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Upgrade Your Carver CX & C5 Surfskate Trucks with RipTide Bushings

by | Feb 19, 2023 | Upgrades & Customizations

Watch How to Use RipTide Carver CX/C5 Bushings on YouTube
One of the easiest and best ways to upgrade and customize your surfskate is to swap out your stock bushings for higher-quality aftermarket surfskate bushings.

High-quality, high-rebound urethane bushings feel and perform much better than stock bushings.

One of the most popular brands for aftermarket bushings is Riptide Sports. Their top-of-the-line urethane is made in small batches in the U.S.A.

RipTide recently released bushings with precise specifications for the Carver CX and C5 surfskate trucks. (And yes, the bushings are the same sizes for the two trucks.)

Having the right bushing sizes matters because the wrong size changes the geometry of the truck. If you’re too far off, this can make your truck hanger rub against the kingpin and lead to breakage.

There ways to adjust bushings to get to the right height, such as using washers. However, having the right specifications to begin with prevents breakage and ensures that your truck will function as designed.

Riptide offers three different urethane formulas. They used their APS™ formula for these RipTide Carver CX and C5 bushings. APS stands for “Animated Polymer System.” RipTide explains on their website,

“As the name implies, this compound is very lively and offers high rebound with lots of control and lean. For the same durometer, the APS will turn 10% to 15% more than the same durometer of other brands.”

So what you get with Carver CX RipTide bushings is a combination of both more flexibility as well as better rebound. You get a wider range of motion and the turns feel much smoother. And then when you lean into turns, the high-rebound urethane snaps you back to center with a much more lively feel than you get out of stock bushings.

You can get RipTide bushings for Carver CX and C5 in five durometers and in two-pack and four-packs so you can mix and match durometers to customize your ride.

By using the different durometers, you can fully customize your ride. So you can turn your CX into something a lot more loose and smooth and flowy than you’re used to, or you can even go a little bit stiffer than the stock bushings give you.
 

How to Choose the Right Durometer for Your RipTide Carver CX/C5 Bushings

 
Carver stock bushings come in 89A durometer. However, RipTide APS formula feels about two to three durometer points softer than Carver stock bushings. So take that into consideration when you’re choosing the durometers for your RipTide Carver CX bushings.

Here you see the five durometers of RipTide bushings for Carver CX and C5, from the softest at 85a on the left to the hardest at 95a on the right:

riptide bushings for waterborne surf adapter
Right in the middle is the yellow 90a durometer. This durometer most closely matches the 89a of Carver stock bushings. However, it feels more like 87a or 88a compared to the Carver 89a.

With that said, here are general weight guidelines for choosing your RipTide Carver CX bushings. (And keep in mind that personal preferences may go outside of these guidelines.)
 

  • 85a Durometer RipTide Carver CX Bushings (Blue): 140 pounds or less
  • 87.5a Durometer RipTide Carver CX Bushings (Pink): 140 – 175 pounds
  • 90a Durometer RipTide Carver CX Bushings (Yellow): 175 – 205 pounds
  • 92.5a Durometer RipTide Carver CX Bushings (Dark Blue): 185 – 235 pounds
  • 95a Durometer RipTide Carver CX Bushings (Red): 235 pounds or more
riptide bushings for waterborne surf adapter
If you’re in doubt as to which RipTide Carver CX bushings durometer to pick, then start with the yellow 90a. These are the closest match to Carver CX stock bushings and will be the best fit for the most riders.

And no matter your weight, if you’re used to riding on a Carver CX, the 90a durometer is the most equal replacement.

But if you want to go outside of that range to customize and fine-tune even more, then start with the durometers on either side of the yellow 90a.

If you want something a little softer than you’re used to on a Carver, then try the pink 87.5a durometer. If you want something a bit harder than you’re used to, try the dark blue 92.5a durometer.

You can customize even further by mixing and matching durometers, which is why we offer 2-packs as well as 4-packs.

So for example, you may want a harder durometer on rear than on front, or on your boardside versuse your roadside bushings. In that case, you can just get two 2-packs instead of having to pay for two 4-packs.
 

How to Install Your RipTide Carver CX Bushings

 
When installing your RipTide Carver CX bushings, the most important thing to remember is that there are two different sizes. Two bushings are .65”, and the other two are .58”.

The taller .65” bushings go on your boardside, and the shorter .58” bushings go on your roadside.

riptide bushings for waterborne surf adapter
With your board upside down, use a skate tool to remove the kinpin nut. Then remove the roadside bushing and washer, followed by the hanger.

Remove the boardside bushing.

Then replace the stock boardside Carver CX bushing with your taller .65” RipTide Carver CX bushing, with the narrower side of the bushing facing downward.

Replace the hanger.

Install your roadside RipTide Carver CX bushing, with the narrower side of the bushing facing upward (this will be facing downward when you place your board right-side up.)

Place the washer on top and screw your kingpin nut back on. Make sure it’s at least flush with the kingpin to engage the nylon with the kingpin threads.

So have fun experimenting and customizing your ride with RipTide bushings for Carver CX and C5 surfskate trucks.