Sector 9 is a famous and high-reputation brand when we talk about valuable products and this Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks Review article aims to bring you advanced information about one of Sector 9’s best-sellers: the Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks.
This product is recently received many positive reviews from both skaters and experts. Is there any good with this product from Sector 9 brand? Will it be exaggerated and easy-turning just as many customers said? Will it be suitable for a newcomer to operate? Find the answer to all of your questions below.
Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks Review: Key Features
If you’re one of those who love skateboarding, you may find that soft duro wheels can provide you with fantastic pre-drifts. However, if you turn way too tight, your trucks may slide out of the corner as they can’t provide you as sharp and smooth cuts as you want. In that case, these Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks are the trucks for you to purchase.
Hang on a second, you beginners may ask: What is a longboard/skateboard truck? For short, it’s an essential part that is attached to the body of your skateboard. It’s shaped in a T form and placed underneath the board to enable you to connect the wheels. This feature enables your board to perform excellent cruising as well as a stable and reliable ride.
Just by reading so far, you may find trucks is a must for skateboarding, right? And believe us, Gullwing trucks are worth trying at least once.
Why? Here is our in-depth Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks Review for your best buying guidance.
Gullwing trucks are the must-buy ones if you want to go from not being able to turn a sidewalk to a 180 in a parking slot. Promoted on the market as a product to help you make your turn neatly through tightest spaces, these Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks are designed with innovative features that will please your flat ground cruising.
Unlike most longboard/skateboard trucks that only have 1 pin setup, these trucks from Sector 9 provide you with a double kingpin model. The unique 2 separate kingpin setup allows you to steer further and more smoothly than other normal longboards. Also, it tightens the steering curvature for better maneuvering through the streets.
In addition to the superb steering support, the dual kingpin also makes getting rebound from your kickbacks seem effortless. Bringing a fast and reasonable turn, Gullwing trucks are ideal for you cutting through crowded sidewalks and such. When it’s not needed, you can turn it into a single kingpin truck by removing the middle joint – what a convertible and convenient product!
These double kingpin trucks came with 89a durometer barrel/cone-shaped bushings made by Gullwing. The durometer will tell you whether your bushings are hard or soft. In this case, the stock bushing of Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks is pretty hard for better longevity.
If you don’t know what bushings are made for: the top bushings provide you a better skateboarding experience with smooth turns and cuts, while the bottom bushings do the bounce up for your trucks just as similar as parish trucks. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Another “wow” feature to look at is the 9’’ hanger – measures from axle tip to axle tip. Made with solid and durable aluminum, the hanger is placed on the base plate to enable users to perform crazy stunts on the road more easily. It allows you to go for the deepest carves. The size will do well for boards from 30″ to 36″.
For the best longevity and sturdiness, the manufacturer recommends you to use their customized Sidewinder base plate. The trucks are well matched for this special kind of base plate.
Besides, the sidewinders set the board high up. It may sound not ideal for those with weak legs as it can cause hassle. However, with the longboard set up high, you can hop off over curbs on the street easily without worrying about the curb grabbing your deck.
And if you’re considering whether you should hype up your board by attaching a sidewinder truck or rather leave it loose, we highly recommend using these trucks for great maneuverability. The sidewinder feature won’t make your board unstable or loose. Users will gain their perfect control and stability while tightening the board’s turning radius.
With these Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks, you can ride your board effortlessly. Why could we say that? It’s because of the efficiency when using your kick and turns to speed up. Featured with a sleeker and innovative design, no wonder this product from Sector 9 brand will be the first on your list to purchase next.
Read more: BEST LONGBOARD TRUCKS
Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks Review: Pros & Cons
Just like everyone said, Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks are made for excellent carving and cruising performances.
The rotation mechanics operate fluidly. Together with a dual pivot hanger, the trucks make every turn to be smooth as silks and easy, even the sharpest ones. Moreover, the efficiency of longboard trucks enables users to turn with minimal movements, which they call effortless! Users can easily handle +30mph on the vanguard topographic.
In terms of tight turns, the double kingpin offers you a much narrower curvature and a surf-like ride experience – more than any normal longboard can provide. Besides, the cone shape and barrel bushings with 89a durometer are ideal for bounce and stability.
Using different pads for mounting and raising, we can recall these trucks as adjusting Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks. No matter if your board is 9” more or less, you can always adjust the trucks to fit in easily and tight. Also, this adjustable product creates a very stabilized motion for a much more reliable ride.
