Do you know the duro of your bushings? YOU SHOULD! It could spell the difference between learning coconut wheelies today OR learning a new way to break your ankle.
Skateboard bushings or “cushions” are small, conical or cylindrical pieces of urethane that sit between the top (hanger) and bottom (baseplate) of a skateboard truck. Together, bushings and pivot cups allow the truck parts to move independently, letting your board turn.
Bushings come in a range of different sizes, shapes, and hardnesses. To keep things simple, today we’re just talking about the hardness or “duro” of a bushing. Most skateboard trucks come equipped with medium-hardness bushings. For example, Ace 11 trucks come with 86a bushings. Medium bushings are great for most people who want to carve around town.
BUT!
It’s important to keep in mind that most standard skateboard trucks are designed for street skateboarding. For this reason, the bushings included with the trucks are also designed to support street skating. Freestyle skateboarding requires a MUCH harder bushing. Tricks like coconut wheelies, rail stands, coconut wheelies, rail whips, toe spins, dog walks, mroz twists, and others WILL BE WAY MORE CHALLENGING if you attempt to learn them with medium or soft bushings. It’s kind of like running a race in flip flops – you can do it, but your board will feel unstable as heck!
While there is no “correct bushing” durometer for freestyle, for adults, Waltz recommends using an extremely hard bushing. We recommend bushings with a durometer of 98A or harder. This will provide the stability necessary to roll the board into rail stand (primo).
So the next time you’re at a skate shop, take a look at the bushings. Check the durometers listed on the box. Brag about how much you know about bushings. Yeah, they’ll love that :D