how they might not be for everyone. I personally ride a set of 33’s with the red baseplate and they feel great! The metal is slick but the kingpin clearance isn’t the greatest. Love having that sharp turn so it’s an okay trade-off.
roboliño schmidt They’re pretty good. They slide better than normal STFs & work better for people like me who skate street in a place with rougher roads & chipped sidewalks. It’s hard for me to explain, but they just work for me. EDIT: I think Ben might have made a video talking about them more in depth. I recommend watching that video, because I suck at talking about this shit. haha
@@BrandonBowditch haha..thanks dude..i just saw that ben did a vid about it...I bought then today and gonna ride test them the next days...have a nice day
What is the preference of Aces's in transition as opposed to Indy's? Is it the grinding that you alluded to or the sharp turning? Curious to know. Thanks!
really excited about the new models, hope they stick to the stage3 model and dont get any bigger wings..just need some inverted kingpins and 6hole baseplates and they are perfect. Also, ACE come with a Top 91a bushing and a bottom 86a one, thats also one of the reasons they turn so good and you shouldnt swap them out. Also, please do a FILM trucks review. (from what i hear & see they are a mix of indy\ace\grind king)
It's just so much fun watching your videos :) i just really got into skating and im enjoing some honest skating...so your channel is perfect :) lotta support from germany 🇩🇪
Bought 55s in 2021 and havent rode them yet. Was waiting for the warm weather this year. Glad I got them, its for my dedicated transition setup and this review made me feel like I made the right purchase.
Thinking about Max Palmer's setup every time you mention the twitchy feel lol, or Deedz, I feel like these trucks are great but only if you're a loose madman like those guys, either way i am interested...
Thunder just released their 161 (9.125) truck recently, I decided to quit riding Indys altogether and go all in on Thunders. I always ride a 9 inch truck and they feel fantastic!
@@reup4023 exactly! I wanted to mount a pair on my SMA think crime deck i have, but no old school drill. It might be to preserve structure or weight, something. If they only have the new drill then ill still ride the fuck out of them. Made in the USA unlike indys, plus the turning personally feels more stable to me.
Best trucks, my bushing felt great after an hour or so. I also believe if you can do a trick, you can do it on any set up. But it is a fact that ace turn and grind better than any trucks, look how many guys are riding them after being with indy for years. I've converted a few friends aswel, it's about time skateboarders start giving other things a chance and get out of their die hard brand loyalty craze
@@terrFW nope, I've only grown fonder of them over the years. I'll never go back to indys of that I'm sure. please take the chance and try some, as I say I think skaters need to start branching out rather than just riding what the majority tell them to when it's facts that over the last few years indys have gotten so bad in quality.
Man 5star review sir thank you im building a pro deck setup an i haven't skated in 15 years im just wantin to get back in it shits just changed alot so im basically novice what trucks do you think i should run with to knock the cob webs off an basically learn it all again?
Love your channel some day on a whim would you review mini logo trucks? I pushed them on a buddies board and they felt both stable and turned well. Though I didn't skate any transition, they are a low truck would love to know your feedback. Currently skate raw thunder 148s and love thunder just don't know whether to stick with old faithful or make the jump to something new. My next setup will be 8.5
Hey Ben, LOVE your vids. Got a wheelbase question for ya. In one of your videos you said Thunder axles are .25" further apart than Indys; in this video you say ACE axles are .25" closer than Indys. I recently measured my deck with Thunders 161s on and with Indy 159s on. I think they are exactly the same. Am I crazy? If you just push the trucks together and touch baseplates, the Thunders have longer baseplates on the kingpin side than Indys do which pushes the axles a little further apart. However when I mount them to my deck, the axle-to-axle measurement was the same at 18" (I ride a 14.75" wheelbase. Am I just doing a crappy job measuring? How did you actually get your ACE/Indy/Thunder axle-to-axle measurements? Could you post a video on that so we can see the differences? Thanks Ben!!!
@@_Maxten When he says "steep decks" he's talking about the kicks, not the concave so its probably the height. Aces get compared to Indy a lot because of the way they turn, but they're shorter than Indys, and are about the same height as Thunders. Truck height makes a big difference in pop feel, and I'd say that the pop of an Ace is closer to Thunder than Indy. When I try to ride Indys on steep kicks it feels like it takes forever for my tail to hit the ground and I end up ghost popping a lot, but I don't recall that ever being an issue when switching to Aces.
