Crailtap Through the Eyes of a 21 Year Old—Royal

Welcome to part one of where I talk about Crailtap. In this post, I will be talking about one of the most forgettable brands: Royal Trucks. I will also be talking about Lakai and Girl/Chocolate in later parts which I will link as they publish.

Part 2: Lakai

Griffin Gass, back tail by Mike Blabac

"Fuck the rest, ride the best", "Know control" and "Awake" are mottos associated with the three truck giants—Independent, Thunder and Venture respectively. Ace recently made a comeback with their new AF1 truck with the motto "Now it's our turn." Very fitting, considering their boom in popularity. Many of the Indy riders switched to Ace during the controversy of the Iron Cross. Skaters converted to Ace as well when Independent moved manufacturing to China. Respectable skaters such as Brian Anderson and the late Jeff Grosso moved to Ace, and Bobby Worrest made the switch to Venture. Even Tensors have gained a small uptick when Dan Corrigan made a video with BevUp about how the Mag Lights being able to grind anything.

With the big three truck brands still holding the throne and Ace offering incredible turn and Tensor allowing smooth grinds, where does Royal sit? According to a quick Google search, Royal Trucks began in 1997. Over the years, Royal never really had that much popularity. Why ride Royals when Thunders are also available? Royal seemed to be in a hiatus when Guy Mariano and Eric Koston left Girl in 2015. Mariano also rode for Royal. The team wasn't big, but it was pretty well stacked: Cory Kennedy, Vincent Alvarez, Mike Mo and of course Mike Carroll. As a huge Cory Kennedy fan, I did buy a pair of Royals. They were good. They turned and grinded. I actually learned slappies in Royals and it was the first truck I ever hit axle on.

And then I switched to Independent.

Independent to me was cool. Their "fuck you" attitude seemed appealing to the 17-year old I was. I loved how turny and surfy Independents are, and being able to carve back and forth so quickly made me enjoy riding my board. I didn't have to do tricks or even pop my board! Just riding around was good enough for me.

Unfortunately, I began falling down the rabbit hole of wheelbase and truck madness. While I really liked how Independent turned, they are also heavy and tall (55mm). Which meant more energy required to pop and flip my board. I'm not someone who does a whole lot of flip tricks, but as someone who wanted to learn more flip tricks, these things mattered. My friend had a pair of Thunders which I tried but it wasn't quite the turn I liked. They felt too tight at stock. For reference, I'm about 5'9 and weigh around 145lbs.

I feared I would have to just learn to ride tight trucks again. But then, Royal decided to rebrand itself and release a new, improved truck. This quickly caught my attention and so did Slap. The trucks were much lighter and lower than standard Independents, almost identical to Thunder. My only question was the turn. However, the initial reviews posted by Slap members said the turn isn't too bad. So I bought myself a pair.

The consensus: they're good trucks. They're a Thunder that turns more. Though the turn isn't as snappy or curvy as Independent, it's still manageable. The lowered height and lighter weight are welcomed. If the Independent Mids or Ace AF1 Lows were just as light, I would've bought those. Instead, they're either heavier or weight the same as the Royals.

Though Royal may not be in the mind of skaters who are thinking of what truck to buy next, I would say they are a solid option. If you already ride Thunders but want to be able to lean/turn a bit more, give Royals a shot. My next pair will most likely be the hollowed out Ultra-Lights from Royal.

If you need more convincing, the goat Ben Degros got you with a review: