3-Link Truck Designs

Three link by design is not somthing I’m doing. It is my design documented back to 2017 from its inception. What you have is a nice rendering of my design. I move fwd with this project continually making design improvements through racing dynamics and functional model testing. By no means do I condone or apporove this rendering as a functional model in any way. This is where we are with the NKP 3-link

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Don’t know why, but I assumed you guys were working together. Maybe because it’s functionally identical (well except for specific angles and rod lengths of course).

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Great vid! How fast was that?

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Seeing @MoeStooge’s comment gives me the idea that this was done on your own and not in conjunction with the creator. If so, that seems a little shady to me. At least on the surface, anyhow

Edit: there’s always more than what’s available on the surface. Rescinding my last message

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This is not an appropriate place for a NKP 3-Link discussion, let’s not hijack the Hummie thread

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I made the set @evoheyax is cruising around on as a gift to a friend. I am in no way in any partnership or condone the use of my truck design being used by others for profit. So be it.
DIY I am completely cool with.


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I find it pretty messed up that Evohayex would go and take Moe’s design and do it

Especially without even contacting Moe about it or asking him if he would allow it…

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Especially after that event in the TB deck thread :yawning_face:

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So i have been tinkering a bit on my own trucks with gear cases attatched, just for myself reeee, its by no means a finished product but if people like it i can show the progress i made


Im going to make them specifically for the hummie deck, geared 35/15 to 35/20

Im still working out what angles are the best, would love some feedback on that.

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so you are saying I should get, “linked in” ?

Jokes aside, a wild speed wobble appeared the other day. It was super effective at making me rethink my life choices.

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I’m surprised you aren’t riding 3links @Arzamenable :crazy_face:

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What u making the baseplate from? I should mock some parts up with glued popsicle sticks or something to understand how the turning variables work and seems ur just going to adjust the turnability by moving the “heim” parts along the axle instead of having different mounting points in the baseplate?

In my mind it’s an axle turn angle and a deck angle that you’re pairing.

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Yes, i will get the axle lathes first so i can 3d print and mount everything to them.

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Still waiting for your two decks, so i have to see what dimensions i have to make the baseplate. When i know that i will determine the places for the holes

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Remember these Grom Biz Trucks? 10 to 15 years ago:

SMR 10 years ago on Grom Biz trucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-QIE4Y80j4

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So there seems to be a lot of hate about this and I didn’t really want to get into the nitty gritty details. But since I feel like I’m being pushed into a corner, I need to give more back story.

On the surface, my design and moe’s design may look the same. I rest assure you that they are not the same.

  • Moe uses thinner, regular rods
    I use a splined axle

  • Moe uses a round collet with a thin little plate to connect the heim to the axle
    I use a splined cnc milled plate made of chromoly steel.

  • Moe takes plates of chromoly, draws on them, cuts them and hammers and welds them to make a base plate
    I cnc mill a base plate from 6061 aluminum

  • Moe welds a nut to the base plate he makes to attach the center end link
    I add threads into the base plate to attach the center end link

  • Moe attaches the links using bolts and nuts
    I add threads to both my heim plate and base plate and use screws with nylon inserts to resist vibrations

And there’s many more details that are different.

The rest of the parts in both of our designs are off the shelf parts.

I do NOT use the same dimensions of anything (rod lengths, rod angles, heim plate angles, distance between the heim plates, base plate length, distance between the links on the base plate).

So you can say this is Brandons design, but I will argue with you all day that it is not.

He came up with a set of principles, much like the inventors of the rpk/tpk truck. Today, there’s around a dozen manufacturers making this style of truck, and due to that, they are the trucks of choice for most skateboarders. Their popularity is in part due to the availability because many manufacturers make them.

However, they do NOT use the same design. Some have split, removable rods, some at cnc milled, some are casted, they have different shapes and rod lengths ect. They all work on the same principle, but they do not use the same design.

That being said, lets look at why I am doing this…

It’s been over 2 years since I first road one of moes boards at the Evolve world cup and set a track record for the fastest lap ever recorded. I realized then how much potential these trucks had.

Fast forward 2 years and how many people around the world are riding them? A small handful. They just aren’t publicly available. John has messaged moe asking to make some more for the hummie hubs to sell with them and didn’t get anywhere. So the logical solution to to make my own.

My motivation from this is not to profiteer off of this, it’s to design what I think is the most solid, over built 3 link turner money can produce and get it in serious eskaters hands. I could take a dozen short cuts that would save money, but I don’t. If I were about the money, I could make these as cheap as possible and charge 5x the cost like china does.

