I’m interested in knowing more about DKP trucks and this seems like the place to ask the question. They seem to get a bad reputation a lot of the time, but I’m curious as to weather people who bag DKP think that it is a fundamentally a bad design, or if it’s more to do with the lower end manufacturing process that they have always been made to. In short, if someone came out with a set of precision/forged DKP trucks would they get respect? Also, from what I understand they should carve better than any other conventional truck design around. But I’m curious, is this the case, or is it possible for a RKP truck to perform better at carving than a DKP truck?
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It is a fundamentally questionable design for high speed riding (25+)
Maybe, but probably not from this community since most of us ride 25+
Obviously you can change out the bushings to help get up to 30, but after that I wouldn’t even consider it.
They definitely do, and the turning radius is crazy. You can’t really compare to rkp.
Maybe with the right bushing setup yeah
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You could try RKP with waterborne surf adapter too. There probably are less of those out in the wild in the esk8 world, but I haven’t really heard any complaints about those, while I heard a lot of complaints of DKPs.
It was just a matter of size. We can’t fit our 63100 motors on regular trucks. That’s why we developed wider trucks. We have now DKP, TKP and RKP trucks in 270-300mm. If you don’t need wider trucks to fit large motors you’ll be fine with regular sized trucks. I do enjoy trucks between 260mm-280mm hanger with and I love the look and the possibility to fit larger tires without getting wheelbite. They also tend to me more stable than narrower trucks.
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DKP are great and really fun. Some people aren’t used to them, so they can’t handle them at higher speeds. I have no problems stability problems going 55km/h on DKPs. Honestly I feel more secure on a DKP compared to RKP. There are forged DKP trucks from Evolve and they performe great in my opinion, but not better than cast DKPs. At least I can’t tell any difference while riding. But it is true, that they are way harder to adjust than regular trucks. You have 2 KPs and 4 bushings and washers. That means a lot of possibilities for adjustments and also for wrong settings. But once you have found the right setting for you and rode them for a couple hundred miles, it’s hard to go back and not to miss that specific surfy feeling. But if you want to go really fast (60km/h+) you better get some wide precision CNCed RKPs or TKPs.
Another possibility is to mix different trucks. I think this is a really underrated topic with too less experiences and tests. I had some promising test rides with DKP on the front and TKP on the rear, or TKP on the front and RKP on the rear for more stability. I tried even DKP on the front and RKP on the rear for better maneuverability and yet more stability on the rear end. Combined with many different bushings and washers, the possibilities are endless.
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I have that set up on my first board, an Exway Flex. The improvement to carving is crazy. If you get the full Waterborne adapter kit, the back damper somehow makes the board more stable, which does not seems to make sense. I can’t explain it with my rudimentary understanding of physics, but it sure feels better at high speed. The only down side is that it adds quite a bit of weight, not to mention extending the boards a few inches. I would highly recommend it as a way to significantly improve the carving fun.
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@RipTideSports Hi Brad, may I ask for a set-up reco from you? My ride weight is 155 to 160lbs. The board is a Bustin Sportster on 12 inch wide FS DKP trucks with 6 inch pneumatic.
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I found DKPs floppy and terrifying when I first started using them and had a big wipe out in my first couple weeks.
Since then I’ve just learned to slow down and enjoy DKP for what it is, and I have second set of RKP that I swap in half the time.
Goddamn it putting on the RKPs is like shifting in to warp speed they are so fast.
But after a while I find myself wanting that carvyness back I switch again.
There’s a place for both IMHO and I would recommend everyone to have two boards or two sets of trucks.
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I have found that I like the ride of wider trucks. The key with DKPs is the bushing selection. I weight about 180lbs with my gear and ride Riptide Krank bushings that are a bit on the stiff side. Also, a fat cone or chubby shape helps in the most boardside bushing position. Despite the bushings being a bit stiff for my weight, the trucks are still very carvy. I personally do not feel comfortable above the high 20s on DKPs. For those speeds I prefer TKPs.
I have not ridden these trucks yet but will soon. My friend is riding them in New York with AT wheels and loves them.
I wouldn’t recommend RKP on Waterborn. Take at least TKP for it. I hat it on DKP on an Evolve Stoke and it was totally fine and fun up to the boards top speed of about 36km/h. On longer decks I could imagine to go 40km/h+ on that combo.
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@Chricious what are you up to these days do you have anything in the works your builds are amazing and inspirational?
Thank you for the props! We are working on a 20S MTB with GD ATM.
Additionally we tuned a Zero 11X with 20S 400A VESCs and try to brake the speed record of Rion.
Here is a sneak peak of the board 
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I just found this thread and learned that the world hates DKP 
Since I started boarding (and DIYing) around 2 years ago I have always been on 12” DKP with Riptide bushings and didn’t even know much about the alternatives 
After 2k miles today it’s common for me to ride at 35mph on either PU or AT wheels, and although I feel how sensitive the board is at these speeds, I am still able to control it and never had spontaneous speed wobbles. I do have a soft acceleration/deceleration ramp though to avoid jerk 
When I had wobbles I feel it was always because my weight was distributed wrong (on the rear instead of front). I had even hit really bad potholes at high speed and was able to save since my weight distribution was correct (on the front). I’m glad I saved because it was a 50 PEVs group ride and it would have ended up very bad.
I’m not trying to argue in favor or against anything here, just really reporting my experience as someone overall ignorant about skateboards. If I can ride at 35mph with DKP I would guess that anybody can
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I hear you. I love DKPs too. For me most riding less than about 25mph is more enjoyable on DKPs. Putting the 15.2" Flipskys on my next build.
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Props to anyone who can ride 35mph on DKP but the scars on my hands are proof that I cannot!
On the RKP setup I can comfortably go that speed.
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If you have the right deck, trucks and wheels, you just need to set your bushings/washers right and you won’t have problems going 35mph on DKPs. Don’t know how it is above those speeds though.
Otherwise I went 45mph on RKPs/channel trucks and it felt kinda scary. I guess it’s more a thing of what you are used to and the speed you are going.
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Yep! That’s what I’m using since this week. The 15.22” trucks are massive. I just installed them on a Landyachtz Evo 40 deck. Take a look:
I’m struggling a bit with my foot not being right on top the truck anymore - my previous deck was not drop down, it was a Loaded Cantellated Tesseract. These trucks also feel like protruding quite a bit compared to 12” - that makes the front axles quite far from the deck.
Here is the size comparison with the 12”
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The deck is too narrow for those trucks. You need an ~11" deck for such wide trucks, otherwise it can feel a little strange.
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. Yes a good setup and being comfortable is key.
I’ve been 35+ on mine. I don’t go that fast anymore after hitting a pothole doing 35 on Thanes.
But I’m comfortable carving at 20 to 25.
Been on Dkp’s since I started riding Esk8.
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I really wonder how many instances of involuntary speed wobbles are caused by weight distribution. I’ve been watching a lot of downhill skateboarding and they do get wobbles which often kind of autocorrects.
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