New 2010 Bear 852 Trucks: Lighter, Stronger, and way more Tech!
The rumor mill started earlier this year.. we all knew an updated Bear 852 Truck was coming.. and now it's here and Skate[Slate] has the inside scoop.
Earlier today Landyachtz released their updated 2010 Bear 852 Truck with several notable changes, all while maintaining their same 2009 pricing of $47USD a pair.
There are really two notable areas of improvement... weight, and strength. Since weight has a direct correlation to speed, let's start by taking a closer look at weight.
As you can see from the table, Landyachtz Engineering has managed to shave off about 15grams from the overall weight per truck, reducing the total weight to your complete setup by 30grams. Landyachtz is claiming up to a 40grams reduction per pair, though we are yet to confirm where the additional 10grams reduction is coming from.
Next up is strength...
By the looks of the chart, truck strength shows the biggest gains since last year's model. In the above table you can see this year's truck is literally twice as strong as last year's truck. This comes as welcome news to this particular editor as yours truly bent a king pin recently on the 2009 Bear Truck that resides on my Evo. Not sure when and how I did it... all I know is my Evo started veering to the right a few months back, which caused me to take a closer look. Was this a defect, or just normal abuse? Unsure to be honest, but the news that Landyachtz has addressed this issue head on by doubling the strength in the new truck confirms there was room for improvement.
Landyachtz take the guess work out of their engineering by incorporating the latest computer aided technology to simulate stress tests. While these tests don't take away the need to get out and ride on the trucks, they do equip the team with the information needed to design the truck correctly from the very start. The below graph shows a the results or yield of a Von Mises stress test. You can learn more about this scientific approach here.
Another area that contributes to the Truck's strength factor is a wider bushing seat. Take a look at the image below. You can see how Landyachtz chose to increase the pivot cup wall thickness, which in turn should reduce your chances for a blown out baseplate upon impact.
Not unlike Bear trucks that have come before, Landyachtz boasts some rather unique features that may appeal to the skate enthusiast.
True Flip: With a Bear truck, you can flip the hanger and go between a carve oriented setup, and a speed oriented setup. The diagram below shows you the difference. I can personally attest to this feature and really do appreciate the difference. On my Evo, flipping the hanger made an already low centered board, amazingly low. If I was using my Evo strictly for racing, I would probably leave it in this position and never change it, but since I tend to mix it up and carve on my Evo just as much, I eventually put it back to the Carve position and have left it ever since.
Other features called out by the Landyachtz, include:
- Compatibility with most standard bushings: 15mm (height) x 24-24.5 (diameter)
- Graphite impregnated pivot cup: Tigether fit with less articulation friction
- Precise, hardened axles: Stronger axles without wheel slop
- Ovalized bushing seats: More turning, less restriction
The Bear Truck is a downhill, race oriented truck, at a value based price. While it doesn't carry the prestige of the Bear Smokey Trucks, it also doesn't carry the price tag. As someone with first hand riding experience on the 2009 Bear 852s, I welcome the improvements and can recommend these trucks to anyone looking for a downhill truck that will still leave some $$$ in your pocket for a new set of wheels to adorn them.
Fore more pictures, and links to purchase these trucks, you can visit the 2010 Bear 852 Grizzly Listing in the Skate[Slate] Gear Directory.
