My *UPDATE* on Pumping

It's fun. 

No, really. It's so fun!!!

What made me able to pump?

The trick was the rear bushings. That, plus how tight the rear is. The rear was, in fact, way too hard for me. Gray 96a Tall FatCone Krank is extremely hard, so that's why I switched to a 93a Krank Tall Barrel. 

It's like night and day.

Let me elaborate on why I think it's an amazing upgrade. 

1. The Shape of the Bushings 

They're a tall barrel. Much more movement than a Tall FatCone, which widens as you look down on it. 

What I had before 

Versus what I have now

So as you see in the diagram, these tall barrels move more than the Tall FatCone. 

2. 93a Duro vs. 96a Duro

They are much softer in comparison to 96a. However, if I wanted to go slightly harder, these bushings will actually harden as you tighten down the bushings, thanks to the Krank Formula that these bushings are poured in! So, even if they do happen to be too loose, I could just tighten them up, and they'll be perfect!!

3. The Rebound 

It's crazy to me, how much rebound is so important to the LDP experience. It returns you to the center of the board without bucking you off. It's so cool, but the front bushings have some rebound to them as well, thanks again to the Krank Formula and the APS formula. The front is APS, but Krank is in the rear. 

For a while I was using Ronin Talls , which are good, but, the only caveat being that they had little rebound. I mean, they're a great bushing for downhill....but for LDP? No, I'm happy I have a Krank formula bushing in the rear. 

Lesson to be learned: Tweak with the bushings. Seriously this is a must. Whether you are looking for more rebound, or just something loose in general, you should consider that. 

Not only did that whole bushing ordeal help, but the front angle is a huge factor as well. Reason? I'll tell you in an upcoming post!! So stay tuned!!

10/10

Honest Review of the Don't Trip Poppies

The Poppy Review 

Pictured right here is my AZ, with some Poppies and SpeedVents.

The SP 55° 125mm Poppy is a phenomenal truck.

Pictured here is the Poppy Truck installed on my GBomb Setup, with a front DDR, and rear TTS, on the X-26 platform.

The Good

This truck has been amazing so far. With my recent(-ish) injury, I have had to cut back on the DH aspect of my career, but now I'm focusing on Long Distance Pushing/Pumping, or LDP, and so far, it's been a blast. Let's get the good things out of the way.

High Angle

These trucks sit at an astounding 55°. For reference, the average truck sits at about 50°. What this high angle means is that you can carve, or rather, pump, your board. Paired with a low degree rear (like my TTS, or a TTA, or an ECOLITE) it'll be good for high speed pumping. Oh yeah, did I also mention that this truck is on a DDR, which is essentially a front bracket, that is adjustable? It adjusts the angle, so currently, I have it at about 65°, and boy it's perfect. 

Width

The Width on this hangar is perfect, it's 125mm adjustable to 143mm. Now granted, I did have the wider version, 152mm adjustable to 170mm, and I did not like the wider version one bit. I had a friend, we will call him Tommy , he was able to pump a Genesis I had, but the thing is that he had to use his WHOLE body. I can't really do that, I can get into the groove, sure. But doing full body pumps, I cannot do, I can wiggle and get going that way. So that's why I opted to get a new hangar that's a little more narrower. With narrower hangars, they actually travel less distance than with wider trucks in the same amount of time.

The Old Genesis, pictured right here

SP Vs. Pivot Cup

I opted for the SP (Spherical) baseplate for this truck, mainly for one reason. The reason being that I was thinking of taking this truck out onto smooth pavement. I was being stupid and took it out on a really rough road, and man, it is brutal!! Constant vibration from the road, I think that if I could go back in time, I would have opted for the Pivot Cup version. But I am not complaining much. 

I knew what I was signing up for, and to be honest, I think I know what to do in the future, aka not take it out on rough roads!!

The Look

It looks like a really good truck. It comes with one color for the hangar, Silver, and one color for the Baseplate, Black. It truly looks badass.

The Bad

I've read a lot about this truck, and apparently there's a known issue with it. Apparently around 1000km (or roughly 621 miles) to 3000km, the kingpin will snap, rendering the truck useless. 

It's mainly a safety issue, but some preventative work can be done to it for sure. But , alas, the kingpin is luckily replaceable.

And that's what is essentially going to make my review harder on the Poppies. I love these trucks, but, the fact that they are only "durable until..." , let's just say that it's not ideal. 

9/10

These are a great truck, but there are some improvements to be had.