SkateTECH
Adjusting Your Trucks
Adjusting your “trucks” is one of the most important things you are likely to ever do on your
skates. This adjustment is important because it allows you to “personalise” your skates
so that YOU achieve more responsive turning and manoeuvrability while using your
skates. Because we are all different (size, weight, limb length and build) we will need to
set our “actions” or trucks to a degree of tension that best suits our size and skating style.
Skates are rarely “set” when they come out of the box so it is important that you know how
to get them “just right” for how you skate and the particular sport you may play on your
skates.
The following is a guide on how to adjust your skates. While this information relates
directly to the Crazy Skate brand of skates, you may apply these basic principles to most
other brands. It is always advisable to contact your manufacturer if you are in doubt.
1. Know YOUR skates. To familiarise yourself with the components of a roller skate and
their functions, please refer to the pictures below:
2
1
5
6
4
3
1. KINGPIN - The main bolt that holds the
truck to the skate.
2. CUSHION COVERS (Retainer) - This cap
sits on top of the cushion or action rubber to
protect the surface.
3. CUSHION or ACTION RUBBER - These
rubbers enable you to steer the skate with a
fluid motion.
4. ACTION LOCK NUT - In a traditional
skate, this nut locks the KING PIN to the plate
at a particular tension. This stops the
Cushions from working loose.
5. TRUCK ASSEMBLY - This sits between
the Cushions and holds the wheels. It also
has a pivot rod that sits independently inside
the plate.
6. PIVOT CUP - This is a “cup” shaped
rubber part that sits inside the plate. It assists
in providing a fluid motion when turning on
your skate.
What is the LOCK NUT and what does it do?
The lock nut has the job of making sure that when you skate, your steering does not
loosen and you lose control. It has this one purpose. Once you set the desired tension
on your rubbers and you feel that the skate is totally responsive to you - you simply lock
this nut down to the base of the plate and this (like the seat belt in a vehicle) keeps
everything where it is supposed to be! If your lock nut is secured correctly, you should
not be able to adjust your cushions. General rule of thumb: it is the first thing you
loosen when you adjust your cushions. It is the last thing you tighten when you
have adjusted your cushions. Refer to picture:
Lock Nut
Location
Once you have loosened the lock nut, you then need to loosen the King Pin. This is a
long bolt that goes through the middle of all the components of your wheel assembly. It
may be likened to the main support of a building that is secured by the foundation (which
is the plate). This King Pin can be loosened or tightened against the cushion rubbers
depending upon how much movement (or responsiveness) you require when you
skate. When adjusting your cushions (found at both the front and the back of the skate)
always make sure that the cushion rubbers are in good condition. If they are flat, worn
or broken, you must adjust or remove them. Remember, these cushions are generally
made of rubber or urethane which can wear and break. If you are unsure, please refer to
a skate tech or your local rink or store for advice.
King Pin
Location
How do I know if they are right?
Well just like shopping for clothes, you have to try it and make sure you are comfortable.
It is the same for adjusting your rubbers. You need to make small adjustments by
tightening or loosening the King Pin and then skating on them to see if you are able to
turn your skates with a feeling of control that YOU are happy with. Just remember that
this is a personal setting. The most knowledgeable person in skating can not feel them
like YOU do! So test the settings until YOU feel comfortable. The tension or tightness
may also be different in the front truck to the back truck. As a general rule, the back truck
is often a little more tensioned than the front. The front wheels are mostly responsible
for turning when you skate, so they generally need a little less tension.
Standing stationary and shifting your weight from left to right can give you an indication
of the tension you require, but you should always adjust your cushions while you have
an opportunity to skate. This allows you to “correct” any adjustments until you have a
comfortable “flowing” and “responsive” motion when you skate.
What can happen if they are too TIGHT?
If your cushion rubbers are too tight, so many things can start to go wrong for you when
you skate! Here are just a few:
1. Your feet ache and you develop sensitive patches on your feet because you are
“pushing” too hard on specific areas of your foot to achieve a turn.
2. Your feet start to slide around inside your boot because you are pushing too hard in
one direction. This can be a result of your cushions being too tight and you have to
constantly push against the walls of your skate boots to achieve the turns. It also means
that you are pushing the boot beyond its limits. This can result in your skate boots
“wearing out” in a very short time! You should not have to “over tighten” your laces to
achieve good control. Your feet should be comfortable.
3. It places pressure on your plate, truck and pivot rubbers. Your skate should be in
balance. It should be adjusted to suit the way YOU skate. Your boot should fit and your
cushions should be adjusted to accommodate your style, weight, build and height. If
you have your cushions too tight, it does not allow the cushion rubbers to achieve its
other job which is to absorb “shock”. This can place pressure on your plate which could
lead to it cracking, bending or snapping. Explosive energy is created when you skate,
so this energy needs to find a release. As a rule, this energy is displaced through the
wheels to generate motion. If your cushions are too tight, that force may be transferred
to your truck assembly or plate which can lead to damage.
What can happen if they are too LOOSE?
