Oh, man. I was skating in the late 80's and we had HUGE risers. We needed them because our wheels were mid 60's. Flip tricks were not a big thing yet, we just went fast as hell!
@@evvilando He doesn't mean the board never flipped, he's talking kick flips with a sliding front foot. Instead of old school kickflips that are done differently or all manner of no comply tricks that would have the board spin too. Honestly, hundreds of tricks exist that do not involve ollies or flip tricks. There would still be plenty of things to be stylish with no doubt. Heck, the entire freestyle scene from the late 80s prove you wrong anyway, but perhaps you just don't like freestyle. That's fine either way.
I started riding 1/8" soft risers because I kept breaking too many boards way before their time. After I added them, my boards stopped breaking so easily, and I got the benefit of a slightly less jarring ride on rough surfaces.
Hey Ben, If you never seen it I highly recommend you check out the nine club interviews with both Professor Paul Schmitt and pro skater Neen Williams, between you 3 and Rodney mullen skate theory talks my perspective of skate equipment is so much more open. Neen breaks down his theory on riding the first ever (to his knowledge) twin "nose" board. and Schmitt breaks down everything imaginable about skate science... could watch him speak for hours on end. Anyways my point of bringing them up is because of your ventures into being a part owner of a canadian board shop, twin nose boards would be awesome to see you get in stock and see you do a test and thoughts video of the notorious twin nose board shape. on the otherside of things you nailed many of the benefits and negatives to risers, whats interesting is Schmitt points out its pure science with risers you'll get higher pop, as with bigger wheels, various trucks, or changing the wheelbase lengths theses are all things that effect your timing and directly change the boards contact angle/lauch angle (as you discuss in this video and many others on with the effects that trucks have on ride feel depending on wheels or deck shapes/wheelbase lengths) Some interesting things about risers that Schmitt briefly points out is for starters is how its funny that the idea of using riser pads gets a such an instant and negative reaction from many skaters but often for an unfounded reason (someone told them they were uncool once so they never got to experience the true benefits or negatives of them for themselves they just toss them aside never to be considered again) and some skaters wont even experiment with wheel sizes or board shapes at all (sometimes theyve already found there perfect setup... other cases they unfortunately havent experimented enough to truly have discovered there best performing setup but are to stubborn to try new things and then theres those that have no real preferrences at all and skate just about any varying skate setup) whats interesting about risers is they always give you the same 1/8" (roughly 3mm) overall rise no matter what, whereas with wheel sizes the diffference between a 52mm to 54mm isnt actually 2mm rise like we often think of them being but rather just a mere 1mm difference in rise since you measure the height/rise difference of wheel sizes from the truck axle center... this is why changing wheel sizes has an effect but is often much less drastic of a change in feeling compared to the effects riser pads give skaters or that the weight or shape of the wheels has... essentially the idea of using risers just for additional clearence with big wheels is only a small benefit they give and experimenting with different combinations of wheel sizes and 1/8" risers can be a worth while pursuit in finding a perfect riding and performing setup, riser pads are quickly wrote off as useless by many skaters but can have major performance gains/benefits when effectively used. Also Schmitt points out the obvious benefits of risers adding some level of comfort/cushion/dampening to impacts (you kinda mention it as well) and also points out that compared to adjusting wheel sizes to get more pop, adding a riser can give you the same or greater result but with almost no significant weight change compared to the differences of changing wheel sizes in an attempt to add pop which can have a significant change in weight depending on the actual shape and size of the wheel, all in all I love hearing skate theory talks/discussions at the end of the day for us that cant setup appointments to visit with prof. Schmitt experimenting on our own is the only way to find that golden perfect feeling ride setup that each individual person has. essentially theres a lot of trial and error and combinations that can be done (as your videos point out all the time) between wheel sizes/shapes/dura, board sizes/shapes/materials, truck sizes/materials, risers everything has an effect on how your skateboard experience. as Schmitt says "everyone finds what they like they just dont know why." and this is why I love skate theory discussions because it allows us to all understand why we love and hate certain board setups.
@@PoopShitz I saw this video where this brown guy talks about bearings. He likes bikes but the 608 bearings in skateboard wheels are exactly what he talks about. Check it out!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T3kEM8SbWqY.html
I've been riding risers for many years (though not on all my setups). When I ride in bowls I like to skate very wide shaped boards with ~60mm wheels and usually Indy 169s. Basically the idea is you can just get up into any weird corner you want and it's amazing what crazy shralpy old concrete you can grind over. It's all about being able to go very fast, maintain speed, but also being able to turn very tight without biting too much. It sucks for tricks, but if you're in the mood to skate "pool" style it's hard to beat the feeling of a monster board with loosy goosy trucks on it. I would never put them on anything narrower than about 9".
what size rizers do you run? im thinking of trying them cuz i love the way they make my ollies feel. just wonder how flip tricks will go i only tryed rizers on my first board and some dude let me borrow his board with rizer and i didnt wanna try any flip tricks and break it lol.
