Picking the right size skateboard truck is pretty easy. Just make sure they fit your deck or you could get some issues with responsiveness and balance. The hight of skateboard trucks is a personal preference, low, medium, or high trucks it’s really up to you.
The width of your truck should match the width of your skateboard deck. This data table shows exactly what size you need.
| Deck size | Axle width | Hangar width |
|---|---|---|
| 7.75 inch to 8.0 inch | 7.75 inch / 197 mm | 5.0 inch / 129 mm |
| 8 inch to 8.5 inch | 8.0 inch / 203 mm | 5.25 inch / 139 mm |
| 8.5 inch to 9.0 inch | 8.5 inch / 216 mm | 5.75 inch / 149 mm |
| 9.0 inch to 10.0 inch | 9.0 inch / 229 mm | 6.5 inch / 169 mm |
| 10 inch or more | 10.0 inch / 254 mm | 8.5 inch / 215 mm |
Contents
Picking the Right Truck Width
Make sure the trucks you pick are the right size for your deck. The axles shouldn’t stick out and your deck shouldn’t be wider than your trucks. Now, it doesn’t really matter if they don’t match your deck perfectly. Some people actually like trucks that don’t match their board size.
A couple of pros skate narrow trucks that don’t fit their board because it improves flip speed. Others like wider trucks because it provides a more stable ride. In general, just makes sure the axle width matches your deck’s width.
Wide vs Narrow Trucks
Wider trucks provide more stability because you cover a larger surface. They are less responsive than narrow trucks resulting in a larger turning radius compared to narrow trucks. Narrow trucks weigh less, are smaller, and have a lower moment of inertia. Because of this, it makes it kickflips a little bit easier. The thing is if you master flips, you’ll probably don’t have any problems on a wider board.
In general, you want trucks to be proportional to your deck’s width. You should also take your wheel size into consideration. When you ride a wider board, let’s say 8.5 and above, you might consider bigger wheels. That also means you’ll be needing a higher truck.
What Happens When Your Trucks Are Too Wide
The truth is that it isn’t a huge problem. Only when you advance to the more technical tricks they might get in the way. Aesthetically it bothers me, it just looks weird but that’s not really an argument. It also doesn’t really cause stability issues.
So what’s the problem then? Less comfort when riding and you also might have to push a bit wider because your feet could touch the wheels. Even more so when you also have large wheels. Your axle and axle nut will wear down faster because there’s a bigger chance of them hitting the ground when you flip your board for example.
When you are at a level that you can do some advanced slide tricks on the edge of your wheels, it really becomes a problem. There’s also less clearance, meaning less distance between your wheels and deck (wheel bite).
Some claim that they grind better with wider trucks and feel like they steer better.
What Happens When Your Trucks Are Too Narrow
When you’re trucks don’t match your board and aren’t wide enough you’ll get the carpet riding effect. You won’t be able to see your wheels, just your deck. Just a tad too small doesn’t really matter but at a certain point, you’ll run into trouble.
If you’re unsure if your trucks are too small, lay your skateboard on the side and see if it stands up straight. A few degrees to the left or right is fine, but when it’s in an almost diagonal angle you should either get a new deck or buy new trucks.
Hanger Width and Axles
What matters most is the total width of your truck so pay attention to the axle width. The axle is where you put your wheels and bearings. The hanger is like the core of your truck. It has the axle attached to it and your bushings. It allows for steering as it rotates in the pivot cup.
| Axle width | Truck width |
|---|---|
| 6.0″ to 7.25″ | 6.5″ to 7.25″ |
| 7.5″ | 7.25 to 7.5″ |
| 7.75″ | 7.5” to 8.0″ |
| 8.5″ | 8.5” to 9.o″ |
| 9.0″ | 9.0” to 10.0” |
| 10.0″ | 10.o” and above |
Difference Between High and Low Trucks
In general low trucks offer more stability, while this is heavily debated there are a few situations in which they perform better. Take circle rails, for example. 1 cm can actually make a difference. It can increase the angle and distance when it makes contact to the rail. High trucks tend to move more to the side of a rail and have less resistance. This is because the fulcrum between the rail and your foot is longer.
In theory, this would mean lower trucks provide more stability on circle rails. There’s more resistance between the rail and your truck so it’s less likely your trucks will slip and cause you to fall. Like always it comes down to your skill level, if you’re not ready to grind a rail you’ll fall just as much with high trucks.