I had switched from Indy to ace and they were great but ground down super fast and as soon as I hit axle they had a pretty bad crack that bent them. I went back to Indy.
Nice review Ben. What's the biggest difference you noticed with these and the last model tried like were they more stable or smoother turning/grinding?
@@anyramone I skate my trucks how they come and I tried every truck companies out there. I'm skating a pair of Ace Trucks with my nine inch board and a pair of Indys for my eight point five board.
Hey Ben, I was wondering have you ever noticed a truck or bushing difference when it comes to cold weather/bushing freezing. I know BC winter can be more mild compared to where I'm from (Toronto), but have you ever noticed a truck or bushing does better in colder climates?
Hey! I live in northern part of Russia, so ive experienced a lot of difference in trucks performance due to cold weather. I have Indy hollows with stocks red bushings - these work almost the same, even if its freezing outside. At the same time aftermarket Indy bushings become rock solid in cold. The same story for stock bushings in thunders - the stop turning in autumn and winter. To solve this i swapped them with venom street bushings - they work just fine.
I changed the top bushing out to a thunder bushing 90a and it was like gold! Oh and Ben refer to my comment from like a year ago that I still think you move good on aces, lol!
Hey Ben, have you ever skated Silver brand trucks? I've been wanting to skate them since I was a teenager, found them on sale for $30 a pair. I took a chance & bought 2 pairs. Fingers crossed. Hope all is well!
Not to botch this truck and the review of it. But in your opinion is your favorite truck to date? I'm a 38 year old dad, who, my boys want me to get back into some skating with them, and I haven't been on a board for years. Brands, styles have changed so much I'm out of the loop anymore. Thanks for the videos!!! Keep them up!
Been skating aces, the same pair, for about two years. It did take along time to wear in but they are a solid investment. My only gripe is the pivot cup wearing out and allowing the hangar to wobble from the pivot point before even breaking them in properly. Not that big a deal, I actually told the guys at ace about it and they sent me replacement cups. The pinch is critical to mention, I did not realise that particular difference and should be noted when picking up a new set of trucks for sure. Thanks for the info!
I think quality control is a big negative what comes to Aces. I had these for two months and the axle bent. Also have heard lot of people getting axle slips. They grind down kinda fast too due to metal being so soft. Great feeling truck but i wanna be sure that my truck can take a beating and Indy and Thunder have not failed me lately.
From the whisperings I've been hearing that's one of the things they're looking to address in the new model. I just hope they keep the 8.35 axle length because I've grown very fond of it on 8.25 decks.
@@tuplahaukat I heard 8.5, so I guess they're probably switching over to standard sizes and its both. Too bad, I really like that size because I ride a lot of 8.38 and its perfect. I guess I'll still have mini logos, but they're really low which always feels like it neuters my pop on mellow decks.
@@tuplahaukat Great actually. They're light, grind nicely, the turn is good, and you can't beat the price. They're quite low (definitely under 50mm, I wanna say like 48ish) so they're very stable and have a really snappy pop feel, similar to a Venture lo. Stock bushings are surprisingly high quality and I haven't had any wheelbite issues with 54mm. I really like them with steep kicks like a lot of the WKND decks have.
The only sin I've done to these amazing trucks is, I put a 94a bushing on the bottom. Now they're amazingly comfortable and perfect with a flat deck, best feeling for me.
What bushings did you use? I love mine but I'm a tight truck guy so I actually like them better when they're new but the bushings are slightly taller than the usual aftermarket barrel/cone combos like Indy and Khiro. They're kind of inbetween a normal bushing and a longboard bushing. Krux bushings are pretty close but it still feels a little off.
@@loveandnapalm well since no bushing fit aces, I did from bottom to top: Bones washer Cupped washer Indy 94a bottom Ace top Cupped washer. So the bottom bushing height is right, I tried practically every brand of common bushings.