Its really a preference and what you get used to. I always skated shockpads which are also risers just sof instead of hard plastic. It keeps my decks from getting pressure cracks and helps obbsorb shock when jumping down stairs and stuff
my late 80's set up had super small wheels that were just coming into use for street skating (spitfires I think?), but I rode with standard riser pads that were comfortably twice the depth of the risers seen in this video, this prevented wheelbite as my trucks were generally tight, but it also helped with increasing the pop for allies, flip tricks were still in their infancy in street skating in '89 in the UK at least, whereas the obsession with steep tails and maximising 'pop' for allies was all the rage!
On indies I didn't use risers and I skate 56mm formula fours. I switched to thunders so I added a small riser to make it closer to indie height. I like loose trucks so I have to put wax on my board under the wheels to help with wheel bite.
I think I've always used risers. Never knew why until I tried a board without them. I don't like how it feels when you land without them. To me it's almost as if you can feel the baseplate so I've continued back on risers since. It's all personal preference. Really enjoying going through your videos. Awesome content
Me too. The main reason I use risers is for shock absorption. I can really feel the difference with and without them. Much easier on the body with risers.
Having been a skater in the 80s, I never knew anyone who didn't use risers. I got a more modern board probably around 2001. It's an Element 7.75 x 31.5 I think. The skate shop set me up with 1/8" risers with Independent trucks. I guess people are using bigger boards now. Strange, how they went from big boards, to skinny ones, back to slightly bigger ones now. Maybe I will get an 8" board next time since that kind of seems to be the new standard, and I will try it without risers.
@@idmhead0160 I recently changed to having no risers on an 8 inch board with indy 139s.. My opinion has now changed and I really love how it feels without them. The board feel is amazing. My guess is that the setup I had at the time of not liking them was a lot different. Pretty sure I was using ventures back then and skating 7.75s too. Either way the newer Indy's are taller than they used to be so I think that could also contribute to why I prefer my setup without risers now. Kind of threw me off a bit that actually liked the feeling without them haha 😅.
I measured my wheels and risers today. I'm running 35mm wheels with 1/8" rubber risers. I'll try taking the risers off when I get some new wheels which will be happening soon. When you say Indy 139s, does that mean 139mm wide? I have Indys, but, have no idea what model they are. The setup is probably at least 10 years old. Probably, I'll get an 8" board next time. So, I'm assuming I'll need to get a new set of trucks as well.
@@idmhead0160 Yep, If your old setup is 10ish years old and you plan to upgrade to an 8"+ board you'll for sure need new trucks... My guess is you've got indy 129s Indy and the various truck companies will have a guideline chart online to match truck width to board width.
I ride 1/8 'shock pad' risers, it mean they're soft, preventing board pressure marks/cracks up to almost 100% and therefore for my believe making the board a bit stronger and I also feel thar I get a slightly smoother ride on rough terrains - it's all worth it for me.
I wonder if the regular hard risers would also do something to mitigate stress cracks. I skate mostly bowls with no risers and always get stress cracks. I am 200 pounds and compress hard as hell in corners. I dont want the soft ones tho because i dont want to lose any compressing efficiency. I even cracked a ply in half on a 8.5 creature by just compressing at high speed in a bowl.
Some riser pads definitely mitigate the stress of riding on rough terrain and makes it feel more comfortable, however it would generally not do much for true impact damage. I'd say stress cracks probably have much more to do with not landing bolts (that's what bends the board the most) and in some ways having your trucks mounted on the board too tightly really. Again though, some riser pads definitely are less useful as shock absorbers. Apparently, the type and brand and quality matters quite a bit. Those thin ones you get on the cheap, you may as well not use at all if you're looking for shock absorption. Also, as much as softer wheels don't slide and might have a negative impact on what tricks you can do, they do have a much stronger impact on shock absorption and making it ride more comfortable. One of my boards now has Seismic Focus 95A 55mm wheels and those feel great on fairly rough terrain, whilst having a fairly minimal effect on the slide ability. I'd probably go for 97A or 99A next time around though, but can't complain.
