This is a product review of the Rogue ZM1 trucks. Precision trucks for downhill skateboarding.
Specifications
- Baseplate Angles – 55/20 (or 55/23 initial release)
- Width – 100-112mm
- Rake – 12mm
- Front Truck
- Bushings – 73/78a Venom HPF standard barrel bushings
- Washers – Flat washer RS, no washer BS
- Insert – Spherical bearing
- Pivot – Spherical pivot
- Rear Truck
- Hanger – Trailing axle design w/ axles inline w/ bushing seat
- Bushings – 95/97a Venom HPF standard barrel bushings
- Washers – Cupped washer RS, no washer BS
- Insert – Spherical bearing
- Pivot – Spherical pivot
- Price – $475
Summary
The Rogue ZM1 are the best DH slalom trucks I have tried. They have a lot of features I’ve enjoyed in other trucks and allow me to perform at my best.
If you’re already a great skater, I don’t think these will make you any better, but they will allow an average skater to up their game.
They are a bit annoying on rough roads and need some maintenance, but nothing too annoying to deal with once in a while.
They have a big bonus – you can freeride them.
Are the ZM1s game changing?
Not exactly, but yes. I don’t think we’ll see vast improvements in lap times or many new things on the race circuit. But I do think they’ll allow a lot more people to skate at their best, and engage different roads confidently.
I mean we may see some people tuck lean some crazy corners, but I don’t think anything out of this world will happen skatewise.
But I think the critical characteristic that could be “game-changing”, is how easy they are to skate (when set up properly). This with the combination of performance characteristics, will allow the average skater to perform at their best, and not be held back by what’s under their feet.
But make no mistake, I’m not saying they are a magic bullet. But they for sure won’t be what holds back a rider from getting better quickly.
Why they are special to me
There are a lot of trucks that share performance characteristics with the ZM1s, but ZM1s are the only ones that “do-it-all” (dia) in my opinion.
In this context, dia means:
- Riding the edge of grip with a smooth break into and out of the slide – like Ronins.
- Turn aggressively from the front truck – like all slalom trucks do.
- Having amazing stability – like most slalom trucks do.
- Ultimate edge grip/feel at the limit – like Rojas(have never ridden em tho).
- No weird insert bounce mid-lean – unlike Gold Rogues.
- Easier maintenance – unlike Ronins.
- Freerideable – Like Ronins, Aera P2, etc.
- Zero slop.
A lot of trucks do different things well, but they always leave something to be desired for me. But in the ZM1s, I have combined in one truck, all that I’ve ever wanted and enjoyed in other downhill trucks.
I feel I have one truck I can go and be the best DH skater I can be, then turn around and have a freeride session with my friends …
And I truly feel satisfied. I’m genuinely not even looking to seriously buy other DH trucks. Which is new for me …
Of course, I do have complaints, but they are fairly negligible. And truly all I want to do now is skate roads hard and see wtf I am capable of.
This review is BIASED btw.
I like these trucks, and I feel a part of me that I can’t suppress wanting to make others try them.
I also did get a pretty hefty discount when buying them so that probably doesn’t help either.
Anyway, I will try to be impartial, but just keep in mind I like these trucks a lot.
Also, if you don’t ride the trucks as I’m suggesting (check out the “how to set them up section”), then your riding experience will be different from mine.
Rogue ZM1 Review – Downhill slalom trucks
How do the ZM1s turn?
They have a quick dive and an aggressive turn/change in direction. But because they use standard bushings, you very quickly get to the end of the turn.
You don’t get a playful, leany truck. Instead, you have something that wants to move in another direction aggressively.
Whilst other trucks are thinking about turning, the ZM1s have already made the turn, and are sitting at the apex deciding if they want oat or whole milk with their coffee.
How does this affect taking a corner?
There is not too much of a difference if I’m honest. At the end of the day, we’re limited but our wheels grip, and if you’re already riding on the limit, the ZM1 turn isn’t going to be doing anything special for you.
But if you haven’t maximized all you can do, you’ll find you can get out of tuck a little later, turn in a bit later, and hit the apex a little bit easier.
Is the turn too much at speed?
Surprisingly at speed, the aggressive turning isn’t too much of a problem. The trucks have a “big center”, so you can very easily take them quite fast and not be worried the trucks are gonna suddenly dive.
You’re not riding or balancing on a “knife edge”. It’s more like you’re balanced on a “plank”. And you’re quite comfortable on this plank, and the trucks don’t want to do anything unless you command them to …
However, you do have to adjust to how aggressive your input is.