1. If you have your cushions too loose, you will have a lot less control. This means that
you will not feel confident when you skate at high speeds or during competition. The
general feeling is that you could lose control at any minute! Your body then tenses and
over compensates in other areas which ultimately results in a skating technique that is
neither comfortable, effective or efficient!
2. If you do not feel that you have total control when you skate, (as a result of loose
actions), you may tend to over tighten your laces around your boots to give you that
added confidence when you skate. This can lead to cramping, bruising and the onset of
early fatigue. Every part of your skate relates to another. You have to achieve harmony
in your skate and that harmony can only be achieved when you understand how your
skates work.
3.You tend to compromise your technique to gain control by leaning forward from the
shoulders, which distorts your centre of gravity. This is generally achieved by your
knees coming together while you skate which in turn may place pressure on the inside
of each foot (pronation) which generally leads to stressors on other parts of your body
commonly occuring in the hips and lower back!
TAKING YOUR SKATES APART.
1. Loosen the lock nut about a half turn.
2. Then undo the king pin completely. It will separate from the plate when it is free.
3. Remove the lock nut from the bottom of the king pin.
4. The truck should be completely separate from the rest of the skate now.
5. Piece by piece, remove each component from the king pin.
6. Take note of where they go, so that you know where to put things when you
reassemble!
7. Look at your plate. Your truck was connected to the plate in two places. It was
secured with the king pin and it also rested inside a space in the plate where you
should see a rubber. This is your pivot rubber. Remove this rubber and inspect. If it
is worn or damaged in any way, replace with a new one. Without a pivot rubber, you
will not be able to maintain consistent control when you skate.
8. Inspect your cushion rubbers. Make sure they are not cracked, split, torn or
crumbling in any way. If they are, you should replace them immediately. Look closely
at your cushion rubbers. One end is slightly bigger than the other. This is on purpose.
The bigger end sits inside the truck assembly. The smaller end fits inside the metal
cushion cover. Please ensure that the cushion rubbers are put back in the correct
place when reassembling your skates.
Slightly smaller
Slightly larger
9. Make sure that your king pin is straight. If it is bent in any way, it is not safe to
continue skating without replacing it with a new one!
10. All of your parts should like something like this:
PUTTING THEM BACK TOGETHER.
1. First, take your king pin and place a cushion cover (retainer) on with the flat
surface touching the top of the bolt. The lip should be on the opposite side of the
head of the king pin.
2. Take your cushion rubber (remember the smaller end fits into the retainer) and
slide it on to the king pin. Make sure it is sitting “flush” or “flat” inside the retainer.
3. The king pin and the cushion with cap now needs to be thread through the truck
assembly. Make sure you have the truck assembly the right way up! The best way
to get this right is to position the truck near your plate and check it is the right way
up!
4. Once you have the king pin positioned, take your second cushion rubber (with the
larger end first) and slide it down the king pin shaft. It should then sit into a space
(or seat) in the truck assembly.
Sits inside “seat”
or grooved out area.
5. Take the remaining cushion retainer and tread it onto the king pin shaft with the
retainer facing towards the rubber so that is surrounds it when it comes into contact.
The flat surface of the cushion cover should NOT touch the rubber. The cushion
rubber should sit inside the little well!
6. Take the lock nut and screw it on to the king pin. Remember, if there is a “jump
bar” on your skate, this should go on first!
Jump Bar
Location
7. Replace the pivot rubber and rotate it so that it is in a different position than it was
when you took it out. This allows the rubber to wear more evenly and last longer.
8. Take your truck assembly now it is complete and very carefully line it up with the
hole that is the base of the plate. You have to make sure that this is lined up
correctly so that you DO NOT cross thread the plate when you insert it! Make sure
that the truck is placed inside the pivot rubber.
9. Very gently start turning the king pin with your fingers (not a wrench) and get the
feeling that it is screwing in smoothly. If it turns very easily, after three or four (3 or 4)
turns, it should start getting more difficult as it begins to tighten. You will need to get a
wrench to continue tightening the king pin. If you feel that it is very tight to turn straight
away, remove it immediately and try again. If you continue to have difficulty, please ask
for assistance from a skate tech! DO NOT continue to tighten if in doubt!
10. Once you have tightened the king pin so that there is tension, it is time to make the
adjustment that suits YOU. If you know your tension setting straight away, that’s fine,
but if you don’t, put the skate on your foot and while standing on the spot, displace your
weight from left to right and observe how easy the wheels pivot from left to right. This is
the first indication for you to see if they are close to your desired tension. YOU SHOULD
NOT SKATE WITHOUT TESTING THE INITIAL TENSION LIKE THIS FIRST. It is not
safe to take to a surface without weight testing the cushion rubbers first while standing
stationary. You should only start skating to test your cushion tension when you are very
sure that you are close to your desired tension setting.
11. Once testing is complete - remember the last thing you do is tighten the lock nut!
This should be tightened right down against the plate until you cannot turn it any further.
Its job is to lock the king pin into the desired tension for your optimum skating
experience.