Tensor Lows with 1/8 risers feel great, with the risers they're pretty much the same height as my Thunders but the carves feel super good since the risers put the pivot point a little farther away from the deck which lets you really lean into it.
i use riser pads too, but a very thin one so my pop doesnt change one bit, i do it to prevent pressure cracks, also i get a little bit more of impact protection for myself too because i used to ride with old way too small wheels and the impact of that was amazingly rough even with double shock insoles, and also i get less chance of wheelbite and my tail dont become razor the same way like normal boards do.
i rode risers solidly for like 2 years growing up bc i switched to low trucks from venture high 5.0 to venture low 5.0 and eventually rode krux down lows...in my middle school years. The down lows were great for smith grinds and transition lock ins. But i was used to tight trucks and the down lows i had tightened to the cap/top. Which was the first time i had ever skated loose-er trucks in the starting years of my skating days. Which had me needing risers with my 52mm swirl classics. Went with 1/8th inch rubber and rode them with 2 sets of down lows for around 2 years and that was the last time i rode risers bc i went to indy standards 139 stage 9/10 and thunder high 147. When i got in HS and started skating 8" boards. Now trying to convert to venture 6.1 from 159 as an older/og rider. I need risers to run the same wheels id run with indys...and am trying to step up to the big 56+MM wheel craze thats truly worth it in your skate life time. 56mm conical fulls insane contact patch 101a...the most board/surface feel ive ever had. Its pretty insane to feel every change in the transition or mid carve feel all the bumps in a corner. I could really understand using shock/soft pads with 101 wheels now that ive ridden 101a for the first time and on the largest contact you can essentially get on a skate/street wheel. If i had 58mm 95a oj natas wheels the comparison vs the 56-58 conical full 101a spitfires or 101a oj hardlines must be night and day. as far as board and surface feel as well as how your bearings/speed feels landing in transition from an air/transfer. For me the most speed and pump i can get out of a carve/transfer/air is bc of this hard wheel/epic contact patch setup. IDK how risers will affect this as ive recently started skating them or adding them to my quiver to ride the ventures, but im now trying out those real "expensive" wooden risers....that are truck specific so i have to get universal to try them on indy, more over if im ever going to run ace 44 trucks and loose with big wheels Im also used to stage 9/x indys as my go to truck so the stage XI is already higher than stage X and venture highs...adding a riser makes them even higher. Theres all that and the height aspects of forged baseplates which makes an 1/8'' riser somewhat standard to people who really like their truck height like standards etc. Id have to run an indy forged baseplate or mids on stage II to run risers to have some relativity to my normal setup. BUT stage XI standards also have my attention if i can run F4 Conical full 56mm w.o risers and can manage to not get wheelbite with med-hard conical bushings.
I use soft riser pads to make my mid trucks higher. It absorbs the impact while landing the tricks, reducing vibrations while riding streets and protects the board a little bit because it acts as a soft cushion against truck's baseplate when landing on nose and tail. Also it never made my hardware loosen nor trucks missaligning after heavy curb sessions. 1/8 is just enough but you can also make it thinner from inner bycicle tire for example. Few of these stacked over one another allows you to fine tune the height of the trucks.
I’m curious to see how thunders perform with risers. I like the quick snap they have without them, but I love the height on indys & flips tricks on them overall.
To the point well done. I've been skating for like 10 years and I felt this was useful to me. I've always rode riders as I stick to park skating but I'm going to take them off next time I skate so I can try some more poppy tricks in transverse.
I run 149 hollow Indys with OJ Hot Juice 55mm minis on my cruiser board and run a 1/8" Indy shock pad/riser to prevent the wheel bite and give it a smooth feel. The standard hollows are 53.5mm high (regular Indys and reynolds hollow are 55mm)... I've been very happy with it. Also, the Riptide pivot cups and bushings are seriously a godsend... I would recommend those to anyone looking to improve their truck setup. The stock Indy pivot cups are absolutely horrible.
My ollie timing is so affected by board height. Being an 80’s kid, I learned on 60mm ojII’s with 1/2” risers. Like you’ve mentioned about the axle positioning with trucks affecting the angle of your pop; if I skate a modern set up with like 52-54mm wheels and no risers, my stationary ollies are just terribly inconsistent and all around sucky. So, I skate 54mm-56mm wheels with 1/8”to 3/16” risers. If I’m skating low trucks like ml and 52-53mm wheels, I’ve got to have a full 1/4” riser for the pop to be steep enough for me. I need to just relearn my timing and be done with it so I don’t look like a moron with 1/4” or 5/16” risers on a stinking popsicle.