Light inputs
You don’t have to be as aggressive with the turning as you do on other trucks. These trucks are responsive and don’t need big inputs to make them change direction.
This is thanks to the 55* front truck angle, spherical insert, and pivot. Thanks to both of these features, the truck is very quick off the center, with not much resistance till it gets to the end of its lean …
With other trucks like the Gold Rogue slaloms, there is a bit of sluggishness to get off the center and get into a turn. You don’t get this feeling on the ZM1s.
However, you have to be a bit careful. I sometimes find the board turning quite quickly and my body needing to catch up … You will have to adjust to this but it’s something you get used to fairly quickly.
How does it feel?
They feel pretty close to Paris trucks. They both dive quickly but tap out of that turn quickly too.
It’s such a funny comparison but it’s true lol …
You don’t have to work as hard …
Some may say these trucks are quite sensitive, but I’d say it’s more like you don’t have to work as hard to turn them.
I think if you’re not used to slalom trucks or quick-turning trucks, it may spook you a bit.
For some riders, this adjustment will come naturally and be easy, but for some, it may take some time …
You will be able to tuck lean some crazy shit
One important feature is how you’re gonna be able to tuck lean somethings you struggled to keep form on before.
How do they lean
Despite having quad spherical, you still get a nice enough amount of support and feedback as you lean.
I think this is because of the rake, narrow width, and short bushings. That little rebound/support that HPF bushings have now has a bit more of an impact because the “lever” you use to crank the bushings has been shortened …
And it’s not a crazy amount of support or rebound. It’s enough to let you know what the hanger is doing and not flop side to side easily, but it doesn’t restrict the hanger much if you want to get to that edge of turn/lean as quickly as possible …
But really they are not leany trucks. They want to dart around …
Are they stable?
Yes, they surprisingly have a big center, which makes them extremely stable.
They do have a bit of bump steer though which can be a bit scary. But if you crank the back truck down a bit this problem goes away.
They are one of the few trucks that feel so solid, I have no doubt I can take them 70mph. Even being the coward that I am.
They will react and provide feedback that you’re going over road imperfections, but they won’t bounce like Gold Rogues do.
How do they slide?
Nicely.
It’s quite easy to hold a slide on them they don’t really want to hook up aggressively or ice out. They’re quite happy to hang out in the slide until you want to stop sliding.
Because of how turny there are though, and how quickly you reach the end of turning, it’s very easy to get to that edge of traction and get your board to slide. This is extremely advantageous, especially mid-corner when you want to adjust your speed to take a better line through.
When you do want to hook up, it feels like the trucks are pre-disposed to regain traction aggressively. But you can work them to be gentle enough to have a smooth hookup.
Finally, you get a more “in the pavement” feel when sliding wheels. It feels like I’m able to use more of the contact patch of wheels more effectively. Giving a smoother overall, more consistent slide … I think it also lends to making them easier to freeride …
How do they feel at the limit?
Amazing.
I think because of the spherical bearings, and no slop, you end up with a very defined and accurate feel of what the wheels are doing. This is advantageous for some reasons.
- You can ride the edge of traction. You can take the corner as fast as possible, riding the fine line between grip and slip because you can tell when your wheels start icing out. Allowing you to carry as much speed through a corner as possible …
- You can keep the wheels loaded throughout the whole corner. From turning to sliding, to hookup, to exit. You can now tell if you aren’t working the wheels and adjust accordingly the next time you take the corner.
- Confidence-inspiring. On some trucks, it’s difficult to tell what your wheels are doing. You don’t know if they’re scrubbing, gripping, etc. Maybe you’re gonna highside? It’s not the best.
It’s like finally getting prescription glasses after having murky vision your whole life …
Can you freeride the Rogue ZM1s?
Absolutely.
It’s such a big bonus how easy these trucks are to freeride. Well, you are kinda stuck freeriding wider wheels cause of how narrow the trucks are, but you can get away with using narrower ones too.
But yeah, thanks to zero slop, spherical inserts, and short bushings, it’s easy to freeride them.
You have a big center so it’s easy to hold out slides, and the use of short bushings kinda restricts the lean a bit so they don’t feel tippy mid-slide.
And despite being super turny, they don’t want to dive suddenly mid-slide. They are very easy to hold out big slides on …
Gets a thumbs-up from me.
