Paris Trucks review, a great all-round trucks for beginners?

In my review today I will be writing about my recent purchase of 43* 180mm Paris trucks V2s. I also talk about my experience with the 50* V2 and 50* 150mm V1, variants.

I also briefly touch on the V3s.

Below I’ve written about how they shape up against each other, what works best for what, where each one might fail and what’s best for a beginner. Read on to find out more.

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The V1, V2, V3, and the Savant, what are the main differences?

So first things first, you’ll notice that there is a V2 in the trucks name. So yes there is a first version and second version. Some improvements were made in the V2 upgrade.

But what is the difference between V1 and V2?

Paris trucks V1

The V1 was Paris first truck offering. There was only one 50* baseplate option with the 180mm and 150mm hanger widths. The V1 hangers were notoriously easy to bend and overall the truck had a kind of sloppy feel.

For me, they made great cruiser trucks. They were affordable, easy to ride, turned quickly and turned smoothly.

If you’re looking to put a cruiser together, you can get a complete cruiser board undercarriage with Paris V1’s on Amazon by clicking here. I highly recommend it if you want a quick undercarriage solution for a 9inch cruiser board or something similar.

Paris trucks V2

With the V2, Paris redesigned the bushing seat and the pivot. They made the truck with beefier hangers, incorporated a new manufacturing process and finally added the 43-degree baseplate option.

So the new trucks were different and better in all the right ways. The beefy hangers fixed the bending, and the new pivot and bushing seat eliminated the sloppy feel.

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A couple of weeks back. Finally got a few people down to skate, all different types of levels. Was good fun, hoping to do more of this soon Song: @itsfoxelijah – B Boi problems

A post shared by Downhill254-KenyanLongboarding (@downhill254) on Jun 25, 2018 at 10:05pm PDT

This more precise feel makes it easier to pull off complex maneuvers when dancing and makes it easier for beginners to use them for cruising. Also, downhill skaters who needed a 43-degree plate where finally catered for.

For me, the V2’s felt a lot tighter. This ‘tightness’ really inspired confidence and I found myself comfortably doing slides at speeds that I normally thought were beyond my limits, like in the video above.

If you wanna push your limits, these trucks might be the ones for you.

UPDATE: Paris trucks v3 Review

Paris just put out their V3 trucks recently, and I thought it was necessary to include some details about them and how I think they will perform. I haven’t actually ridden a set but given there a few performance upgrades to the bushing seat, or geometry. I think glossing over the new features is all that is necessary.

The changes:

• New manufacturing process – A new alloy-forming process to create a molecular structure that has strength far beyond other cast trucks on the market.
• Reinforced design – Broadened hanger shoulders for increased strength.
• Redesigned top bushing – The top conical bushing has been made wider for resistance to turning and ultimately for more control and accurate input by the rider.
• New 96a Pivot cups – These pivot cups will last longer and feel better than those that come in the previous V2s.
• 50* and 43* baseplates now marked.
• New 165mm width available, along with the 180mm and 150mm widths.

Given there are little to no performance upgrades (apart from the slightly wider cone bushing and better pivot cup). I don’t think I need to talk much about when it comes to performance. But in general, this truck will feel better and respond better thanks to the these upgraded parts, but will largely feel the same. Especially if you choose to switch them out with aftermarket parts (which a lot of people will).

The main thing for me is the wider variety of width options. These will affect how your skateboard will perform.

I would say the new go-to option is the 165mm width. This narrow width is perfect for most setups and lets you have better control and a more nimble turn for your skateboard. You don’t really sacrifice stability much and don’t fight your truck to turn as you would with a 180mm wide one.

It’s great for most applications, in fact I don’t see the need for a 180mm truck to be honest. But that is down to the preference of the rider I guess.

Paris savants, the next level?

If you still want something more precise, the next upgrade from the V3 is the forged Paris trucks Savant.

These are made with a forging process and are a lot more precise than the cast V2s. They also have a few more upgrades (tighter, cleaner pivot) and improvements done. These upgrades make a big difference. They make the trucks work so well that they are used by most of the best longboard dancers in the game.

UPDATE: I did manage to get my hands on a set and review them. Click the link here if you want to learn more about how they held up and performed. P.S The upgrades made a big difference.

Check out Abou Seck killing it on some Savants.

Which should you go for? The 50* or the 43*?

These numbers are the angles at which the baseplates of each truck is set. In short the higher the truck angle, the more a truck will turn.

So on the same board with the same hangers, the 50* will have a tighter turning radius than the 43* baseplate. And vice versa, the 43* will have more lean, turn less and have a wider turning circle.

The 43* angle is in general considered more stable. It is great for downhill, freeriding, sliding and skating fast.

