Wax is like the duct tape of skateboarding - it will fix so many little issues so you should always have a chunk with you when you skate. The only issue with using it for the pivot cup squeaking is that it's a temporary fix, especially if you skate on a really hot day. For a long-term solution using auto grease works really well and if you're skating a truck with cheap "sticky" pivot cups (looking at you Tensor) it can make the trucks turn smoother. You can use speed cream too but be careful not to use too much or it will trap dirt and you'll get this nasty oil mud seeping out that will stain any fabric it touches.
@@HexYzeE I dunno man I can't think of any time I've ever thought "You know what these trucks need? Better pivot cups." I got a handful of Khiro soft ones a while back and put them in some of my trucks and to be totally honest if you asked me today I wouldn't be able to tell you which trucks have them vs the stock ones. I just can't justify $16 for an upgrade that I can't even feel, especially if its just to fix a problem that I can rectify in 15 seconds with a greasy qtip. I can understand if you're the type of person who cant sleep at night unless they know they have the best of everything, but for me I'd rather spend that money on a bushing upgrade or put it towards a new deck.
This guy is so underrated he talks alittle funny but describes things so good and puts months and alot of hard work into his videos to make and he is a good skater and just helps things so much and gives advice and mentions things others don't say and if something sucks he in nice about it this guy is underrated
Man... all these years watching your Vancouver carpenter taping vids.... now I get the laid back vibe that came through, your a skater!!! Your awesome man!
I love this channel but I have come to realize that all I need is a 8.625 deck, mob grip, Indy 159 forged hollow trucks, bones wheels STF or SPF, and some bones Swiss bearings. Thanks Ben for helping me find my perfect setup!
Been using GK since 1994 before most skateshops stop diatributing them. I am happy that they're back. GK innovated the first Allen Kingpin which makes smooth grinds hence king of grinds
Ive been waiting a long time for someone to post this. I used to rock grind kings back in the day. The only downside was how easy the kingpin would strip.
GK was the most innovative in the 90's are from this review, they still are. Thanks Ben appreciate the vid. I'm so glad I can continue to ride GK after getting back into skating after 10 years. I love the inverted kingpin in the 90's. Indy truly half cooked there new design. GK have always had that sound when they grind butter smooth.
I still have a set of grind kings that I rode when I lived over seas... they’re special! Still use the tool today! You keep this up you’re going to be riding for grind king!
Thanks Ben! I used to skate GK exclusively. I’m on MagLights now but will definitely make this my next truck set now that you’ve given this solid review. Also, it makes sense that they work better (stock) for folks who like tighter trucks. That is definitely my preference and likely a quality that kept me riding them in the 90s through late 00s.
So nice to see I’m not the only crazy person that obsesses over the idea of changing some minute detail of my setup, even if I have no real issue with the current setup. Something in me just wants to learn what happens with the change. It’s part of the fun.
Was really expecting you to not like them. Really says a lot that they’ve made it this far with you. Still want to see you try some ml trucks. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with them. That’s the coolest part about being an old skater. It’s so much fun to blame your setup cause we’ve got money now to try anything we want to try.
Inverted kingpins need to be the industry standard. The one thing holding back the Tensor Mag Light Lo as a perfect truck is the lack of an inverted hollow magnesium kingpin.
Just use pen applicator knife oil for your pivot. It’s cheap and very low viscosity so you can add it as needed to your cups without taking your hangers off. It takes like 1-2 drops, doesn’t collect gunk over time like wax can and the tube will last you years.
Hey Ben, your videos are so awesome. All the questions I've ever wondered about sk8boards and all things sk8boarding you cover! It's great. A wealth of information. Thank you very much. Great channel bro!
Thanks for reviewing these Ben. I rode Grind Kings for years back in the 90s and loved them, mostly because they were lightweight and perfect for smith and feeble grinds. I also learned crooked grinds on them. I'm not so sure I will like the new bushing design. Maybe they will flatten out a little after they're well broken-in. I will probably grab a pair just for the nostalgia.
