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Skate Trucks

Skate trucks are one of the only galvanized pieces of material on the skateboard itself. The trucks are the housing units for the kingpin, axel, and wheels. The kingpin is a pin that exists in the middle of the axel sheath and the truck that moderates the plausible movement of the trucks in relationship with the wheels. By tightening the kingpin you regulate the movement of the axel, providing a less flexible harder to turn skateboard. By loosening the kingpin, you deregulate the movement of the axel, creating a more flexible skateboard that can turn very tightly, quite quickly.

The skate trucks are usually one piece with a slot for the kingpin and axel. The axel holds the wheels at either end, and is usually made of a heavy metallic material or an aluminum alloy. The trucks are fairly uniform throughout the sport and do not have much differentiation between them. In almost all cases, the board or deck breaks prior to the axels or wheels due to their heavy duty construction and the hardness of the materials.

Skate trucks are attached to the bottom of the deck via the base plate which will have between four and eight screw holes. The kingpin attaches the hanger which houses the axel and wheels to the base plate. In that short list of materials the entire construction and movement of the skateboard is listed.

 

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