To take it a step further, it’s not only the height of your trucks that matter. Hard or soft bushings or how much pressure you apply, affect stability. So in the case of rails, you might be better off using low trucks. Lastly, low trucks allow you to put more pressure without slipping compared to high trucks.
That’s nice to know, but it may not even apply to you. So what about high trucks?
High Trucks
High trucks are great for carving and allow you to skate loose. They allow you to ollie higher because there’s more distance between your tail and the ground. This also come down to skill so not everyone will notice a difference. Because of the height, you’ll have more room to pivot. High trucks are great for bowls, ramps, transition, and cruising.
Pros of high trucks:
- More room to pivot and tighter turning radius.
- More pop, your angle is bigger. While not everyone agrees on this there’s more distance between your tail and the ground providing more pop. You can snap the tail harder when you want to ollie from for example a tailslide.
- Great for transition skateboarding and tall people.
- You can skate looser trucks because of more clearance.
- Less wheel bite and they allow for bigger wheels.
Cons of high trucks:
- Less stability when griding, more so on circle rails.
- Heavier, but it doesn’t really matter.
Medium (Mid) Height Trucks
Medium height skateboard trucks are great for all-around skateboarding. Suitable for skate street, parks or bowl/ramps but don’t excel in any. You can slap averagely sized wheels on them around 53 millimeters and 56 millimeters, some like them smaller others bigger. Some brands sell their trucks as mid-sized while they are just as tall as a competitor’s high trucks, that kinda sucks.
Low Trucks
While I’ve already explained the benefits of low trucks there are some other benefits besides stability when grinding rails. Let’s look at the pros and cons of low trucks. This is all just theory, it makes sense but not everybody will agree. Most of the differences are hardly noticeable. Maybe when you go for trucks that weigh 50 grams less you might feel a difference. Wheel size should be around 53 mm depending on the brand.
Pros of low trucks:
- Provide more stability when grinding rails. You’re a bit closer to the ground but it’s just a couple of millimeters.
- Makes your board flip faster provided you also have small wheels. A narrow board also makes a difference.
- Less weight, but do a couple of grams really matter?
- Lower center of gravity, quicker pop, and more responsive.
Cons of low trucks:
- Increased chance of wheel bite when you ride larger wheels.
- The kingpin could stick out a bit meaning you could come in contact with the surface you grind or slide. Less clearance can be solved by scraping a bit off the bolt.
- Less turning radius, this is only a problem when you carve a lot.
Different Brands and Inconsistent Measurements
Some brands won’t publish details like height or weight which makes it hard to find out if you’re buying what you want. Another problem is that some brands advertise their trucks as lows but when you hold them next to another brand mids there isn’t really a difference.
Independent and Thunder use the metric system to and name their trucks accordingly. The Thunder Titanium lights 149 is 144 mm wide. For example, ‘129’ which refers to the hanger width in mm. Great! So that means the Indys 169 Titanium Forged are 169 mm!
Well, not really, they are 166 mm. Sigh. There’s always the possibility of some slight deviation that occurs during production in any truck, but the lack of standards is pretty frustrating.
Most brands manufacture trucks that start at 5.0 inches and increase them by 1/4 inch scale. Just check the chart at the top of the page to see what I mean. That’s not the case with Royal though, their 5.5 inch is actually about 5.8 inch and an 8.75-inch axle. To be honest, the slight deviations don’t really matter.
The truth is you won’t really feel a difference when you’re a new skateboarder, just make sure you pick the right width. Once you’ve been skating for a while you may want to switch and get something that suits your style.
Skateboard Truck Size Chart
Here’s a guide with the most popular brands and their sizes. Note that measurements are in millimeters and grams. I’ll be sure to add more data soon.
Personal preference
The truth about width is that it comes down to personal preference. But as a beginner just buy something that fits your deck. You get used to what you skate, be it high or low trucks, wide or narrow, loose or tight. Bushings matter, not all trucks come with great bushings, they help you turn your board.
If you’re heavy or tall you need harder bushings. If your bushings are too soft, you’ll have a harder time stabilizing your skateboard. Most high-quality trucks have great bushings but you need to replace them if they are too hard or soft for your body type.
I’m an aged skateboarder and still shred responsibly. Started skateboarding 25 years ago, peaked in the 2000’s, and still ride to this day. I am a total geek when it comes to skateboard gear, love test to stuff and share my findings.