What are skateboard bushings? Complete guide!

You might have seen skateboarders turning tight corners with ease and wondered how on earth they manage to do it. The answer is in the bushings!

Bushings for skateboards are the rubber-colored rings that form inside a truck’s center. They consist of urethan, and all long skateboards contain 2-4 pieces per truck.

These polyurethane bushings allow your vehicle’s wheels to rotate and are therefore extremely important.

Your bushings are affected by a range of factors, including how well the board moves around curves, where its face is when riding downhill or what position the board should be in.

That’s why it’s so important to choose the right bushings for your needs!

The different types of bushings

Bushing shapes vary widely according to their use. Bushing shapes include double barrel bushings, soft bushings, cone barrel bushings, barrel and truck bushings, and vibration. Barrel bushing will give you a lot of stability and resistance against turning.

Cone bushing will give you less stability but more turning ability. Vibration bushings will give you the most turning power but make your board the most unstable. Barrel bushings are the most common type of bushings and are a good all-around choice.

Skateboards with the correct bushings for each skating technique boil down to:

Cone/barrel-shaped or cone/conical-shaped bushings are ideal for technical tricks and street skating.

Get cone and barrel bushing for vert, bowl, and park skating.

Generally speaking, the longboard needs softer cone bushing so that you can carve them.

Stiffer bushings so-called hardcore bushings shall be used for downhill and racing purposes.

In addition, the soft bushing will perfectly suit lighter riders with loose trucks as they ensure easy turning and gravity. The softer the bushings the easier to control your truck and the easier it is to turn, especially with cone bushings.

Choosing the right hardness of bushings

It’s essential to choose the right skateboard bushings for your board. Hardcore bushings are too stiff and make turning difficult. And too-soft skateboard bushings will wear out more quickly and won’t provide as much control.

A good way to determine the right hardness for your needs is to think about what type of skating you’ll be doing.

Freeride and downhill boards need harder barrel bushings like double barrel bushings to maintain stability at high speeds, while street and park boards require softer conical bushing to make turning easier.

So take the time to figure out what’s best for you, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different setups until you find what works best. You can also use a bushing hardness table for good decision-making.

Setting up your skateboard bushings

Now that you know all about bushings for skateboards, it’s time to learn how to set them up! Luckily, it’s a pretty simple process.

To start, you’ll need to remove the old bushings from your trucks. You can do this by unscrewing the kingpin nut and bushing washers, then pulling out them.

Next, take a look at your new bushings. You’ll notice that they have top and bottom bushing – make sure to put them in the correct way around!

Once you’ve done that, it’s time to put the new bushings on. First, place the bottom bushing in the truck, followed by the top bushing.

Make sure that they’re both sitting flush against the truck’s hanger. Next, screw on the washers and tighten the kingpin nut.

And that’s it! Once you’ve done this for all of your trucks, you’re ready to hit the streets and enjoy your ride.

Maintenance and care for skateboard bushings

Maintenance

To maintain your barrel bushings for skateboards, make sure to check them regularly for wear and tear. You’ll know it’s time to replace them when they start to shred, crumble or break.

Replacement

When you’re replacing your bushings, make sure to get the same size and hardness as the ones you’re replacing.

The size is measured in diameter, and the hardness is measured in a bushing durometer.

You can usually find this information on the old bushings, or you can measure them yourself with a caliper. Once you have the right size and hardness, just pop the new ones in and you’re good to go!

The benefits of using high-quality bushings

You might be wondering why you should care about your bushings. After all, they’re just little rubber rings, right? Wrong! These seemingly small and insignificant parts of your skateboard have a big impact on how your board rides.

Good bushings for skateboards will make your ride smoother and more responsive. They’ll also make it easier to do tricks and generally make skating more enjoyable.

On the other hand, bad bushings can make your ride sloppy and unresponsive, making it hard to do anything more than the most basic tricks.

So if you want to improve your skating, it’s worth investing in good-quality bushings. Trust me, you’ll notice the difference!

Why do skateboarders need bushings?

It would help if you had bushings on your skateboard to make it easier to do tricks. You can make your skateboard more responsive and easier to control with the right bushings.

The bad bushings can make your skateboard feel sluggish and hard to control.

Bushings also affect how your skateboard rides. Softer bushings are better for cruising around and doing basic tricks. Harder bushings are better for going fast and doing more advanced tricks.