After spending too much time on the intertubes trying to figure out if I would be better off without the 1/8 inch risers I had on one board when I switched to a new deck, I have come to the conclusion that there is a lot of science that could be applied to skateboarding but wouldn't mean anything because the major variable (the skater) changes so much on any given day and day to day that you would need five or more skateboards with slightly different setups to be able to tell which would be the best for you on any particular day. And then, after skating on a particular setup for a bit, that would be the one you would stick with because that would be the setup you would be biased to use because you want to believe in your instincts. I'm going to use risers because my ollies need all the help I can get.
Getting back into skating after 2+decades only snowboarding (well, & ice hockey, rugby, mma & a bunch of unrelated sports). Rusty as hell. Bought a used board w/risers & forgot the point of them other than if large wheels (which my board does NOT have)...so THANKS for the refresher on this topic! I thought it felt weird. Taking them off today.
Hi Ben! Have been watching your old risers video to find out more on them. Could make an update with bigger wheels (55 +) as there seems to be a trend that many pros are also going bigger. Cheers!
Indy trucks (standard & hollow) are 55mmm high and made so you don't get wheel-bite on regular size street wheels (up to 54mm). Forged Hollow and Aluminum are a bit lower (& lighter) 53.5mm.
My set up for the last 6years or so is a riser on only one truck not sure if the heights are different as I do rock 2 different trucks. No rhythm or reason that I can recall but after getting some over size bones spf 58s I think i might get risers since that's cheaper then buying the correct size spit fire wheels. The bones wheel were a trade for some art and my old wheels freaked everyone out when they saw how differently they worn over 6 years or so. Biggest take away from watching most of Ben's videos is your set up does matter. I have a feeling i wouldn't of dislocated my collar bone getting wheel bite if I had new risers on both trucks with my to big of wheels.
Hi, so I just ordered two boards from sale but the problem is that those have 14" wheelbase and I use indys so i think I wouldn't have any pop on that combination... i prefer 14.37" on indys, could the 1/8" risers be the solution? I actually had one board with 14" wheelbase and indys and did not have very high pop, but i had my old wheels that were like 45mm or smaller at that point.. So i don't know if it would be that bad anyway because my current wheels are like not that worn down i think theyre at like 50 or 51mm Pls help me😅
What about shock absorbtion? When you had knee or back issues. Does those risers help with that? I heard those fp insoles are helpful, but I think that those doesn't ever fit so well in any shoes...My reason to try risers is shock absorbtion. Even riding softer wheels, cause I really felt the difference in my knees compared to harder ones...well with age 38...anyway I thought: aren't those risers squeezed tight between deck and truck...so they probably won't absorb anything -?-
I bought some as I use to have em. Just think always really, though for a good few years, I have been without. Maybe 3. I ride bigger wheels like 55s so I guess these will help feels strange though, but good. What I am annoyed about is how they never sit flush and I wonder why that is.
ive been skating with risers on my Indy mids and I took them off and I really didn’t feel any difference besides feeling a little bit better on turning
My current setup is real 8.25, indy 149 forged hollow, 53mm bones v1stf, 1/8th risers. The bushings are stock, with the kingpin nut flush. Sometimes I think I need to tighten it, then I remember I regret changing the tightness. Tbh I think the issue with wheelbite may be unoptomised bushings.. For some reason I am hesitant to try bones medium bushings.. I've tried black, blue and orange Indy bushings. Black no turn, blue kind of stiff turn, orange are tolerable but take time to ride and tighten a little. Every person that mixes hardnesses and shapes seems to never actually skate. I may be wrong though, respect to all
I ended up trying medium bones in indys. They certainly offer more stability. I used them with both stock indy washers. I bought standard thunders and I like them. I like the way they turn as is. It's all really about muscle memory and control. Very similar to joystick sensitivity adjustment back in halo 1-2 and cod waw.. Gotta start normal amd slowly increase sensitivity to maximize your capability
I almost never get wheel bite dont use risers have 58mm wheels and i weigh 200 pounds. But i dont ride super loose trucks either. But im moving up from 8.5 to 9 inch deck with wider trucks wondering if the extra leverage on the wider trucks will require me to get at least a 1/8 risers. Not the hugest deal if i go down to 56s either since thats what i used to ride but im love my 58 spf bones.
