Sabre Trucks: The Review

From a skater’s standpoint, there is a goal to find “the best (piece of equipment) that can do everything”. You know the search.  You want a wheel that slides like wax, but grips like a capybara’s claw. You’re after that deck with just enough flex to pump, but that’s rock solid while nailing the line. Of course, you want a truck that turns deep as a carver and, yet, is the one thing that will let you sail past the fastest fanboy on the hill. Whether any board and wheel that can do all that is still up to discussion (and one of the reasons you’re even on the internet, admit it), but do-it-all trucks are a reality.  For one that’s touted to do it with better construction and a decent price point, enter the Sabre.

Construction.

The Sabre is clean looking, with smooth lines and angles.  The casting on our set is free of imperfections and the Sabre logo is frosted on with a font that sweeps along the hanger, mirrors the oversized bushing seat and gives the truck some style.  The Sabre appears to have been planned with every element fitting in place.  It’s got 45-degree geometry with an offset axle and a flippable hanger.  It sports a splined kingpin and runs dual barrel bushings.   The stock bushings themselves are type-rated with a letter to designate their usage, but you can run anything in the Sabres, other than “Stim-shaped” bushings for the top…where those won’t fit.  The Sabre comes with flat washers and the baseplate’s bushing seat is wide enough to “go without” if you want to. 

The baseplate is rocking a 6-hole pattern and we found the holes to be where they “should be”, not where they shouldn’t:  the 4-pack is adjacent to the pivot rather than under the hanger.  The axles are clean and the facing good. Overall it is a well made with the type of quality that is expected from team that has brought this truck to the market.

The Ride.

The Sabre is supposed to do it all, and we found that it is indeed capable of performing in many forms. It is hard in today’s truck market to build something that is discipline-specific but that’s still comfortable outside its element. With simple carving and mellow riding, the trucks performed well with a deep turn. Very calm in their performance with the OEM purple bushings, the Sabres were fluid at the mellow speeds of slow grade hills.

When speeds picked up, we found that the more you give the Sabres in regard to momentum, the more they wake up.   Very capable at speed, the Sabres respond reliably with productive tension feedback due to their oversized bushings.  They’re consistent and gave our testers the ability to get used to the setups quick.  Our riders went through a few bushing setups ‘til they found what performed for them at their peak. Once dialed in, the trucks just become that much more comfortable for the rider and the ease that they were to work on meant more time on the hill and less time monkeying with trucks.

For a truck that was designed to be a jack of all trades, the Sabres deserve to be respected. The truck’s high points that affect its ride are the geometry, hanger width and bushings. These all come together to deliver a very capable truck. The reviewers found its ease of use to be an unusual high point– after rubber-hammering so many older trucks, it was nice to find a truck that was a cinch to build up and tear down.  The truck ridden was responsive and reliable, exactly what was to be expected, and delivered both at the lower and higher ends of riding speeds.  Our only complaint is the import-style, alpha numeration of the bushings.  Just number them and be done with it!  With all the hype surrounding bushings it’s safer for everyone to just follow convention, right?  Then again if we wanted all our decisions made for us I suppose we would all just join a cult. The Sabre delivers and, since so many of the available bushings out there fit it, the only question is, how you want to ride your Sabres? 

After all is said and done, the Sabre does ride exceptionally well and looks damn good.   You can get them for a reasonable price, too, with Sabre distribution in full swing.  Be the first kid on the block with ‘em and Go Skate!