If I had written this review on the day I fitted the adapter, I might have given it a low score. But I experimented with the setup, and this has proved a fantastic surftastic addition to my board!
The summary: I love the balance of pumping speed and deep carving my board now has, and the number of different setup variables adding the rail adapter gives me. It’s weighty but worth it.
The longer story: I fitted the FIN front adapter to my board with Indy 169 TKPs and a dewedged rear truck for more lean and less turn on the back. That worked fairly nicely, except it was destroying the rear bushings due to the extreme lean and just didn’t feel as manoeuvrable as I’d hoped. So I thought I’d give the rail adapter a try…
Riding over moderately rough ground gave a knocking noise, presumably from part of the top plate or the kingpins coming into contact with the board. The board was really tippy no matter how much I tightened the trucks or the adapter, and I was still getting way more lean (and therefore unwanted turn) from the rear truck than the rail adapter. Buyer’s remorse at this point.
So, I put a thin PU riser between the board and the rail adapter, and swapped out my truck bushings for some Bones Hardcores (which I feel was a key change). Now there’s no knocking noise, most of the back lean comes from the adapter as I wanted, my truck bushings aren’t being shredded, and the board returns to center after leaning. A great balance of pumping, acceleration, and deep carving, and I’m really glad I experimented.