DIY Surf Keeyz / Riot plugs alternative

What are Surf Keeyz ?

Surf Keeyz bushings
Picture from Surf-Rodz.com

Surf Keeyz are small nylon rings made by Surf Rodz to be used on their trucks. They sit between the bushings and act the same way as spherical bushings except it is not as radical and can be removed easily, but hey can also worn out. They are really hard to find in Europe and I was told by Sickboard client service that they were not being made anymore. I’m not entirely convinced that it is true, I really couldn’t find any when I bought my pair of Surf Rodz TKP trucks but now they are back in stock on Sickboard…

Anyway, I really wanted to try them as it is supposed to make the trucks even better but wasn’t ready to pay like 20€ for some small nylon rings. So I decided to make my own.

Home made Surf Keeyz

To do so I just bought a hard 22mm nylon rod and cut a slice in it. Then I drilled a hole in the middle, that was surprisingly difficult to make the hole the right size because I don’t have any 3/8″ drill bit (9,52mm) in stock. I had to make a 9mm hole and then sand it to reach the right diameter.

Then I used my fixed belt sander to shape it so that it would fit in the bushing seat hole. A disk sander would have been better but I don’t have one. Using a file and sandpaper would work too, but you won’t get the burnt nylon smell.

I still have to find better bushings for these trucks because the stock ones are quite hard for my tastes. Because of the bushings being hard I don’t feel the effect of the surf keeyz that much but I must admit it makes the trucks smoother and it feels more precise. I will update this post once I have found better bushings.

I think I’m going to try to make plugs for some of my trucks. I’m curious to see how it feels on Carver CX trucks to see if it changes something.

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