Currently, it costs significantly more for me to make a set with my design than it does for moe to make a set with his design. Maybe my design is overkill. But I don’t want to ever see one fail. Everything is super thick chromoly steel except the base plate to save some weight. And even that is 6mm thick.

Now as to me doing this without moes approval. I first asked him over a year ago when he was going to get these into production. He didn’t tell me about any plans then. I mentioned to him that I wanted to make these and sell them with the hummie hubs. I got silence. And then over a month ago, I sent him my first designs before anyone else saw them. I thought I was clear in my intentions and again, silence.

I have since talked to him about it over the phone for almost 2 hours and he has relaid his concerns and his personal goals.

This is not happening behind his back with the intention of taking his design and making a quick buck.
This is to provide a product that is not currently available to the masses.

The reality is that I’m not the first to want to use these principles and I won’t be the last.

You could argue that every person who made a wheel after the first guy invented the wheel is stealing his design. But you can’t expect every person after the first will need to reinvent the wheel…

I have no intentions of stepping on moes toes or anything malice. As far as moe has relayed to me, he has no intention of EVER making 3 link turners to sell to the public for the hummie hubs… I’m simply trying to offer something that doesn’t exist.

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Well the forum seems to think that copying other peoples work is completely fine and it’s just “business”. The difference is I’m offering something that isn’t publicly available. I’ve been waiting for moe to produce production quality 3 link turners for some time and it hasn’t happened… Maybe this will be motivation?

I consider Brandon to be a good friend. And he invented the 3 link turner, it’s his movement, and I’m not trying to hijack his movement. I want to see it grow and getting these into peoples hands is how you do it.

I don’t give a shit about profits. If I wanted to get rich, eskate is a terrible business to go into. It’s very niche, it’s hard to get to the bulk quantity you need to get good production costs, and you have to cut corners everywhere to be profitable and competitive. The only exception to this rule is lacrioux, and you see their prices as a result. Everyone else doesn’t care if you break your neck with their stuff or not.

I do this for the same reason John does, which is to make cool stuff and offer it to the community.

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Thanks for the explanation, clears up a lot. Just to be double sure, Moe is not okay with you making many sets to sell, right?

I can see where you’re coming from, and the design is way cool and I want a set, but this situation is super weird especially with you owning a set from Moe (purchased? gifted?). I wish you guys could find some middle ground and make this a win-win…

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At this point, idk where he stands. My conversation with him on the phone concluded with him telling me whatever I do is separate from him and before I sell anything, to properly test it for safety so it doesn’t leave a bad first impression in the 3 link turner movement. At no point did he tell me he doesn’t want me to make and sell them. I explicitly told him via text before hand that I would pack up and take my losses if he tells me he doesn’t want me to make them… He has yet to say " i don’t want you to sell those publicly".

In the past, he’s been encouraging to those who want to design and make their own 3 link turner. Maybe the sale part is what’s different?

I would be fine giving profits back to moe even as again, this isn’t about money. At the same time, legally, without him getting patents on this (if it’s even patent-able in a way that I couldn’t work around) and suing me, he legally couldn’t stop me. I wouldn’t want it to resort to that though.

I think as a community, it brings up a morality question as well as to what is ok and not ok. And when is it ok… Is it ok for people to sell a product based off of a design that someone else made? Is it ok to take ip (aka unity) to another company (aka lacrioux) and use it to profit (aka stormcore)?

In the latter situation, because of what enertion did, I think most people would say hell yea (as I feel). But what crosses the line? There’s a lot of grey.

Does it mean that because moe came up with the mechanics of 3 link turner, that he’s the only one that can sell them? By that logic, Jacob is the only one allowed to sell hub motors, and John and enertion selling them is immoral…

I’m fine selling these at very minimal profit to recuperate addition expenses, like interest on loans needed to fund this, gas to drive to the post office, ect. Again, it’s not about the money. But I think this brings up a lot of moral questions, and in the end who wins and who loses? If the inventor of a product is the only one who can sell it, then is that really capitalism?

If Brandon tells me right now he doesn’t want me to sell them, I won’t. It’s that simple. Cause I respect what he has accomplished and I don’t want to cross a friend like that.

If that’s the case, I will only make a few sets for me and close friends to ride on. Is that whats best for the community and 3 link turner movement though?

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This definitely cleared up a lot of what I personally was wondering.

I think the best bet for you and Moe would be for you to create a machinable 3link using one of his previous generations that is tried and true and stick with that while profits are split between you and Moe. Then Moe can use the money to further expand on the 3link design and create even better and more improved 3links.

But I’m also pretty stupid sometimes :man_shrugging:

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