How Tight Should My Trucks Be On My Skateboard?

How Tight Should My Trucks Be On My Skateboard?

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If you are a skateboarder, the tightness of your skateboard trucks will be one of your priorities. The tightness of your skateboard trucks depends on your riding style and how comfortable you feel. But as a beginner, you have no idea how tight your trucks should be on your skateboard. Well, let me give you a general answer. 

Your skateboard trucks should be tight enough that you can effortlessly control your skateboard. It should also be loose enough that you can effortlessly control the board. If you are experiencing a wheel bite, you have to look at some options to fix that. You can tighten your skateboard trucks if you are experiencing a wheel bite. But if you are not experiencing wheel bite, your trucks may be loose. 

You can set your skateboard trucks too tight or loose, depending on your preferences. However, as I have said, your skateboard trucks should be tight enough that the kingpin will not fall out and loose enough that the bushings don’t burst. 

If you are a skateboarder that loves to ride on streets or skateparks, I would suggest that you tighten your skateboard trucks to give you more stability. If you love cruising, you want your skateboard trucks to be quite loose for you to turn right or left easily. Lastly, if you skate vert, you want your skateboard trucks to be somewhere in the middle. 

The sole purpose of this article is to help you clarify how tight your skateboard trucks should be. As a result, hopefully, after reading this article, you can determine the right tightness of your skateboard trucks properly. So, if you are ready to find out how tight your skateboard trucks should be, let us proceed!

How Tight Should Skateboard Trucks Be?

You cannot measure the tightness of the trucks of your skateboard with a special tool. However, after reading this awesome article, you can recognize the tightness more easily. 

First of all, let us identify the differences between tight and loose trucks because both of them have advantages and disadvantages. 

Having tight skateboard trucks is faster and easier to manage compared to loose trucks. Also, it gives satisfying balance when riding downhill or vert ramp and doing tricks. Loose trucks are easy to turn and maintain adequate flow while riding your skateboard. However, loose trucks are not suitable for doing skateboard tricks and fast riding. 

For beginners in skateboarding, I would highly suggest keeping your skateboard trucks regularly, not too tight or loose. It can help you learn to skateboard faster and discover your riding interests. 

Pro skateboarders already know what kind of riding style they prefer, which is why they can easily identify how tight or lose their skateboard trucks should be. 

It depends on your riding style. But to help you decide how tight your skateboard trucks should be, let me give you the pros and cons of tight and loose skateboard trucks. 

Pros And Cons Of Tight Trucks

If you love doing skateboarding tricks, chances are you should start tightening your skateboard trucks. This will give you more stability when landing your skateboarding tricks. 

Pros of tight trucks:

  • Wheel bite will vanish
  • Less chance of getting speed wobbles
  • Give you stability when landing a skateboarding trick

Cons of tight trucks:

  • You will not be able to turn or carve well without lifting your front wheels
  • If you tighten your trucks too much, it can blow out your bushing

Pros And Cons Of Loose Trucks

Like I have said above, loose skateboard trucks are best suited for those skateboarders that love to cruise and have max turn capabilities. However, it can be hard for you to land skateboard tricks if you have loose trucks. 

Pros of loose trucks:

  • It will be much easier to turn left or right
  • Can carve

Cons of loose trucks:

  • Can cause wheel bite
  • Not good for landing a skateboard trick
  • Not good for beginners

Are Tight Trucks Better For Tricks?

Yes! Tight trucks are better for doing skateboarding tricks. If you have loose trucks and you do some skateboarding tricks, it will be hard for you to do that and you might get in an accident. Having tight trucks will help you land your skateboarding tricks easier. 

Is It Easier To Ollie With Tight Trucks?

Yes! Tight trucks are right to learn ollie because it gives you more stability. But, that is just if you don’t have a better option. If you have a skateboard that provides more stability, then try losing trucks for an ollie. 

Are Loose Trucks Better For Tricks?

No, and I will not recommend that. Let me tell you the reason why. Loose trucks will make it difficult for you to do action on your skateboard. Tight trucks are better for skateboarding tricks. However, if you are a beginner in skateboarding, you must go into the middle. 

Final Words 

The tightness of your skateboard trucks depends on your riding style, preferences, level, and your skateboarding goals. If you love doing skateboarding tricks, it is better to tighten your skateboard trucks. But if you are into cruising, make your skateboard trucks loose. However, for beginners, I would suggest you go somewhere in the middle. Not too tight and not too loose.