Posts Tagged: Truck
AXL Skateboard Truck Details
Minson skatebikes use standard “Old School” skateboard truck hole pattern.
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- Old vs New School Holes. Minson uses old school. LeRun is much smaller
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- Old vs New School Holes and new bushings
Garel, LeRun and Max skatebikes use a smaller pattern
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- 1 1/4″ (1.25) short holes
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- 1 5/8″ (1.625) long holes
AXL skatebikes use a third hole pattern
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- 1 15/16″ length (1.9375)
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- 1 15/16″ length (1.9375)
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- 1 5/16″ width (1.3125)
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- 1 5/16″ width (1.3125)
AXL trucks are plastic rather than cast aluminum like the other skatebikes.
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- AXL Plastic Truck
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- AXL Plastic Truck
This is an AXL skatebike that Jon N from the UK bought. One of the wheels came apart on his first ride. Because the hole pattern is so small he could not fit any of the old skateboard trucks. The axel hanger from an old 70’s Continental skateboard truck fit.
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- Conti truck would not fit
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- But Conti truck axle fit on original base
May 19, 2021 update
Jon also found this old Tony Hawk skateboard in second hand shop. The holes are very close and for not much money he got 2 trucks, 4 wheels and 8 bearings.
Skateboard Truck Bushings Tips
Most skatebikes use a skateboard truck up front for steering. There is nothing special about the truck except the choice of wheels and bushings. Assuming you are looking at a Minson or a Garel/LeRun bike, you have 30+ year old rubber in the truck. The bushings and pivot bushing will be hard as a rock and the bearings probably need cleaning and greasing.
If you need to replace the truck on your skatebike, there are several factors you need to consider.
Garel/LeRun/Max Skateboard Truck Details
Jon’s Garel Monocycle, his LeRun Skatebike and Max Skatebikes use an unusual skateboard truck. The mount is much smaller than traditional old and new school skateboard trucks. Minson trucks are Old School – 2 1/2″ X 1 5/8″. LeRun truck holes are 1 5/8″ X 1 1/4″.
Jon took some photos of the original LeRun truck for reference for this site. The bike has not had any work yet. As you can see the bushings in photo one are cracking.
Thanks Jon.
Important: AXL Skatebikes use a similar but different skateboard truck setup.
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- Angle view of truck assembly
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- Side view with wheel on
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- Side view with wheel off
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- Wheel width
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- Axel Width
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- Truck top
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- Old vs New School Holes. Minson uses old school. LeRun is much smaller
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- 1 5/8″ (1.625) long holes
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- 1 1/4″ (1.25) short holes
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- Max and Garel Skatebikes
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- LeRun truck
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- LeRun Wheel
A Few Answers on Minson SkateBikes
Eric has been restoring his skatebike. Eric asked me a few questions about mine. I figured others restoring a Minson Skate Bike might find the answers helpful.
Brakes
The hand brake is one of the unique things about a Minson Skate Bike. To use it looks unusual to say the least. The Skatebike came with the hand brake setup only. My wheel was rusted badly so when I replaced it I bought a 16 inch wheel with a coaster brake. They are by far the easiest ones to find. I often wondered why the bike didn’t come with a coaster brake originally. Then I used it. The problem is the crank arms are short (100 mm). This means to work you end up skidding. I wanted to replace the arms but could not find any that short. There is about 120mm of ground clearance so a slightly longer arm may work. The sprocket is only 36 teeth so the combination of the small sprocket and short arm is hard to find. A slightly longer arm with a smaller sprocket may even work better.
Minson Restoration – Rich Helms – Canada
My old Minson skatebike before I restored it.
In the mid 1980’s while shopping in Eaton Centre in Toronto, Canada I spotted this SkateBike in Collegiate Sports. It was love at first sight and I bought it. After we moved to the country it got little use as we lived on a dirt road. For years it sat in my barn rusting. In June 2013 I pulled it out and restored it.
My bike is badly rusted and the tire cracked. I have been collecting up measurements to replace parts. Fortunately most of them are common. As I intend to actually use it I want to replace the wheel with a coaster brake one. The tire is 16×1.75 so finding a coaster brake unit should not pose a problem.
A longboard truck will work on the front. The included truck is an old-school mounting with 2.5″ holes front to back. Once I settle on the tire and truck/wheel I can select the appropriate riser thickness.
The biggest challenge is the cranks. The old bottom bracket is a common British/ISO unit but the cranks are only 100 mm long. The shortest unit I can find is 115 mm for BMX riding. You can see from the videos there is room for a longer crank and as I recall the short length makes for hard pedaling. This weekend I will investigate the bike parts. I may have to just restore the old BB/crank.