Awesome content as always! Love going back in time and watching your older stuff! I'm riding my first pair of Indy 149's, do you think I still need risers with 55mm wheels? The board I initially set up had Venture 5.8's (53.5mm height) but I switched to a set of Indy's (which are 1.5mm higher) because I've wanted to try em since I was a kid (not disappointed in the least!) but the risers still make even my ollies feel weird/unsafe/ghost-poppy... Do you think I could get away with 55mm wheels and no risers? Thanks in advance!
I also have the indy high (55mm) and I am in doubt of adding risers, more than anything because I feel the impact of the board towards the trucks. Have you tried them? How did it turn out for you?
@@thefisu I've since switched to 52mm wheels on the same indy 149 standards and removed the risers. The streets are a little sketchier but I can ollie again! I could probably get away with the 55mm wheels but I haven't tried yet.
I'd personally rather throw riser pads then use bigger wheels to get a proper height, it turns better while reducing wheelbites (especially on low trucks like Thunders). They also absorb the impact when landing tricks or riding rough concrete or asphalt, especially those rubber ones. My board even sounds better and less loud because the vibrations and sound of trucks and the board are dampened. Also it keeps my hardware safe from unscrewing because it creates tension that keeps them in place. Please note that rubber ones work much better then those made from plastic, wood or polyurethane, they can reduce or completely eliminate pressure cracks on the board.
I was sure riders were made to keep the metal trucks on the wood from weakening the deck over time so it don’t grind into the board they work more like a washer or spacer then a riser like they’re called
Weird, I’ve got 159 Indy regular Stage 11’s (stock bushings) with 1/8” risers and 54mm wheels and I ate it from wheel bite so much at first, I had to crank them down very tight and I still feel like I’m dangerously close to hitting the wheels :/
Same here. First turn on my 144 indy's with 54mm wheels was instant wheel bite. The pivot cups also already queek even brad new, sheesh. Quickly ordered Riptide bushings and pivot cups, and 1/8" shock pads. Rides much better now!
Im just learning how to skateboard at 30years old and my goal is to get super comfy on the board so im riding 59mm bones on 1/4 risers lol im scared ima get used to riding so high and on the long run be bad lol
In my teens wheels were gigantic and risers were inserted by default, but now You want the board low and light as a feather, 1/8 increase becomes a deal.
risers are hard to skate, but having my personal preference as loose 169s with 58 comical fulls there’s really no other option, guess i just gotta go full hesh
I always make risers myself. Engine oil bottles are good materials to shape the risers and the thickness of plastics is really thin , meaning you get the advantages of risers and do not sacrify much board feels where you stand low to the ground. Moreover, it is free of charge.
Not gonna lie when I was younger I used to ride with the shorty shock pads not the the plastic risers I heard back in the day the shock pads would reduce the pressure cracks them come from beneath the trucks
With big heavy trucks like a pair of stock Indy’s I would use 1/8” clear gel shock pads. Makes the ride much smoother with less vibration. Also the extra 1/8” really does give you more pop. Just ask Professor Schmitt. When I ride a smaller lighter pair of trucks like Thunders with 52mm wheels I don’t feel the need for the shock pads. It’s all personal preference.
I watched that video as well. I get the theory but I think he could have ollied that board stack anyway. Brandon westgate rides the venture lows. Like you said it's all personal preference.
I feel that a problem that you had was to use riser pads with 55 mm wheels are not big enough so that in my opinion you should use riser pads maybe if you would not notice the difference with a 58 or 60 mm depending on how hard the wheels take riser pads to say if you use soft wheels will stop you more than a hard but equally very good video!
macha xouiva it's a weird one. 8.5 over the front truck and 8.25 over the back truck. It's a Bob Burnquist Firm deck I bought 12 years ago as a vert deck.
I myself ride 56mm..but I weigh 210lbs...risers are a must for me....skinny guys not so much. I just tried 52mm for the first time no risers. ...terrible. But I ride bowls..no interest at all in flipping my board.
I just got indy mid hollows with forged baseplates and the inverted kingpins. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to run risers. I am getting insane amounts of wheel bite with 52 mm wheels and I don't want to run smaller wheels.
Dude I ride 10x30 pig shape decks and indy 169 trucks I've gotten wheel bite. Like dude said about 80s. Shapes are heavier then your Popsicles,we use 56mm and up wheels. Try to ride a shape deck with no risers then maybe you'll see some of us actually have real use for them. Which ppl did street in the 80s and they created the base for the tricks street used, ofcourse also Mullens is vital to your tricks but he was freestyle he also invented the Popsicle to.but majority of ppl who shaped skateboarding had risers.also soft risers are like shock pads so less stress on you and your board.so that's another good use for them.
