Discotrux - Park Skate Trucks for Roller Skates

Bont Discotrux is a unique wide roller skate trucks with interchangeable axle housing. A truck is the part of your skate that sits between the plate and the axles that hold the wheels on your roller skate. The Discotrux truck is adaptable to many current market skate plates and includes features to modify them to be adaptable to even more plates.

Discotrux Roller Skate Skate Park Trucks

Introduction

Hi, I’m Disco (Hugh Rowland) the designer of Discotrux roller skate trucks. Here is my story, the journey through the design of Discotrux.

An idea starts with a conversation. A seed of thought is planted to inspire a path of curiosity and problem-solving.

My conversation started in early 2019 with my skate buddy and Discoblox ambassador Whippa (Ricky Moss). We discussed the options for wide skate trucks to suit our roller skates. How we look forward to building our next pair of skates, better than our last. That which worked before could be better, or as we change plates how we need to complement its shape.

Although there seems to be a proven trend of adapting skateboard trucks and even current wide trucks for roller skates on the market, the outcome is cumbersome, and in my opinion, leaves a lot to be desired of the final performance.

A skateboard truck has a cast shape that is limited to its original geometry.

This definite shape becomes difficult to customize into the broad range of skate plate designs, considering the changes in geometry and necessary parts that may also need to be modified.

Bont Discotrux

The Brief

Here was my first brief,

- that Discotrux has the ability to change its geometry.

This is why Discotrux includes a ‘Pivot Pin Adaptor’. Across the early prototypes, we calculated a couple of different angle approaches this adaptor could have. The Bont package includes the adaptor that allows the truck to suit so many angles of plate degrees. This part is complemented by a pivot pin, with a small ball head and a thin tapered neck. This feature allows the pin to approach and action to different angles without interfering with the pivot cup.

I can thank Geoff Brown (HeBeGB) for critiquing my early prototype of this feature.

The Bont package includes a spare pivot pin of extra length for the subtle difference that some plates will require.

Discotrux Adapters

Working out the truck width

My next concern was what width of truck I wanted.

A wider truck offers stability and connection with the change in shape of the surface that you experience when park or street skating. Also a much different reactivity than a standard roller skate truck.

A standard roller skate truck has a body of 50mm. Other wide trucks are of about 70mm. I was looking for but couldn’t find a suitable truck any bigger.

Discotrux have interchangeable axle housing of 70mm and 100mm.

In my experience now using Discotrux, the 70mm is great for street and for bowls up to 6ft. For bowls and vert that are bigger, the 100mm has greater performance. A performance I had never experienced!

 
Discotrux trucks 70mm vs 100mm

With a design in mind, I took my research to my new associate Aiden Wescombe, an engineer and machinist. He took my brief and created the first prototype.

Unique roller skate wide trucks with interchangeable axle housing.

I took this home and began experimenting. First, with different plates I had from old skates and finally with the Bont Tracer plate. In fact, much of our design was directed to complimenting the Bont plate.

I was immediately impressed with the performance. The most important factor in acheiving good performance of the truck is that the pivot pin is making contact with the base of the pivot cup.

Discotrux roller skate trucks suit plates with hard plastic pivot cups. This ensures that the action of the truck is properly pivoting on the pivot pin, as its name implies.

It is common for roller skates that have rubber pivot cups that the pivot pin is only kept in place by its pivot cup but not actually touching the bottom. The result is that the truck does its work on the bushings only, and bounces or hammers the pivot cup. This results in quickly worn out cups and broken truck bosses.

Meeting Bont

By mid-2019 I had a finished product and commissioned my first sets for road testing.  So far, so good. In October 2019 I was on my way to a skate event. A real opportunity to put my trucks to the test. On my way, I met with Bont director, Alexander Bont, for lunch. I showed him my complete setup. Bont boot, Bont plates and Discotrux. He could instantly recognize the new design features and agreed to make an exact example from the Bont factory. This didn’t take long. You could say that I got my first Bont Discotrux for Christmas! 

Some other lucky skaters have had the opportunity to experience Discotrux, for road testing. Originals first produced by Disco, the collector's edition!

From January 2020 we have been working to deliver Discotrux to market, a collaboration with Bont, with much help from Christine Murray (Shorty) and the Bont team.

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