Poppy Specifications
Don't Trip Poppy Trucks come with the following options:
- 100mm hanger space-able to 106mm-112mm-118mm
- 125mm hanger space-able to 131mm-137mm-143mm
- 152mm hanger space-able to 158mm-164mm-170mm
- Baseplate angle: 55 degrees for the front truck (also available in 45 degrees) / 20 degrees for the rear truck.
- Axle: 8mm
- Mounting: 6 holes
- Stock Bushings: 75a Riptide APS barrels for the front truck/90a Riptide APS barrels for the rear truck
- Stock Pivot cups: 96a Riptide WFB pivot tubes
Other Features
- AN6-24a aircraft bolt kingpins
- Built-in spherical bearing in hangers
- Inline axle for the rear truck
Also comes with axle spacers, bearing spacers, washer for top bushing and axle and kingpin nuts.
Don’t Trip Skateboards has listened to the needs and wants of the LDP community and through the testing a feedback of a select few, responded with the Don’t Trip Poppys. Between the hanger spacing options, stock AN6 kingpins, the spherical bearing hangers, and all the other goodies, LDP skaters can rejoice in a readily available precision truck made specifically for Long Distance Pumping (but great for other types of skating too!).
Initial Thoughts
It is a rare occurrence to buy a set of trucks that are nearly ready-to-ride straight out of the box. For some, the Poppys may need little-to-no tweaking.
Taking it out of the box, I noticed that the kingpins fit perfectly snug in the base plate with the hex of the bolt underneath the base plate. I needed a hammer and a random piece of hardware (an old kingpin will do) in order to tap out the kingpin so I could change out the bushings. I’d recommend temporarily flipping the kingpins (so that the kingpin nut is under the base plate) only while you are dialing in your Poppys.
Otherwise you’ll have to dismount the trucks from your board each time you want to swap bushings. Once you find a bushing combo you are happy with, make sure to flip those kingpins around again, with the thread sticking out on top and the hex part of the bolt under the base plate. This provides the snuggest fit possible for the kingpin (refer to how the trucks are setup in any of the pictures in this review if I’m confusing you). You’ll have to give the kingpin a few light taps to get it back in the original way.
What LDP setup experience would be complete without several tweaking sessions?! So after messing with these beautiful trucks for a few skate sessions, I got them pretty much how I want them. Most of my LDP voyages involve some uphill battles so I went with this setup:
Front Truck
75a APS Riptide Fatcone boardside (skinny side facing the hanger)
70 APS Riptide Fatcone roadside (fat side facing the hanger)
Wedged an additional 9 degrees; bringing the truck to 64 degrees
Axles spaced out to the max (143mm)
Rear Truck
95a Abec11 Reflex barrel boardside
90a Riptide APS barrel roadside
Wedged an additional 5 degrees, bringing the truck to 25 degrees.
Axles spaced out to the max (143mm)
I wouldn’t be surprised if I still do some more tweaking here and there, but this setup is working pretty close to how I would like it to. Remember that the setup that works for me, may not work for you. As with anything else in longboarding/skateboarding, you might have to mess with bushing combinations and angles (in which case a Khiro Wedge kit is very useful!) for a little while to get your setup dialed in just right.
The Ride
Before and after tweaking my setup - and everywhere in between - I sincerely appreciated the drive and acceleration I got out of the Poppys. I noticed that I was able reach a higher top speed with the Poppys and they also accelerated quicker than my previous pumping setup (a Bennett Vector 5.0 and a 129mm Tracker RTS).
I took them out to a local trail that was eight miles back and forth. They performed wonderfully. I only needed to push for a couple of the steeper hills. Other than that, I pumped the whole way no problem. I was certainly using a bit less energy than with my previous setup, while still getting a great workout of course. The reverse kingpin (RKP) design of the Poppys gives a very “linear feel” when pumping when compared to a lot of the traditional kingpin (TKP) trucks commonly used in LDP.
It’s hard to explain, but with a TKP truck I feel like I’m going side-to-side more when pumping, while with the Poppys, I feel that a lot more of my energy is directed forward. I honestly believe that the design, in addition to the well-crafted precision of the truck, allows for less wasted energy in each pump. I was somewhat skeptical with how well an RKP truck such as the Poppys would perform as I pumped uphill, but with the appropriate setup (and some effort), they’ll get you up the hills as well.
So I was able to pump uphill with my Poppys… What about downhill? Don’t assume that Poppys are limited to just trail riding and LDP voyages… Oh no. LDP is great exercise and all, but sometimes you just want to go down a hill. Even with my big ol’ flexy Longboard Larry Walkabout, I have no problem charging down some hills with these.
Put the Poppys on a smaller topmount or a slalom deck and you have yourself a pretty sweet garage racer too. What I like even more about them is their carving and turning capabilities. The openness of the bushing seat, in addition the spherical bearing and Riptide pivot tube, allows these to turn sharply when desired, making them great for carving a hill.
Complaints / Issues
Nothing serious here. I’m about to get really nitpicky as to what I’m about to explain so don’t really look as these as being “issues”… This is a review after all and nothing is perfect.
One slight complaint is that the roadside portion of the bushing seat is a bit more restrictive than I’d like. Like with many other trucks out there, a Riptide Fatcone is a tough squeeze on the roadside seat and the fatcone can only be seated with the fat side facing the hanger. I didn’t have any soft eliminator style bushing at my disposal to try out, but by slipping a hard eliminator bushing on and examining, it appears to be too snug of a fit to allow for a full turn. Again, this isn’t that big of an issue.
An eliminator bushing is by no means a necessity and I think most riders will be plenty satisfied with barrels. And if you look back at my current setup, I’m using my beloved Fatcones with no problem!
Now this really isn’t a complaint, but just a heads up… For those unfamiliar with trucks that have a spherical bearing in the hanger, the spherical bearing will hit the bushing ever so slightly when turning. Now you can choose not to modify your bushings and your setup can still perform wonderfully, but I feel an improvement when I shave out the inside of my bushings a bit. It takes a minute to do and is super easy.
Myself and many others do this with their bushings in their precision slalom trucks (and have been doing so for years) which also have spherical bearings in the hanger – nothing new here. A picture of a bushing I recessed using my Dremel tool is pictured below. Again, not an absolute necessity to do this, but I believe it will make your ride that much more smooth and sweet.
Closing Thoughts
The Poppys by Don’t Trip Skateboards are a game changer, no doubt about that. They are high-end performance trucks that are priced pretty reasonably in comparison to other precision trucks out on the market.
Another great thing about Don’t Trip Skateboards is their customer service. Whether you send him an email, give him a call, or post on the Don’t Trip Thread on SilverFish, Dan will get back to you very quickly. He is helpful, knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with. I can’t say enough good things about Don’t Trip Skateboards and their products and because of this I recommend the Don’t Trip Poppys with no reservation. Some of the top distance athletes in the world ride for Don’t Trip Skateboards and the results speak for themselves.
Check out the Don’t Trip Poppys and other Don’t Trip Trucks available at stoked.la.
