Hot off the pallet’s is an incredible longboard truck that oozes versatility and style. Kick back, relax, and let #SaltysTeam rider Alex Fishburn take you away to a world of perfect leaners and 100 ft. slides as he explains every last detail of the Gullwing Reverse Longboard Trucks.
“Gullwing Trucks, a company that was born in the young days of skateboarding in 1976, has always been innovating and producing top notch, high quality trucks for all types of skateboarding. Their first truck was designed to turn, it was great for being stable at speed and doing slalom, both of which were very new to skaters back then. As the new millennium rolled around, longboarding became much more popular and Gullwing got back to their roots with another agile, stable truck called the Gullwing Charger. 15 years later, Gullwing has been at it again with yet another high quality truck, which they’re simply calling the Gullwing Reverse. After taking them for a spin on some downhill runs and mixing in a bit of freeriding too, we think we’ve got a pretty good idea of how killer these new trucks from Gullwing are!
I want to first talk about the first thing that was blatantly obvious; Gullwing Reverse trucks are beefy. Looking at the hangar, they’re thick and meaty everywhere they need to be, these trucks are designed to be seriously beat on. Get your grind going, slappy some curbs, launch off of giant stair sets, but whatever you choose to do to abuse them, it looks as if the Reverse can handle it in stride. That said though, they’re light trucks! Beefy and light, that’s right! Gullwing has been designing and producing trucks for just shy of 40 years now, and in all that time they’ve really figured out where trucks need strength and support, and where trucks don’t ever fail. With that in mind, Gullwing went to work hollowing out everything that wasn’t needed and leaving behind only what’s necessary to be a strong truck that can handle the abuse of today’s skaters. The result is quite the aesthetically pleasing product, a minimalist baseplate with a meaty looking hangar with carved out voids on top.
Enough talk about the looks though, who cares how light or strong they are if they suck right? Well luckily enough, Gullwing Reverse trucks are awesome to ride too! Gullwing went with a traditional 10” wide axle, which means 183mm hangar width. This is pretty much standard, and with good reason too, a 10” axle is the ideal balance between grip and drift, stability and agility, and it suits the average deck width really well, anything between 9.5” and 10.5” will feel great with the Gullwing Reverse. Even with some driftier freeride wheels, we had no problem weighting the board up and holding onto lines that we didn’t expect to be able to hold, but when it came to pushing out predrifts or standups, they slid nice and smooth, no issues with abrupt hookup or inconsistent sliding, which really is a testament to Gullwing’s ability to produce a cast truck with tight tolerances, they’re closer to precision trucks than a lot of cast trucks on market today, and that’s something that is definitely worth mentioning.
With a baseplate angle of 47 degrees, the Reverse trucks are a bit lower than past Gullwing trucks, and that’s in response to recent trends, wheelbases are getting shorter, setups are getting turnier, and with all that, it sure is nice to have just a touch of extra lean and stability. Gullwing didn’t over-do it though, Reverse trucks have raked hangars which equates to more agility farther into the lean, and more stability near the center point. In our testing, we found the Reverse trucks to definitely feel turny and maneuverable when freeriding and general messing around, which had us a bit worried for downhill skating, but the second we started rolling fast, there were no stability issues. Diving into the first corner felt fantastic as well, very solid, very predictable turn and lean was had, and we’re certainly satisfied to say the least.
As you probably are already well aware of, the truck itself is only half the battle; the components that come on the truck are nearly just as important for a high performance ride. If a truck comes with low quality bushings and sloppy pivot cups, you’re stuck with spending another $30 or more just getting the thing to work properly, but Gullwing is all over that too, not to worry! Gullwing Reverse trucks come stock with RAD Bushings in the 89a durometer along with some thick and meaty washers that don’t bend or deform under intense situations. Because of how well the bushing seat holds on to the edge of the bushing, how small the kingpin hole is to reduce lateral movement, and how strong and stiff the washers are, you really transfer 100% of your energy straight into those bushings, nothing is left up to slop or chance! The pivot cup is important too, sloppy cups are no fun, and neither are oddly shaped pivots! The Gullwing Reverse has a super clean and well sculpted pivot the slips smoothly and firmly into the pivot cup. If you asked Ace Ventura, he might say, “like a glove!”, and that’s pretty much the best way to explain it!
We know how hard it is to decide on what truck you want to ride, there are so many options out there, each boasting this and that for a better ride, but when it comes down to it, most of that jargon is just gimmicks and sales tactics. Sorting out what’s good and what belongs in the trash can be expensive and time consuming, but luckily we’ve already done the research for you, and Gullwing Reverse trucks passed the test! When it comes to cast trucks at this price point, the Gullwing Reverse trucks are a top contender, and when you factor in the fact that you won’t need to replace the components right away, you’ve actually got a truck that is a top performer that ends up being a bit cheaper than the rest. A high performance truck at a price point that is competitive or cheaper than the rest? Yep, the new Gullwing Reverse trucks are the obvious choice. If you want deconstruct a set and check out all of the details in person, head over to our store front at 3055 East 3300 South in Salt Lake City, Utah, or order online at Salty Peaks Snowboard and Skate Shop – Salt Lake City, Utah. And as always, if you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 801-467-8000!”
Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back soon for more reviews from Sector 9 and Landyachtz!
