Skateboarding Bushings: 8€ to Transform Your Trucks’ Feel
You crank your kingpin nut to the max, but your trucks still turn like a supermarket cart? The culprit is rarely the trucks. It’s the rubber inside — the bushings. And for 8 bucks, you completely change how your board feels.
⏱ Reading time: 6 min
Why you ignore your bushings (and that’s a mistake)
90% of skaters ride with stock bushings. The ones supplied in the box with your Independents or Thunders. It’s a soft consensus — made to please everyone and thus suited for no one.
A bushing is that small urethane rubber around your trucks’ kingpin. There are two per truck (one above, one below), so four for your complete board. Their job: compress when you lean on the rail, relax when you release. That’s what makes your truck turn.
If they’re too hard, your trucks respond zero to carving. If they’re too soft, you get wheelbite on every manual. The right set is somewhere in between — and it’s specific to your weight and style.
Hardness: the weight × style equation
Hardness is measured on the Durometer A scale from 1 to 100. The higher the number, the harder the rubber. In the skateboarding market, we range between 78A (longboard carving) and 100A (heavy transition).
| Your weight | Target hardness | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 55 kg | 85A — 87A (soft) | Teens, light riders |
| 55 — 75 kg | 88A — 91A (medium) | The street standard |
| 75 — 90 kg | 91A — 94A (medium-hard) | Solid skaters, transition |
| More than 90 kg | 94A — 100A (hard) | Power skateboarding, vert, heavy bowl |
Pro tip: you can mix. Many skaters put a hard bushing on the bottom (truck plate side) and a softer one on top. This gives you carving without losing control.
Cone or barrel: choose your side
Beyond hardness, shape changes everything. Three families dominate the market.
Barrel (cylindrical)
The densest shape. Maximum urethane = maximum stability and rebound. This is the default choice for street tech, ledges, big tricks. Sharp response, clean return to center.
Conical (cone)
Thinner on top. You gain turning angle: your board leans more before the bushings saturate. Ideal for carvers, bowl, transitions, and skaters who like to feel the board react to their feet.
Eliminator (combo)
Hybrid shape with an enlarged base to support the truck. Niche, but formidable for heavy riders in the park. Worth trying if you regularly break your standard rubbers.
The most common combo among street pros: barrel on the bottom + conical on top. Stable on the push, lively on the flip.
The 3 bushing setups pros approve
Three sets that cover 95% of cases. From cheapest to most technical.
INDEPENDENT GENUINE PARTS — STANDARD CONICAL 88A
The original Indy set in a softer version. Perfect first upgrade if you weigh 55-70 kg and stock bushings are too stiff. Fluid carving, clean return to center.
Fast delivery · 30-day returns
BONES HARDCORE BUSHINGS MEDIUM 91A
The invention that changed the game: a hard urethane core wrapped in softer rubber. You keep the sharp response of a hard bushing without losing the plush feel. The de facto standard for street tech for 10 years.
Fast delivery · 30-day returns
BONES HARDCORE HARD 96A — HEAVY RIDERS & TRANSITION
The hard version of Hardcore. For riders 80+ kg, bowl, vert, or sessions where you want zero energy loss on the push. Instant response, absurd lifespan.
Fast delivery · 30-day returns
The visual that clarifies everything
If you still have doubts about the difference between shapes and how they stack around the kingpin, this video dissects the truck in 60 seconds:
5 mistakes not to make
1. Tightening the kingpin nut all the way to stiffen
You crush your bushings, they die in 2 weeks. Buy harder bushings, don’t tighten harder.
2. Forgetting the washers
The metal washers above and below the bushings are essential. Without them, your urethane tears at the base. Most Bones and Indy sets provide them.
3. Using soft bushings for powerslides
Powerslides come from the wheels and grip, not the bushings. Soft + flat ground = guaranteed wheelbite. If you’re struggling with tail pushes, look at the wheels instead.
4. Buying no-name for 3€
Cheap urethane flattens in one session and loses 30% of its rebound. You’ll be back to a soft truck in 1 week. Bones, Indy, Khiro, Riptide — nothing else.
5. Changing only one truck
Your bushings wear out together. If you change two, change all four. Otherwise, your board turns asymmetrical, and you’ll feel it on the first ollie.
For 8 to 14 bucks, you transform a poorly turning board into one that responds to your touch. It’s the best price/effect ratio in skateboarding. Much more cost-effective than changing a deck, much faster than changing bearings. If you were hesitant to upgrade your setup, start here.
