Review: Caliber III Longboard Trucks

We gave a set of  Caliber III to our friend Punkaroulettes from Longboardskate.blogspot . After a few monthes of intensive use, here is his complete trucks reviews

For this 3rd version, CALIBER TRUCKS GO go big with more setting options. You still can choose between 9" or 10" width and 44° or 50° baseplate. On top of if, you now can decide to get trucks with or without raked hanger. On the previous V1 & V2, trucks was only available without rake.

Once upon a time the Reverted kingping trucks geometry...

PARIS TRUCKS CO. , was founded in 2006 by Joey Pulsifer. It quickly became the leader trucks manufacturer, stilling the historic first place to RANDAL who was the first ever company to use reverted kingpin geometry back in 1975.

Fast forward to 2010, when CALIBER breaks loose as a heavy duty truck (do you know of someone riding Paris V1 who has not bent them ?) and a more stable ride (rakeless).

PARIS fixed the issue on  their V2 with a thicker hanger, CALIBER retaliates with an even neater V2 available in many vibrant and shimmering colors. All the while advertising in the crudest ways…

Caliber III Trucks: First impressions

For the V3, CALIBER  slightly redesigned the hanger to strengthen it and did a great job at redesigning the bushing seats, which were, in my opinion, the weak point of the previous versions.

The 90A bushings are designed by VENOM especially for these trucks. The "plug barrel" on the board side is inserted into the hanger to limit slop like an insert or a spherical bearing. On a side note : this type of bushing is also found on the RANDAL 3.

Another weak point has been solved : the basic PVC pivot cup, which was wearing away quickly, has been replaced by a new version in 96A labeled as more durable.

On the 44° version, it is now possible to mount tall bushings (board side only) without changing the geometry of the trucks, simply by removing the red shim. This way the truck will lean deeper to match the turniness of the 50° version.

Caliber III: In action...

For the review, I have decided to use a slip set of Caliber III 158mm using 50° baseplate and raked hanger on the front / 44° baseplate and no rake hanger at the rear.

I am looking for a lively and agile front truck and a more stable back truck. Trucks are set on an Hackbret Wasser 120cm longboard deck with Seismic Alpha 75.5mm Mango Wheels. I do not use any riser pad.

I am impressed by the wheel clearance. I do not have any wheelbite, even when using large wheels without any riser pads.

The trucks turn easily, so this six-foot liner turns out to be much more maneuverable than it looks. No flutter or hard zone in the bushings, the movement is perfectly linear. The trucks return to center feels natural, the carving does not suffer from any indelicate movement. We transfer the “figure 8" from the shoulders to the plank without any loss. A bit like a spherical bearing trucks in the hanger but without the discomfort of metal to metal contact parts.

Going downhill the good feeling continues, a small kranking on the bushings is enough to stiffen them up and go fast without any problem. Still, this needs to be confirmed using a shorter board, the Wasser and its 91.4cm / 36” wheelbase probably help with stability at high speed. The good feelings are confirmed while sliding. Such progressive and comfortable trucks can only make your slides pleasant & smooth. Nothing amazing, but there are no traps though, the slides are easy to control. You will have a lot of fun and gain confidence to ride faster on the next pass, come and find the money line after a few powerful and confident carves...

Because I love their playful behavior and turning, I was rather labeled "Team PARIS" until today. Now  these  V3 CALIBER trucks make me at peace with the brand. As I had ridden the first 2 versions, I was able to assess the improvements made to this latest version. Apart from the new pivot cup which could still be adjusted for better durability, all the modifications made to this edition make this CALIBER III one of the benchmark trucks among reverse geometry trucks. I particularly appreciate the possibility of mixing your set of trucks according to your board and your preferences: Width, angle, rake, bushing size. At a time when everything is standardized/mutualized to reduce costs... Let us choose our trucks, for God’s sake !!!