Skating down hills has changed.
Twenty years ago there was less choice in equipment, I owned a Lush Mako.
I was encouraged to go faster on that stock setup. It was fine.
The Eastbourne IGSA race provided an opportunity for us to test ourselves against the best in the world - and yes, it turned out I wasn't very good, but that's not my point here.
I was smiling though - and still am :)
My point is that, whilst there were a few fancy CNC trucks on show, my setup for the most part wasn't that different to the guys in the top ten.
Nowadays? Good luck with that.
A competitive modern-day race setup plus enough wheels to last the whole event might set you back a few thousand quid.
Accessibility has been lost in a big way... until now.
These Rebirth trucks are £70 a set, and are packed full of features that would have set you back £400+ just last week:
- Narrow hanger widths, 122mm - 132mm
- High rake, 7mm
- Inline rear hanger
- Queenpin support
Don't get me wrong - this isn't the truck to end all trucks. It is not a precision truck, it is cast, so it lacks the full slop-control of a more expensive offering.
But it does change the game significantly. You can now try out a new school downhill setup for the same cost as a regular longboard.
The trucks are tidy where they need to be - CNC finished pivots help a lot.
If you're wanting to take them really fast, we absolutely recommend grabbing the Rebirth Precision Upgrade Kit to go with them for an extra tenner - it tightens up the support of the queenpins significantly, removing unwanted movement in the truck. We sold out of ours already, but are expecting more in at the end of next week and they're available to pre-order on the website.
The trucks come with four spare bushings, and if you want to experiment further you'll need tall bushings - we've got the Venom HPF Talls in stock and ready to go.
We are very stoked to be the first shop to be offering these into the UK market and are already eyeing up which decks to get in to pair them with to make up some solid, budget downhill completes.
Got ideas? Let me know what you'd like to see.
May this newsletter send you into the weekend yearning for turning, dreaming of leaning,
Matt @ Vandem
We're suckers for good product presentation and the Rebirth trucks do a great job.
It's not quite the laser engraved box of the Bear Kodiaks but it's a lot better than a bit of single-use plastic around each one!
Meow 😁