The 50* is great for dancing, cruising, freestyle and a little bit of freeriding too. Because it is very quick turning, it makes it easy to do quick maneuvers, 180-degree slides, pivots and shuvits.

Thusly if you are a longboard dancer or freestyler, the 50* is the baseplate you should go for.

If you want to skate downhill and go fast, the 43* baseplate is for you.

150mm hangers for commuting, cruising and dancing?

I’ve found the 150mm hangers to be great for cruising, commuting and dancing. Because of their narrower width, they are more nimble than their 180mm counterparts. They will also provide a nice surfy feel at slower speeds.

Check out how surfy and fun my cruiserboard is to ride in the video below:

If you’re looking for a fun cruiser complete that uses the 150mm Paris trucks. Check out the Fireball x Arbor cruiser here on the Fireball website. Retailing for only $100, you get high-quality components at an affordable price. 

They are also the best option for kids and people with smaller feet. Because they are narrower, they help put the wheels directly under the balls of their feet, letting them maximize their weight for turning left and right.

Just make sure you pick a board that is the appropriate width for these trucks. 9 inch wide boards usually work well with these.

180mm hangers for downhill and dancing?

For downhill, dancing (and even cruising) beginners, I recommend they pick the 180mm. The wider hanger will feel more stable because it will turn slower than its narrower counterpart.

If you are learning tricks, a truck that turns slower is more forgiving and you can get away with making more mistakes.
It also makes turning feel a bit smoother and more controllable. I would say this is ideal for most beginner skaters out there.

The 180mm trucks also let you use a wider, 10 inch board. This is really nice for dancing because you have more room to do cross steps, 180 steps, the ‘peter pan’ and just other tricks that need you to make the most of your board.

Finally, for downhill and freeride, the 180mm trucks will be the most stable to ride. Paired with the 43* baseplate, you will have a setup that will be great for going fast and doing big slides with.

What makes them different from other downhill trucks?

Paris trucks sit higher than most other trucks (higher ride height). This means you will have more leverage over your bushings and wheels, and less risk of wheel bite.

The trucks have an open bushing seat. This bushing seat really allows you to use the bushing and turn your trucks, making them feel lively.

Some people don’t like open bushing seats and instead prefer restrictive ones. Restrictive ones are more stable but can make your trucks feel kinda dead. Caliber trucks have a restrictive bushing seat and do feel kinda dead. However, they are stable at higher speed, so I would still recommend them to some beginners.

Finally, their hangers are raked which makes it turn a little initially, then turn a lot and then turn less towards the end of it’s lean. Trucks with rake have a really nice turn that is considered surfy and divey.

For more in-depth approach to rake and other parts of the truck, click here.

TKP vs Paris RKP, whats the difference?

Traditional kingpin trucks (tkp), are less stable for downhill and fast riding. They are designed to turn progressively which means they turn more towards the end of their lean.

This makes them unsuitable for high speeds as the progressive turning makes it hard to maintain balance and makes wobbles easy to occur. They are the best for grinding and doing tricks though as they have a thick hanger which can take the abuse of grinding against coping, rails and absorbing the shock of doing tricks.

You can pick up a set of them here at the Stoked ride shop.

If you’re looking for a fun cruiser complete that uses the Paris tkp trucks. Check out the Fireball x Arbor cruiser here on the Stoked ride shop website. Retailing for about $100, you get high-quality components at an affordable price. 

The reverse kingpin trucks (RKP) are better designed for skating fast. They have a linear turn (rake is in a way linear) so they are better to keep under control when going fast. This explains why dh skaters can go so fast without wobbling all the time eh? Watch the video below for more info.

Where to buy Paris trucks?

If you’re looking to start doing freeriding, sliding, and going downhill fast, consider picking up the 180mm, 43*, V3 Paris trucks here on Amazon.com. As I said in the review above, they’ll be stable and will make sliding easy.

If you’re looking to pick up a set of trucks for cruising, check out the new 50*, V3 165mm option here on Amazon.com.

Finally, if you can pick up a set of Savants here on Amazon.com.

My recommendation …

I highly recommend this truck for a beginner. If you haven’t decided on a board yet, you can also check out my guide on how to pick your first downhill skateboard.

The 50* degree excel at being used for freestyle, dancing and cruising, if you want to do any of those you should go for them. The 43* can be used for the same too but remember, they won’t turn as much and won’t feel as lively.

For freeriding and downhill you can’t go wrong with the 43* 180mm trucks. They are perfect! I highly recommend them.

P.S Take out the stock bushings if you’re gonna downhill in them. They aren’t suitable for that and are waay too soft.

If you’re looking for a fun cruiser complete that uses the 150mm Paris trucks. Check out the Fireball x Arbor cruiser here on the Fireball website. Retailing for only $100, you get high-quality components at an affordable price.