Tensor Truck is a skateboard truck company that was founded and designed by professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen in 2000. The parent company of Tensor is Dwindle Distribution. The company offers trucks at three different (lo, mid, hi) altitudes that are tailored for different wheel diameters - hi designed for 58mm and smaller wheels; mid to 54mm or smaller; and lo for 52mm and smaller. Mullen holds US patent no. 6,443,471B1 for design features implemented in Tensor. Tensor trucks are manufactured in China.
Video Tensor Trucks
History
Mullen explains the origin of the brand in the 2010 interview:
I do not feel it's legal to just build another truck like Indy [Independent Truck Co.]. I thought, 'How can I do it differently?' The way I skate is a hoax - setting my feet and landing... I want to build a truck that will help you do things that way better. I want to build a truck that does not change well because it will help me. If you want another truck, it's already there. I do not feel I deserve a place by copying others. That is the value I always get from skateboards - to be part of something bigger.
Maps Tensor Trucks
Key design features
Baseplate slider
The most noticeable feature on the Tensor truck (excluding the Response model) is the polymer baseplate slider. Trucks can wear out in the baseplates of the nose and tail slides. Sliders can be replaced and touted better than standard aluminum base plate.
Bushing interlocking
Bushing tensors (or cushions) use a patented design that has a flange on the lower bus that connects to the top bus to stabilize the truck.
Baseplate nibs
The tensor truck has four fangs on each base plate, designed to dig up the board to prevent the truck from shifting when hardware installs loosens.
Headhead kingpin
Tensor implements a grade-8 buttonbird with engine splines on it to prevent it from spinning in the baseplate. Button buttons are lighter than the hexagon padlock, which is the industry standard at the time. Independent, Guntur, Venture, Krux, Fury, and Destructo have since applied a kinghead button.
Response
Tensor released a new truck called "Response" in March 2007. It was an all-metal design, with no baseplate plastic barrier from the original design, and was promoted as "lightest truck". In 2008 Tensor released the lightest design but uses magnesium and is touted to be 25% lighter than the industry average truck.
Bearing
Tensor collaborated with Oust Bearings to produce Oust/Tensor co-branded lines from skateboard bearings. Both brands also developed experimental Tensor trucks consisting of upgraded parts.
Hollow components
The tensor truck also has uniquely designed hardware. Axle and bolt padlocks are both hollow in design to remove material weight, thus increasing overall light.
Team
In August 2014, the team list for Tensor Trucks consisted of:
- Ben Fisher
- Felipe Ortiz
- Joey Brezinski
- Rodney Mullen
- Zered Bassett
- Manny Santiago
- Daewon's Song
- Andrew Brophy
- TJ Rogers
Notable ex-team members include Chris Cole, Chris Haslam, Kanten Russell, Ronnie Creager, Enrique Lorenzo, Gailea Momolu, Dave Mayhew, Ryan Sheckler, and Jake Duncombe.
References
External links
- Official website
- Dwindle
- Release Experimental
- Oust Bearings
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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