Day 762 – CHINA (SHAANXI): In Xian


The end of the world is nigh. Walmart is in China.

The beginning of the end...watermelon bought at Walmart in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China

If there were no Chinese in the store, I would have thought I was in the US of A. Walmart is OK. Really, it is. Creates jobs, and they have the power to make good things happen. But one thing they lack, is regional diversity in their store layout. Apart from some fake immitation ‘life-size’ Terracotta Warriors here and there in the Xian Walmart strore, it was all standard. Right down to the fried chicken tenders that I fell in love with in the southern US states.

Upon my return to the hostel, I was pleasantly surprised to see a package waiting for me. Gavin from Surrey Skateboards had sent me some new bushings for my trucks a few weeks earlier (from the UK), and I was honestly not too hopeful of them arriving before I had to leave Xian. But there they were. Along with some sweet stickers.

Chinese kid loving his Holey Truck sticker in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China

The bushings he sent me are harder than the ones I currently have on my trucks. Holey Trucks come standard with Ruby Red bushings, which are 88A durometer urethane. Gavin sent me some super hard Mello Yello bushings (99A) and some in-between Bibi Blues (95A) bushings.

Just the other day I had seen this video from a skate store in the US (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrLLG6jiZc) whereby a skate truck had been setup with differing bushings. Keen to give it a try, I installed the Mello Yello barrel bushings on the back (where the back truck has more load on it due to the trailer hitch), and the Bibi Blue bushings on the front, with red cone bushings on top on both trucks.

Holey Truck bushings Holey Truck bushings

The harder bushings on the bottom make for a marginally harsher ride, but I am loving the extra stability that they provide. Since I’m not concerned too much with carving ability, but still like to do it a little every now and then, the softer reds on top still let me carve nicely. The trucks are now even more dangerously stable on the downhills.

Holey Truck bushings


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