Skateboard bushings: how to choose the right ones for your setup

Skateboard bushings are one of the most overlooked parts of any setup, but they’re also one of the things that completely change how your board feels under your feet.

You don’t really think about them until something feels off—your trucks don’t turn the way you expect, your board feels too loose or too stiff, or you just can’t find that balance between control and flow. That’s when you realize how important they actually are.

Bushings are what control how your trucks respond when you ride. Every turn, every carve, every adjustment you make with your weight goes through them. They compress, rebound, and define how fast your board reacts and how stable it stays when you push it harder. It’s not just a technical component—it’s something you feel instantly, especially if you skate street regularly.

A good set of skateboard bushings gives you control where you need it and freedom where it matters. Your turns feel smoother, your lines flow better, and your tricks come around more naturally. When your bushings are right, your board stops fighting you and starts working with you.

How skateboard bushings actually work

Bushings are made of urethane, the same material used in skateboard wheels, but designed to compress and rebound under pressure. Inside each truck, there are two bushings mounted on the kingpin: one bottom bushing, which is usually larger and provides stability, and one top bushing, typically smaller and often conical, which adds responsiveness.

When you lean into a turn or land a trick, your weight compresses the bushings. As they return to shape, they control how your truck moves back into position. This is what makes your trucks feel tight or loose, reactive or stable.

Soft bushings compress easily, which means faster turns, more responsiveness, and a looser overall feel. Hard bushings resist compression, keeping your setup stable and controlled, especially at higher speeds or under heavier loads.

But it’s not just about soft versus hard. The shape of the bushing also plays a key role. Conical bushings allow for quicker turning and more freedom of movement, while barrel-shaped bushings offer more resistance and stability. Even small differences in shape or hardness can completely change how your board reacts.

Choosing the right bushings for your weight and style

There’s no universal setup when it comes to skateboard bushings. The right choice depends on how you skate, where you skate, and how much you weigh.

Weight matters more than most people think. If you’re lighter and riding hard bushings, your trucks won’t turn properly—you’ll feel like you’re forcing every movement. If you’re heavier and using soft bushings, your board will feel unstable, especially when landing tricks or riding faster.

Your riding style also plays a big role. Street skaters often prefer a slightly looser setup for better control in technical tricks, while riders who skate transition or faster lines might prefer a tighter, more stable feel.

Most street setups sit somewhere in the middle, typically between 88A and 92A, but that’s just a starting point. The real difference comes from experimenting. Trying different hardness levels and shapes is the only way to understand what actually works for you.

Why matching bushings with your trucks matters

Every truck brand designs its bushings to match its own geometry. Independent, Thunder, Venture, Ace—each of them has slightly different dimensions and response characteristics, and their bushings are built to work with that.

Using bushings from the same brand as your trucks usually gives you the most consistent performance. The shape fits better, the rebound feels more natural, and the overall response stays closer to what the truck was designed for.

Mixing brands can work, but it often leads to small inconsistencies that you’ll feel when you ride. It’s not always a dealbreaker, but if you want a precise and predictable setup, staying within the same system makes a difference.

At Pleasures Milano, we’ve seen this over and over—small mismatches in bushings can throw off an otherwise solid setup.

How bushings affect real skating

Bushings don’t just change how your board turns—they change how everything feels when you skate.

With the right bushings, your trucks turn naturally without overreacting. You don’t have to think about them. You just skate. Your lines flow, your tricks come around clean, and your board feels stable when you need it.

With the wrong bushings, everything feels off. You might oversteer, understeer, lose control in landings, or struggle to keep your balance during technical tricks. It’s not always obvious at first, but once you fix it, you feel the difference immediately.

That’s why experienced skaters don’t ignore bushings. They fine-tune them until the board feels exactly right.

Installing skateboard bushings properly

Changing bushings is simple, but doing it correctly makes a difference. You need to remove the kingpin nut, take off the top washer and top bushing, slide out the hanger, and remove the bottom bushing. Then you rebuild everything in the correct order: bottom washer, bottom bushing, hanger, top bushing, top washer, and finally the kingpin nut.

The washers matter more than most people think. The bottom washer supports the lower bushing and distributes pressure, while the top washer controls how much the upper bushing can expand and move.

Once everything is installed, the final adjustment is up to you. Tighten the kingpin nut until the setup feels right. Too tight and your board becomes stiff. Too loose and it becomes unstable. Finding the right balance takes time—and testing.

Skateboard vs longboard bushings

Longboard bushings are a completely different category. They’re larger, taller, and built for higher speeds and deeper turns.

In disciplines like downhill or freeride, bushings are critical for safety. Shapes like stepped cones and double barrels allow for progressive resistance and better control at speed. The way they compress and rebound is designed for stability over long distances, not quick technical tricks.

If you’re skating a traditional skateboard, stick to skateboard bushings. If you’re riding a longboard, you need bushings designed specifically for that kind of setup.

When to replace your bushings

Bushings don’t last forever. Over time, they lose elasticity, dry out, and stop performing the way they should.

If your trucks don’t turn smoothly anymore, if you feel inconsistent resistance, or if the bushings start cracking or crumbling, it’s time to replace them. Even if they look fine, worn bushings can affect your control without you realizing it.

Sometimes, replacing bushings isn’t about wear—it’s about improvement. Trying a different hardness or shape can completely change how your board feels.

Pleasures Milano: bushings that actually work in real street skating

At Pleasures Milano, we don’t choose skateboard bushings based on branding, hype, or what’s trending—we choose what actually works when you skate. Everything you find in our shop is selected with a simple goal: real performance under real conditions.

We test bushings where they are meant to be used: on actual street spots, on rough curbs, on ledges that don’t forgive mistakes, and during real sessions where setup precision matters.

We know how different bushings behave under pressure, how they respond over time, and how much even a small change in hardness or shape can affect your control, your lines, and your consistency.

A good set of skateboard bushings doesn’t just change how your trucks turn—it changes how your entire setup feels. It affects how you lock into grinds, how stable you are on landings, and how naturally your board responds to your weight and movement. When your bushings are right, everything becomes smoother, more controlled, and more predictable. When they’re wrong, you feel it immediately.

That’s why we focus on bushings that deliver durability, consistent rebound, and a real connection between rider and board. We only carry products that hold up session after session, not just for a few rides. Because in real skating, performance isn’t about first impressions—it’s about how your setup behaves over time.

Once you find the right bushings for your weight, your style, and the way you skate, the difference is instant. Your board stops feeling like something you have to control—and starts feeling like something that works with you.

If you need help choosing the right skateboard bushings for your setup, reach out. We’ll help you find what actually works for your skating, not just what looks good on paper.