Are they hard to ride?
I don’t think they are difficult to ride once you figure out the dead zone issue I highlight later in the article.
I think they do need some adjustment, but don’t all trucks?
They’re confidence-inspiring
I think with the bushings being the only urethane parts in the trucks, you get a level of control and predictability I haven’t felt with a lot of other trucks I have tried – Ronins and Valks do share this characteristic, but I think Rogue ZM1s take it a notch higher.
This is extremely confidence-inspiring. It feels like the trucks do exactly what you want them to, and don’t behave unpredictably.
I think this is because there is no urethane insert or pivot cup that rebounds/fights back as you try to articulate the trucks. It’s only the bushings that provide feedback and support, and they do so in a very “balanced/consistent way”.
I think this is because you only engage them on only one “plane”.
The bushings are locked into articulating on one axis because of the quad sphericals. This makes them behave more predictably as they don’t have to compress in any other way.
Bushings in other trucks have to deal with side-to-side slop or other forces and I feel this can sometimes lead to inconsistent performance.
In the ZM1s, the bushings don’t have to compress in any other way. So because they work on one specific plane, you get a very consistent feel that translates to high confidence in these trucks.
At least that is my theory …
I think anyone can ride them
Once set up well, I think anyone can ride them confidently.
I gave them to my friend and he rode them way better than he did his own setup (Smokies+ Small Blind), in about two to three runs.
And this homie is one of the biggest cowards I know – as soon as a setup feels a little scary/unpredictable, he holds back a lot. So him being confident on them signaled a lot to me.
I will say there is a bit of a period where you get used to them (cause they turn quite aggressively), but once your body adjusts they perform so intuitively.
Do the quad sphericals give a harsh ride?
Yes, but it’s only a problem on the roughest of roads.
But even then the wheels you choose to use can make it a tiny bit more bearable.
95% of the time, I don’t see most people having an issue.
I will say, pushing on rough roads sucks. The board bounces around way too much.
Bump steer
They do have a tiny bit more bump steer than other trucks like Ronins. But have a bit less than Gold Rogues.
I think the bump steer comes from them being narrower rather than the actual sphericals but I could be wrong.
You can always try …
Insert bushings are compatible on the Rogue ZM1s, so if you ever need a bit more stability you can run them in your trucks.
I have yet to try this, but it do be working.
Tall vs short bushings?
I think there are a lot of advantages to short bushings. You do lose a lot of lean, but I’m starting to find you lose a bit of accuracy/feel in turn with tall bushings … Just a thought, but don’t take it too deep.
Different trucks feel good in different ways and it’s important to dial them in well for their specific use.
I don’t feel limited by the use of short bushings here, in fact, it feels great.
Do you need to set them up in a special way?
How others ride their Zm1s
Most people use the stock bushings or switch to using a blue or pink cone in the front of the truck.
Stock washer can work but …
The stock setup is great, it feels fairly balanced and I believe the majority of people would be comfortable on it.
However, I did feel the flat washer roadside in the front truck limited the performance of the setup.
I think it gave a bit more bump steer, and a bit more rebound when I tried to articulate the trucks.
I didn’t like this, I wanted less bump steer and less resistance as I articulated the trucks/dove into a turn or slide.
I got slightly better performance with a smaller flat washer, or with using a blue cone.
You gotta try a cone (blue/pink)
The blue cone is a great middle ground between the smaller flat washer and the big stock washer.
It gives you better turning, handles bump steer better, and is pretty stable. It gives a bigger center and doesn’t come off the center as easily as the pink barrel bushing.
However, when you get off the center it allows the hanger to articulate very quickly. This does have its advantages but I found it too quick turning.
My rear truck wasn’t able to keep up with this turning, and I had trouble riding the edge of grip as easily. I kept thinking the limit was further away, but then I’d suddenly find myself icing out …
I will say if I’m in a situation with a lot of tuck-leaning, it could be the move. I think even a pink (73a) cone could work just as well. But for the majority of my riding, I didn’t like it as much.
Smaller flat washer
I think this is the Goldilocks setup. It gives you a decent center, but easy, balanced turning. It doesn’t provide too much rebound and makes turning and slide initiation smooth.
This is how I have my front truck set up.
I recommend a wheelbase of 20” (bolt to bolt) or lower
I had initially tried them on a 21in WB and this had some issues.
With a web longer than 20”, I wasn’t able to get the trucks to rotate under me aggressively. This posed a problem when I exceeded the grip of my wheels or wanted to slide.
