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Choosing the right skateboard truck size can make a big difference to your skateboard setup, but understanding the different skateboard truck sizes and measurements can be very confusing, especially if you are new to skateboarding. In this guide, we will take you through everything you need to know about choosing new skateboard trucks, from understanding measurements to knowing how each truck brand differs, so you can make the right choice for your next pair of trucks.
When Buying a new set of skateboard trucks you first need to know the deck width you will be using them with. For the perfect truck size, you are aiming to match the overall truck width to the deck width, for example, a 7.75" deck matches a 5.0" truck, an 8.0" deck matches a 5.25" truck.
The reason for this is partly function and partly aesthetics. When the trucks match the deck width, the board will be more stable when performing spinning tricks like Kickflips and Heelflips as the centrifugal mass of the skateboard will be more central. Another advantage is it makes it easier to know where your wheels are under the board when grinding rails or ramp coping.
The measurement you'll normally see with trucks is the 'hanger' width. What is the hanger on skateboard trucks? The hanger is the part of the truck that holds the axle (Fig 1) and comes in various 1/4" widths i.e 5.0", 5.25" etc. Confusingly, the trucks you buy will actually measure wider than the size stated as it doesn't count the axle.
The Axle will be wider than the hanger width, the exposed axle will typically measure around 1.375" / 35mm each side or 2.75" / 70mm combined (Fig 2.). Now you know this, you can see that a truck size of 5.0" actually has an overall width, including axle, of 7.75" making it a perfect width match for a 7.75" deck.
Skateboard trucks also come with different heights called, Low / Medium / High - Read more about that here...
There are many truck brands on the market and to complicate matters further they all like to use their own system for naming the different sizes! Broadly speaking, every truck brand will make trucks that fit the 1/4 inch scale, usually starting at 5.0" and increasing by 1/4 inch each time (i.e: 5.0", 5.25", 5.5"...). Independent and Thunder both use the metric system to name truck size, for example, '129' which refers to the hanger width in mm. 129 Independent trucks are the same size as a 5.0" hanger truck.
But here's the thing, they won't measure 129mm exactly and Thunder are even more confusing, their 5.0" truck is called '145' but doesn't measure 145mm either! For a long time Independent and Thunder didn't make a truck specifically for the 8.25" deck, instead you had to either size up or down which wasn't ideal. But with the continued popularity of the 8.25" deck size, thankfully in 2016, they both released a new truck to fit the gap. Independent now make the "144" and Thunder make the "148" which both have 8.25" axles.
Venture, Royal, Krux, Venom among others use the inch scale, going from 5.0" to 5.25", 5.5" or more. But watch out, Royal makes a truck marked 5.5" but the actual size of the truck hanger is closer to 5.8" with an 8.75" axle. Venture doesn't currently make a 5.5" truck but does make a 5.8" with a 8.75" axle. We have adjusted these on the table guide below.
When it comes down to it, the size naming system isn't really important as every truck will approximately follow the 1/4" scale, so all you need to know is what deck size you have and we will help you figure out what truck sizes are a good match using the table below.
From there, it's down to you to try the trucks and figure out what rides best for you. To help make it easier for you when choosing the right size trucks we have grouped them for suitable deck sizes, just use the filter "Your Deck Size" on the Truck category.
We have gone through the most common skateboard truck brands and actually measured the trucks to give you an accurate table for comparison. In the table below we have recommended the optimal deck widths for each truck size. For example: 7.75" Deck = 5.0" Trucks 8.0" Deck = 5.25" Trucks 8.25" Deck = 5.5" Trucks
| Hanger Length | Axle Length | Independent | Thunder | ACE | Bullet | Venture | Tensor | Theeve | Royal | Krux | Smallest Deck Size: | Widest Deck Size: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0" | 7.75" | 129 | 145 | 22 | 130 | 5.0" | 5.0" | 5.0" | 5.0" | 5.0" | 7.4" | 7.8” |
| 5.25" | 8.0" | 139 | 147 | 33 | 140 | 5.25" | 5.25" | 5.25" | 5.25" | 5.25" | 7.8" | 8.125" |
| 5.5" | 8.25" | 144 | 148 | - | - | 5.6" | 5.5" | 5.5" | - | 5.5" | 8.125" | 8.4" |
| 5.75" | 8.5" | 149 | 149 | 44 | 150 | 5.8" | 5.75" | 5.85" | 5.5" (5.8”) | 5.75" | 8.4" | 8.6" |
| 6.0" | 8.75" | 159 | 151 | 55 | - | - | - | 6.0" | - | 6.0" | 8.6" | 8.9" |
| 6.5" | 9.0" | 169 | - | 66 | - | - | - | 6.5" | - | 6.5" | 8.9" | 9.25"+ |
Do bear in mind this is our guide, other shops and companies may have different advice but we believe this will give you the best truck to deck size combination. You may prefer to ride a different size than we recommend, in the end, it's down to personal choice and whatever you feel most comfortable riding!
