Independent Trucks | The Best Ride

Based in Santa Cruz, California, Independent Trucks company makes skateboard trucks. The business, which was founded in 1978 and is owned by NHS, Inc., sponsors numerous team riders.

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1978
Headquarters	Santa Cruz, California, U.s.
Products	Apparel Sports equipments

History

Richard Novak, Jay Shiurman, Fausto Vitello, and Eric Swenson all contributed to the company’s founding, and the stage 1 model was the first item to be made available, debuting on May 23, 1978, in Newark, California.

These trucks  was created in reaction to the dearth of high quality skateboard trucks available at the time. Blackhart referred to Bennett Trucks and Tracker Trucks as the two other significant truck businesses in the industry, claiming that each of them had experienced failure in one or both of them.

Independent trucks are produced with:

• high tensile SAE 4130 Chromoly alloy steel axles
• high rebound formula stock bushings 
• high quality aerospace grade T6 aluminium alloy.

Product Release

The independent trucks are released in different stages which are given below:

Stage 1	1978
Stage 2	1979
Stage 3	1982
Stage 4	1984
Stage 5	1986
Stage 6	1991
Stage 7	1993
Stage 8	1997
Stage 9	2003
Stage 10	2009
Stage 11	2012

Logo

According to the author, Jim Phillips, the Iron Cross served as the inspiration for the trucks’ logo. Since the beginning of the business, it has been used as the Independent logo and was inspired by the French Cross pattée.

The iron cross logo was replaced with a new one in 2021 because it was widely expressed that it was actually too “Nazi- like”. It is now only used on rare occasions.

Team Riders

In the early 1990s, skateboarding developed into an extreme sport. Truck and skateboarding accessory manufacturers frequently support their own teams. The goal is to highlight cutting-edge items while exhibiting skateboarding expertise. Numerous well-known skateboarders have represented Independent over the years.

Mark Gonzalez

Gonzalez, who was born in 1968, has earned the title of “Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time”. Since he began skating at the age of thirteen, he has won praise for inventing new tricks like the beanplant.

Jim Greco

Greco, who grew up in Connecticut in the 1970s, quickly embraced the skateboarding obsession. He immediately excelled above his classmates, going on to become a professional. The business has been supporting him for a while.

Steve Alba

Early in the 1990s, he turned to skateboarding professionally. In each competition he has taken part in over the past thirty years, Alba has finished in the top five. The lein tailside manoeuvre is ascribed to him as its invention.

Guerrero, Tommy

Also Read: Which Way Do Trucks Face on a Skateboard

For the past three decades, Tommy has participated in skateboarding competitions on a regular basis. He is a founding member of the squad, having been born in 1966. He now juggles skateboarding and a singing career.

Trucks

Indendent trucks have changes and evolved throughout time, the stage 11 is the current standard truck design. There are four different variation of it.

Independent Standards

Truck that is strong and effective for all skating styles. This is as simple as it gets, functional without being fancy. High-quality Grade 8 high tensile chrome alloy steel axles and kingpins with a 356 T6 heat-treated aluminium constriction. Standard orange pivot cup and mid durometer, high rebound Supercush suspension bushings.

Independent Hollow

Independent hollow trucks are as same as Independent standards but it additional have some hollow axle to shave off some weight.

Independent Forged Hollow

Compared to cast base plates, the trucks forged base plate is a little bit lighter and stronger. Instead of using a mould to pour molten metal into, it is manufactured by forging the metal in a press. A hollow axle and kingpin made of high tensile steel and chromoly alloy are included.

Independent Forged Titanium

This Indy is top shelf. truck with the highest strength to weight ratio that is ultralight. By 15% less weight than Standard Independent Trucks.

• Axle made of solid titanium and 356 T6 aluminium
• forged base plate made of aluminium
• Chromoly hollow kingpin
• 15% lighter than Standard Stage 11 thanks to the Supercush suspension’s cylinder-shaped bottom cushion

Height of Trucks

Axle to deck distance for Standard Profiles is 55mm, for Mid Profiles it’s 53.5mm, and for Low Profiles it’s 48.5mm. It is usually a good idea to check and get the appropriate ones depending on the wheel diameter you use and how loosely you ride your vehicles because the various variations will have varying heights.

Run higher ones typically for larger wheels and looser trucks. Using riser pads, you may also adjust the distance between your axle and deck.

Impact on Skateboarding Market

The brand has long been a pioneer in both amateur and professional skateboarding. Independent created a truck with higher performance and longevity by fusing the greatest features of products from competitor firms.

For more than 40 years, the business has improved its goods to maintain skateboarding cutting edge and daring. Independent routinely beats its competitors and experiences global sales on a previously unheard of scale. The company is carrying on its aim to perfect skateboarding trucks with a new logo.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, they are among the trucks with the longest lifespan. There is no denying that independent trucks are the most resilient vehicles you can purchase. They might last you years before they start to wear depending on how often you skate.

They aren’t unbreakable though, like all trucks. They generally won’t alst you longer than a year if your primary activity is skating gaps.

FAQs