Instead of the wheels losing grip from under me and scrubbing as I got to the limit of traction, I’d instead just end up taking a wider line through a corner.
If I’m going too fast to make a corner, I prefer to scrub out and kill speed instead of washing out into the other lane or off the road.
Finally, it also made making the wheels break into a slide harder. It gave them so much “edge” grip, which didn’t make them any grippier, just harder to slide and harder to control.
And when I was in the slide, it sometimes felt like the wheels weren’t slowing me down unless I slid at specific angles …
Going with a 20in WB solved all of this.
How a 20in WB helped
A 20in wb allowed the trucks to rotate under me better and this solved a lot of the above problems.
I was able to scrub out as I got to that edge of traction. This was super crutch for me riding at my best. I was able to make those mini adjustments through the corner and ride that edge of traction, carrying as much speed through as I could.
The other benefit of the scrubbing thing, is you get better feedback on what your wheels are doing …
The other benefit was easier sliding and better control. I was able to ride like Diego Poncelet.
And there were no disadvantages. The setup didn’t get any less stable or get more twitchy. And after one session it just felt as good as normal.
If anything, with the feeling of more control I was able to ride the trucks harder and more confidently.
Things to watch out for
Spherical dead zone (affects stability)
You need to pay attention to how you tighten the back truck.
This is because there can be a dead zone where the hanger floats between the spherical without engaging the bushings, all depending on how much you tighten the back truck.
If you tighten the back truck just enough to prevent the washer from spinning, you will get the issue with the dead zone.
This dead zone leads to instability, a ton of bump steer from hitting road imperfections, and is simply not confidence-inspiring.
How to get rid of the spherical dead zone
You want to tighten the trucks until the hanger engages the bushings as soon as it articulates.
The easiest way to do this is to:
- Tighten the kingpin nut down a bit, and then
- Make the hanger articulate by hand using a light touch. If you feel some free movement before the truck engages the bushing, that means you need to tighten the kingpin down more.
- Repeat this until you feel the hanger engage the bushings off the lightest of articulations by your hand.
- And then stand on your board. Weight it, and shift your weight from left to right then
- Repeat step 2. You need to do this because sometimes your bushings and hangers aren’t sat properly in the hanger/baseplate and you need your weight to get them to sit correctly.
- Once you’re satisfied, go skate.
You do reduce how much the back truck articulates, but the trade-offs of better stability and a snappier slide are worth it.
You do get the same issue with the front truck, but I don’t bother doing the process as above. I haven’t noticed an impact on performance…
**And shoutout to Owen Fox who pointed this out. If it wasn’t for him I would have still been suffering.
Is the dead zone on purpose?
IDK if Rogue made the trucks like this on purpose, but I asked other boys on a different quad slalom truck brand if they had a similar issue and the answer was no.
So I’m not sure if this is a manufacturing error or not. And I haven’t asked Zak Maytum about it, but maybe I should …
I will say, that with a slightly looser kingpin nut, the back truck turns so much more. If you’re in a scenario where you don’t need stability, you could run the back truck looser for a bit more turn …
Clean the trucks often
With the quad spherical, you’re gonna have to clean your trucks often.
The insert sphericals don’t get too dirty, but the pivot sphericals do as they’re quite exposed. And it’s the pivot one that you really want to avoid getting dirty.
If they get dirty they can sieze up, and I’m not sure they’re gonna be easy to replace.
In Kenya, there is quite a lot of dust so I end up cleaning my trucks once a month or every two weeks. I don’t know if that’s a good amount of cleaning, but I don’t want to find out the hard way if it’s too much.
Things I didn’t like
Dead zone
It’s a weird thing to deal with. Some other trucks have this issue – I think Smokies, and they worked better once it was gone.
So while it’s not uncommon with other trucks, it was a bit annoying to deal with …
Not skating on the roughest of roads (or rain skating)
Honestly not a huge issue, but because of this I’m hesitant to sell my Gold rogues.
If ZM1s could do rough roads and rain skating, I could free up some of my collection and use that money for something else.
Are ZM1s the only trucks that work great?
Perhaps not. There are a lot of other dual-spherical slalom trucks out there. ZM1s are the only set I have tried and can comment on.
I’ve heard good things about the 161Slalom trucks. Robot Oblivion trucks, the Dane Hanna pro trucks.
Conclusion – They good!
Thanks for checking out my review. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