I tried a pair of ace 11s a buddy of mine sent me a while ago, you're so right about them being twitchy and I was constantly adjusting to pop an Ollie, felt really weird
I know this is old but if you see this comment please do the Ace lows, from the pictures I've seen it looks like they stretched the wheelbase back out to get the lower hanger. would love to see what you think of them
These are probably my favourite trucks. I have these a set of krux and a set of thunders. Currently riding the thunders because of my board size but really wish I was riding the aces. I didn’t tighten mine at all when I got them and they felt great from the start. Didn’t really have to break them in at all
Why the aluminum? If he's going to do Tensors he might as well do the Mag Lights. Same truck just way lighter, and I can almost guarantee he would nerd out about the weight.
I tried the mag lights and they sucked within a week i split the hanger in half i skate Indys but i want to try the tensor aluminum but there are no good reviews on them
I've got an ace 33 classics for about 2-3 months now, and im gonna say that ben is right about how this trucks breaking in, it takes me 2 weeks to break them in. The squirely feeling on this trucks happens after you break them in. But by far this trucks is the best for me and i love the look of this aces.
@@theqsanity5797 Not the guy you asked but I agree 100%. One of my favorite thing about Aces (and theres a lot to like) is that they can effectively shrink the wheelbase of a deck, so like for example I recently got a Toy Machine deck that was great in every way except it had a 14.5" wb and 14.25" is where I'm most comfortable. Tried it with Thunders and it was throwing me all out of sorts, but once I put on ace 44s it felt much better. You can do the same thing but in the other direction with Ventures - they push your axles out the farthest of the major truck brands (and I believe the forged baseplates do it even more than the regular ones) so I'll use them on decks with a 14" wb if I feel like my feet are too close together.
@@loveandnapalm damn! Good shit man! Thanks for all that ❤! I think Ben also said, you get more pop or more responsiveness from the shorter wheelbase. Is that true?
This was very helpful thank you I was having a hard time deciding what trucks to get for the Anderson flight Deck I was finally able to obtain and I chose Ace after watching this video and further reading on ace.
Have a set of these on a 8.5" Skull Skates popsicle...these trucks are fun. Same geometry with a set of bones bushings and an extra washer. Sorry Indy...I'm falling in love.
@@Cleatus1 they're fun to ride, they turn like you're surfing, better than indy imo, best truck I've ridden, now I'm going to try the AF1 33s once these classics wear out
7:04 was pretty bad ass. Would that be a back side crooked grind? Seems like I usually see people do it the other way. Or, maybe I'm just confused since I'm regular footed and he looks goofy footed.
I love my aces but without a wide wheelbase deck, it feels so weird/squirly. I had to go back to thunders because I could not reliably get 8.25 decks with a 14.5 inch wheels base to help aleviate that feeling.
I use independent super soft bushings in my ace trucks and swear by that setup🙏🏼 if that’s too loose use the bottom ace bushing and an indy one on top👌🏼
Are you sure you got the new new new Ace’s? Your stock bushings look a little yellowish haze colored, which were the last stage and they were ridiculously rock hard and defeated the purpose of the super turny geometry. I’m 210lbs and it was a struggle to get those bushings to break in. The new Ace’s have pearly white stock bushings and they’re wayyyyy too soft. Average weight folks like yourself should feel they’re broken in right out of the gate. For me, I got insta-wheelbite and had to switch to Krux bushings or Bones.
How does wheelbase effect foot positioning? Like im not sure how it works. Does having your wheelbase shortened widen your stance or make it more narrow?
Ben you can rename this video to ACE Classic 44 review now that the AF1 is out. I found that the bushings in these trucks are hard as nails, barely broke in if at all, and when I went to swap them for Indy orange bushings they were even hard to take out! I like how Indys turn but the feeling of pop with these is superior and they're definitely lighter.
you're right that short wheelbases are best with steep kicks. right now i have a CCS deck and surprisingly they have pretty steep kicks and i've tried thunders, tensors, indys, and even suspension trucks on this deck but my krux which have the shortest wheelbase of all of em at 16.72 on a 14.25 just feels the best on it
0:56 you could use the Grand King bushings with the lockout washers to try to get a consistent turn by forcing them to lock out that way you could compare the turning radius accurately between trucks or at least semi accurately as the geometry of the trucks will differ slightly
5:55 I wonder if they will in low temperatures? I kind of have developed a distinct hatred of independent trucks because I consistently break them in cold weather to the point where I cannot even skate them then again I also live in Chicago. But I noticed softer metal trucks or magnesium trucks seem to crack extremely easily in the cold