I aint gonna lie ben, Ive been watching since back in the day at least a year or two back, and you are actually moving around pretty good on these. Of course I though you were moving around pretty good on the aces too, lol!
I remember the grindking hype in the 90s or early 2000’s. That kingpin style and the selling argument. Some people in my hometown got them and they sucked. Always some problems with them. Also i remember that they used to be anodized or something to give them a dark red hanger. The color theme was so of. I didn’t even know they still exist. :)
Knowing GK, they’ll take your input and probably make a new and improved bushing for them ! And that’s an easy little fix. GK can manufacture a run of bushings that are what you’re saying you’d like because you are a good person to give input and BAM, just like that, theyll be one of the best trucks on the market!
Btw the Kingpins are called Inverted Kingpins, and for bushings, I use Bones Mediums usually as well, and I think the washer is suppose to go in the top bushing, but reguardless, I literally never used them because the noise, but also it seems to cut the life of them noticeably, I never get noise, and somehow find that without it, they just last longer, work better, and overall fit, and feel better because of the GKs design. Also as someone who's skated all but Titanium Trucks, I can tell you from my experience and personal fact, that Grind Kings are the best Trucks hands down by far, I just saved up enough to get these yesterday, I don't always get to eat since I can't afford it, but I took a couple bills every week, and finally got enough, I got the 7.75"s which are good, but I was a week too late getting the ones I wanted being 8.0"s, that's okay though, I skate 8 decks, so the .25 loss isn't too much, plus with these, they are actually 7.85 I believe, so they're super close, and isn't a problem, the quality is exactly on par with what they used to be atleast for myself and the pair I got, but I still have my old black pair that I believe were either black from the start, or red, and I just painted em, but they might've had a red base coat like primer, to help the black really stick onto, and that's probably the original color, black, but also my other old pair that are, my favorite color, electric blue base, and raw metal axles, not just the literal axle, but the full piece, with I believe a raw, or blue kingpin, but I unfortunately can't check right now due to them being 2 towns away, packed up with family, but both pair are 20 years old I believe, and even having skated one for about 10, and the other for 20, they've never given me trouble, haven't broken them, most that's happened is some jacked threads that need retapped, and the tip of said axles with threads, being ground down just a little, but enough to be diagonal lol, but still perfect. I've broken ever brand I can think of in some way, and I do include even just cracks, not full breaks as well, due to that just being a precursor, but none can compare to GK imo
I know I'm years late, but I actually just ordered a set of these trucks. The weird turn stop thing is actually probably going to work for me because I'm setting up a cruiser with 56mm wheels. You shouldn't have a box of trucks, you should have more decks set up. If I feel like riding Aces, I grab that deck. If I feel like riding Independents, I grab that deck. I have Krux and Thunder and Polar Bears, too. It's an addiction but a mostly harmless one.
The metal part in the bushing is like the hard urethane ones in bones bushings, they allow you to always have a solid connection with the bushing to the kingpin and hanger so it increases the rebound on them while also preventing wheel bite in some durometer's. If you want the same feel on other bushings try some array sleeved washers out. They're basically a washer with the insert piece machined into them, they're a bit expensive but they'll last pretty much forever. Still have a set I've using since 2016
i bought these in their largest size (fits 8.5-10 inch decks) and the best part about these imo is the price if you want other trucks this wide you're going to be paying twice as much as these cost (atleast in the uk)
It's not just you haha I have the gear madness as well. As soon as I get frustrated with a pair of trucks, "Maybe this would feel better on [insert brand here]..." creeps into my head. At that point there's no turning back!
I notice you really pop and skate much better on these despite your love for Indy and thunder. It’s been 20 years since my grind king days, might have to try these out
Indy and thunder make 2 types of bushings and the “tapered” type would fit on those beauties really nicely. Really happy to hear your feedback on these cuz it’s long overdrew in the skateworld! Same here with the scientific analysis of skate parts and fabrication. Enjoy the weekend Eh! :)
Scrolling through videos and all of a sudden the drywall guy pops up in a skate vid reviewing trucks. It's not that surprising you always had some kind of skate shoe on. Your videos are what got me to really give a hawk and trowel a try. You really can put down a ton of mud in a hurry compared to a knife and pan.
