Randal Trucks: R2 180mm Longboard Trucks.
I was first introduced to these trucks by a friend of mine who rides longboards full-time (Mild-Miles) on the streets and in any park. Last summer he had these on his board during a road trip we took to K-Falls and I was able to play around with them in a smooth empty parking lot. I was stoked on how well they made the board turn and how much life they gave to his boards. Since then I have been dreaming about getting a set of these trucks and I finally had the chance to get some about a month ago and I’ve been happy ever since.
Design: At first glance I thought these trucks looked kind of lame and that they were just another ugly design/gimmick being that the kingpin sits in the opposite position than it would on a traditional truck. This reversed position however seems to help the truck turn faster and it probably adds to the stability of the truck as well. The hangar is also oddly shaped and looks like it contains more metal than regular trucks but this may be an illusion, the Randals don’t feel any heavier than other trucks. The V-shape of the hangar may be what gives these trucks so much leverage and lets them turn on a dime. A big plus to these trucks is that the baseplates are drilled for both new and old school hardware arrangements.
Setup: I set up my longboard with these trucks a few weeks ago and here are the stats: Board-46 inch long 9 inch wide blank longboard, ¬Ω” risers, and Sims street snake wheels-soft. At first these trucks feel a little wobbly and they tend to turn really fast no matter how much you tighten the kingpin nut, they have so much leverage that they crush any and all bushings with ease. I was able to get the feel for turning and carving fairly quickly and the wobbly feeling soon disappeared.
Testing: The first test I did was in my driveway which sits on a hill. I was able to carve back and forth 3 times before hitting the end of the driveway (which is about 2.5 car lengths long) and I could easily control my speed through carving hard left and right. I got moving kind of fast for such a small space and I was able to carve to slow down instead of jumping off of the board. With these trucks I was able to carve a 360 easily in a minimal amount of space.
The second test was on my street and around my neighborhood which is filled with long hills. I was able to pick up lots of speed and do some nice sweeping carves with these trucks and they felt pretty good. I spent about an hour and a half bombing the hills and hiking back up and never once did I experience the speed wobbles that I most surely would have with my everyday Indys. These trucks stayed very stable at speed, I’m not sure how fast I was going but it was fast enough that I would have been screwed had I slammed.
The next test I did was to skate the trucks at the concrete skatepark in Newberg, Oregon. Carving corners took a little getting used to, with Randals you don’t have to lean so hard into corners because they turn so well, once I figured out how to carve a pocket with them I had a ton of fun cruising around the park. I was able to do double carves in some pockets and I could change my direction in the blink of an eye and stay with the board pretty easily. It was easier to come up with some new carve lines that weren’t possible on my normal board.
Breakdown: These trucks retail for about $40 a set and in my opinion are worth every penny if you want your longboard to be super maneuverable. Overall I would give the Randalls a very high rating and I recommend them to anybody who wants to get more out of their longboard. I have had my longboard for about 5 years and I have barely ridden it. Before I got Randals I had it set up with some old tracker 6-tracks that turned like a semi-trailer, now that I have the Randals I have been cruising my longboard more than ever and it has taken on a whole new life, I now like longboarding!
Online Action: randal.com