The Sector 9 Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks are made of high-quality metal. It means that the trucks are sturdy and substantial, especially for the aluminum hanger.
Finally, several color options are perfect for your board building. You can easily find suitable color trucks that match your particular skateboard’s design. All the colors are kept basic and pleasing to the eye.
First to mention, the trucks are for the weight of 40 pounds due to their metal materials and sturdy construction. For a longboard setup, this weight is worth considering.
Next is its sensitiveness. The way the trucks perform is too effective even with the slightest movement of users makes this product not suitable for beginners. If you’re brand new to longboard skating, you’ll find it hard to ride on these trucks and get full control. Especially on downhill topographic, these trucks can possibly lead to some dangers while using.
Don’t forget that these are not “slide” trucks. This means you can’t use this to maintain a straight forward momentum as the trucks set the board up high. Even you can perform stand-up slides with this truck, it’s not that easy.
Also, as the manufacturer makes the Gullwing trucks well-matched with an expansive list of longboards, not every particular type of deck will be specifically compatible with the trucks.
Finally, these Gullwing trucks don’t come in with hardware. It comes with the nuts to attach the wheels, but not with the screws and nuts to attach the trucks to the board. You will have to purchase another hardware kit.
See Also: BEST LONGBOARD DECKS
How to adjust and install Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks?
Most of the skateboard users usually assemble all the board gear on their own as they can take a look at every component and adjust whatever they see fit. In this part, we will try our best to guide you on how to install Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks.
Some specific boards may require more extra steps. However, installing a top mount and drop through longboard is considered simple. You can easily do it at home with some tools for a better-customized board.
To keep the guideline short and effective, we will assume that you’ve already gripped your deck and gathered all necessary materials such as trucks with hardware, bearings, wheels, skate tools, and some others.
- Mount The Trucks
- Insert The Bearings Into The Wheels
- Attach The Wheels
- Double-check
Sounds simple already, right? Now, jump into the details of the installing process and follow along!
This step will be divided into two small parts: top and drop through mounting the trucks.
Top mounting the trucks
First, attach your top-mounted trucks to your deck by bolting them to the underside. Be sure to use a screwdriver to poke through the screw holes in your deck if it is newly grasped.
Then, insert all 8 screws into the holes from the top down. Flip the board and place the trucks onto the 8 screws on the bottom over the baseplate.
Place the standard kingpin trucks so that they can be pointed inward with bushings, towards the center of the deck. For reverse kingpin trucks, place them facing out of the bushing, towards the top and tail of the deck.
Finally, attach the nuts to the screws then use a skate tool or wrench to tighten the screws in a “criss-cross” pattern.
Drop through mounting the trucks
You should install the drop-through trucks from the top through a pre-cut hole of your deck. But first, you need to disassemble your trucks by the following steps:
- Disassemble in order: kingpin nut -> top bushing washer -> bushing – hanger.
- Place the kingpin pointing through the hole by setting up the baseplate properly.
- Reassemble in order: baseplate -> washer -> bushing -> hanger -> bushing -> washer -> the kingpin nut.
- Tighten your screw nut until there is no vertical movement from the mounting plate.
First, start off by jointing your bearings with the wheel sockets following these steps:
- Slide a bearing onto one of the axles after flipping your skateboard on its side.
- This step is optional in case your bearings come with a spacer: place a spacer on top of your bearing, followed by a wheel.
- Push the bearing with high pressure until it slips into the socket of the wheel.
- Flip the wheel over.
Then, repeat the process for other left-over bearings. Just to remind you, Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks is designed with hard wheels with a high durometer, which means it’s harder to fit in than other softer ones.
- Attach the wheel to the trucks by sliding in order: a washer -> the wheel with bearings -> a second washer.
- Flip the board to the other side, repeat the process if you’ve done install on 1 side.
Up to this step so far, your board is ready to ride. However, after every installing step, you should do a double-check to make sure everything is in its place. This final test helps you to prevent any unnecessary accidents that are caused by wrong assembling.
Now, take your longboard/skateboard out of the garage and make the sharp curve right away!
Then, what do you guys think about our Gullwing Sidewinder Trucks Review? Did you collect enough information to make your decision yet?
If you want to feel the difference in maneuvering, Gullwing Sidewinder II Longboard Trucks is your top choice on the market. All in all, it’s an exaggerated truck that helps your skateboarding standing out with smooth and sharp curves. You won’t be disappointed if you use it along with your board to hit the ground.
What is your opinion or review about this product from Sector 9? Let us know.
