The perfect replacement bushings for cast Valkyrie trucks, Pantheon Stylus trucks and Bear Grizzly Gen 6 trucks: the RipTide APS Plug Canon bushings are as exciting as as a little urethane doughnut gets!
These have a full 1" diameter as well as a plug/insert on the bottom bushing and come in durometers from 70A - 97.5A making them perfect not only for little/big riders but also for anyone on a split angle setup - the angles are largely wasted if you don't complement them with bushings to match.
The RipTide APS Plug Canon bushings are therefore now the go-to bushing for anyone on a split-angle Bear or Valkyrie setup, especially those looking to get the most out of them for long distance pumping or for an entry-level downhill setup without super expensive precision trucks.
Urethane formula
APS is "Animated Polymer System" and is their most lively urethane formula as seen in the super popular RipTide APS Carver CX/C5 bushings.
It offers high rebound and nice lean as well as reacting well to changes in kingpin tightness - however as with any bushing, if you notice it starting to compress/bulge as you tighten then you've gone too far and it won't help any further. At that point, grab a harder bushing.
In our experience with RipTide urethanes, the APS fits best for most people and most applications including cruising, carving, pumping, long distance and surfskating.
Bushing shape
The Plug Canon shape is unique on the market right now.
The plug (or insert) is the sleeve on top of the bottom bushing which fits up into the bushing seat of your truck. There are various plug (or insert) bushings available - see our Venom HPF Plug barrels for an example.
The plugs are most useful when a truck has some play - usually thanks to a very open bushing seat as seen in the Paris V3 or the Bear Grizzly Gen 6. It sits in the gap and tightens the whole thing up - less slop, more control. This is why the standard replacement bushing for Paris - the Orangatang Knuckle bushings - also feature a plug.
Other trucks with a tighter bushing seat such as the Sabres do not need a plug bushing to have that level of control.
Canon means that the bushings are a full 1" in diameter. Most bushings are very slightly less than that. The difference is minimal but again, for trucks with some play it can fill all that space with urethane and make the whole thing a bit more cohesive.
Until now, the Seismic Defcon bushings have been to go-to for a Bear Grizzly Gen 6 bushing upgrade as they are also a true 1" diameter and do a fairly good job at tackling the play. However the original Bear bushings have a plug, which the Seismics do not.
These RipTide Plug Canon bushings have both the 1" diameter (Canon) and the plug (Plug!) making them the perfect aftermarket bushing option for Bears, as well as cast Valkyries and Pantheon Stylus.
The application
Up until the release of these bushings if you weren't ~70-90kg then you would not have gotten the most out of a Pantheon Stylus, cast Valkyrie or Bear Grizzly truck.
Now, anyone can enjoy these trucks to their fullest extent by choosing a bushing durometer that suits their weight.
The suggested durometer of RipTide Plug Canon bushing for rider weight is as follows:
| 00 - 45kg / 000 -100 lbs |
70a - 80a |
| 45 - 64kg / 100 - 140 lbs |
75a - 85a |
| 64 - 77kg / 140 - 170 lbs |
85a - 90a |
| 77 - 91kg / 170 - 200 lbs |
90a - 95a |
| 91kg+ / 200 lbs + |
95a - 97.5a |
Keep in mind that this is only a guide, intended for general cruising/carving/distance use with a symmetrical truck setup.
If you are looking for something more specific from your setup, be it faster speeds, flowy dance moves or long distance pumping with a split-angle setup, the recommended durometers would be different.
For split angle setups, aim for a ~10A duro difference between the front and back truck. The front can be softer than you'd usually go for, as the harder back adds lots of stability back in.
Really dialling in a long distance pumping setup will take some experimentation and which duros you need will depend on the rest of your setup (truck angles and widths, wheelbase, etc) as well as your own preferences.
A higher angle in the front - the Pantheon Superdupersonic plus a 50 degree truck offers a 65 degree front truck angle which this is about as high as most people will realistically take it - will need a lower duro bushing than a lower/more standard front truck of ~50 degrees.
The lower the angle in the back - pumping setups vary between perhaps 0 and 30 degrees in general - the harder bushing you'll probably want. Low angles lean more so wheelbite can become an issue on certain setups, and a hard bushing will step in to help with that. But it still needs to lean enough to keep both wheels on the floor at all times!
What's included
These packs include two bushings:
- 1x Plug Canon barrel bushing (for the bottom/boardside)
- 1x Canon barrel bushing (for the top/roadside)
- 1x Flat washer (kinda small and not particularly tight on kingpin)
The RipTide APS Plug Canon bushings add so much life to a Bear, Pantheon or cast Valkyrie truck and we are buzzing they are finally available!