These are tempting to me as a former long time krux fan, the easy mode smith grinds were my main draw for a while, rode lows for a while and then highs. What turned me off of krux was the durability of the part of baseplate that held the nut for the inverted kingpin. The nut used to start wiggling loose to the point that the whole kingpin would wiggle. I'd love an update on these trucks to see if the kingpin starts wiggling loose, its such a dealbreaker for me since it really ruins the turning (not that krux turn for shit anyway... lol). I've been mostly riding aces now on my regular setups for the super fast turning.
I have never related to a video more then this my adhd prevents me from keeping a set of trucks for a long period of time if i get a different set in my head i will go a buy them 🤣🤣
I've tried all the bones bushing hardnesses (for the hell of it) in 2 setups i have with indys, 149s and 159s, which feels kinda neat and nifty for 5minutes. But i always go back to the regular cylindrical/barrel bushing. Most of your weight is on that bottom bushing. I mainly ride the red 88a. While tinkering i stumbled onto a good bushing combo that actually worked surprisingly well... An orange 90a cylindrical bottom barrel bushing, with the top bushing switched out for a bones blue bottom bushing (so that's a mix of 2 large bottom bushings together). They just fit on there minus the washer, without mooshing the larger bones bushing down too much.
I've heard good things about the new Tensor ATG magnesiums, lightest truck on the market apparently. Would love to hear your opinion of them. Love the channel, another great review
Ben your skateboard content is fucking awesome. Have you ever done a review on Crux because ever since I found out from your channel that Independence are no longer made in the states me and a whole bunch of my buddies are totally bugged out about it and I'm definitely looking for something made in the states I know that Crocs is actually going to basically under the same camp as independent but if they're still made in the state's I'm definitely interested in checking those bad boys. Thank you sir don't stop not stopping
Oh ben. I could watch you crooked grind all day. I Just cannot get that trick dialed in. Everytime I start to get comfortable, I slip over the ledge and wreck my back foot 😭
I love tight trucks and hate wheel bite... these might be for me! Next time I have disposable income I might grab a pair - thanks for the great vid as always, ben!
Try the Independent conical bushings. I didn't ride Grind King trucks, but I used to put their kingpins in my Independent trucks since GK sold the kingpins separately until the kingpin and baseplate design for Indys changed. In fact, at one point I got a set of stage 9s which had the new kingpin so I swapped the baseplates with my old ones to keep the Grind King kingpins. They are grade 8 steel so breaking them is quite a feat. I never broke them.
You can get bones in a barrel instead of conical there for long board but I buy them and it works ... but on my grind kings my bottom bushings didn't have the metal in the bushings..just on the top
Great vid as always Ben. Best info skate channel on you tube. Totally agree with bones bushings so much so that iv gone back to thunder bushings on my thunder trucks.
Grind kings were all I skated in the 90s and I loved them enough to take a few pairs down to the axel. I didn’t know they were still around, if I hadn’t bought a set of Reynolds Indy’s last week I’d have been all over these. I’m thinking about picking up a creature next, excited to hear your thoughts on it!
Thanks for the review Ben, i cant wait to see GK back in europe, they were the first 2sets of trucks i ever rode! i'm currently riding ACE 55s and INDY 215s with my old GK kingpins in them, nice and loose and no hangups!
Also another thing i used to do to bushings, was spin an angle grinder disk (the ones with only the tip is coated) Using only the blank metal on the disk, friction burn the sides into a point so they would fit in the indents of trucks like these. Suprising how quick you can shape bushings and even make them smaller to fit low trucks.
I had Grind Kings, great trucks and another great video from Ben. My comment is on th tool, i remember it, th Allen key for th deck bolts is (was) attached so you cant use th nut socket and th Allen key at th same time without somehow bending th laws of physics perhaps. It was confusing, how did it get past testing, and now, how has th same design flaw returned in 2019, is it th same batch from back then? I got a good laugh at seeing it again, it was a lot of fun handing it to someone when they were setting up a board and sitting back and waiting for their realization.