Skateboarders usually have a few different sets of bushings so they can swap them out depending on what they want to do. Some skateboarders even have special bushings for doing certain tricks.

Do bushings affect alignment?

Yes, of course. There are a handful of potential explanations for why your skateboard keeps drifting to the left or right.

It’s probably your vehicle bushings or some of your hardware. The bushings in your trucks are the tough, spherical plastic parts that compress in the direction of your turn.

The bushing’s durometer (hardness) can affect how well your board turns. Softer bushings provide more lean while harder bushings turn less.

This is because soft bushings deform more, which gives them a larger contact patch with the road. Harder bushings don’t deform as much, so they have a smaller contact patch.

Do bushings improve ride quality?

If you’re unsure about whether or not to upgrade your bushings, ask yourself this question: do you want a better ride quality?

If the answer is yes, then you should consider upgrading your bushings. The reason being is that higher-quality bushings will provide a smoother ride, and they’ll also be less likely to break down over time.

So, if you’re looking for an upgrade that will improve your ride quality, go with higher-quality bushings. You won’t be disappointed.

You can turn more easily with softer bushings, but you’ll sacrifice stability.

By making your trucks tighter and more stable with the use of harder bushings, you will make it more challenging to spin your skateboard.

Your skateboard’s tightness is modifiable, but only to a limited degree.

Why hard bushings are better?

The answer to this question is more complicated than a simple yes or no. Harder bushings will make your ride less responsive but will give you more stability at high speeds.

Softer bushings will make your ride more responsive but may cause you to lose control more easily at high speeds. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide what hardness you prefer.

Cone bushings

Turning and carving are improved with cone-shaped bushings, making them ideal for longboards and cruisers. Due to their conical shape and lack of polyurethane (thus, less mass and resistance), cone bushings permit more deck lean. Because of the hollow center, this shape is great for carving.

Keep the wide end facing up and the narrow end pointing down. There will be too much deck lean and the board will be unstable in turns if you are a heavy rider, so you should look for a different shape.

It is possible to adjust for this by using a combination of a softer cone-shaped bushing and a harder bushing.

Wheelbite can be avoided if there is sufficient deck clearance. A good choice for those who are less than 140 pounds is 87A. To accommodate your larger frame, a 93A-hardness shoe is recommended if you weigh more than 140 pounds.

Stepped bushings

Longboarders and downhill riders benefit greatly from stiffness and compression/release to the center of stepped bushings, making these wheels ideal. While stepped bushings have a lot of bounce back, they’re not as responsive because they’re stiffer overall.

They are meant to fill the bushing seat and are thus slightly larger than standard bushings. Bushing seats can be in two types: restrictive bushing seats and open bushings seats. and Choosing can be more challenging here because there is no universal shape standard across brands.

Some stepped bushings are more rounded, while others are straight or have a small angle.

The shape of stepped bushings makes them similar to both a barrel and a truck bushing.

Longboards and cruisers can use them, but standard skateboards shouldn’t.

FAQs about skateboard bushings

How many bushings are in each truck?

Most trucks have two bushings, although some trucks may have four.

Do different brands of bushings make a difference?

Yes, different bushings brands can make a difference in how your board rides. Some brands are softer than others, which can affect how well the board turns.

Do skateboard bushings matter?

The bushing is important on skateboard vehicles. Every car has two bushings: the side-mounted top bushing and the side-mounted bottom bushing. As skater wheels, they’re bushed with polyurethane, which makes them stronger.

When should I change my skateboard bushings?

Bushings often wear out over years and can make you floppy and inflexible and can lead to wheel blight. Whether your bushing is crushed or cracked one side is probably worth a replacement.

Do skateboard trucks come with bushings?

How can you use skateboarding boards? Do not worry cause all skateboard trucks are already equipped with bushings. All models feature standard bushings. Pulling your kingpin nuts tight limits the speed of your car turning, reducing its length and increasing its torque.

Are hard bushings better?

Those who weigh a lot and like a stable and stunt-friendly ride can go for firm bushings. Conversely, light skaters who place a premium on maneuverability in turn benefit from soft bushings.

Conclusion

All in all, bushings play a significant role in how your board moves. Depending on your skating style, you will want to experiment with different bushings to find the combination that suits you best.

Keep in mind that it is important to replace your bushings regularly, as they will wear down over time.

Read More About Skateboard Bushings