Randal DH Failure + Letter to Randal
Brody from TucTown posted,
Here are the pics of the failed Randal DH truck
[IMG]http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq67/brodywixted/randaldh2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq67/brodywixted/randaldh3.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq67/brodywixted/randaldh1.jpg[/IMG]
And my shoulder afterwards:
[IMG]http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq67/brodywixted/brodyseperatedshoulder.jpg[/IMG]
Here's my letter to Randal Trucks:
Randal and Co.,
My name is Brody Wixted, downhill rider out of Tucson Arizona. Attached are some pictures of a Randal DH truck which failed on Friday while I was going about 45 mph, leaning into a sweeping lefthand turn on Mount Lemmon. There was no impact to the truck before the failure which could have caused this sort of failure, just a smooth road with no technical turns. The hardware was inspected five minutes earlier, before I started the run. This failure landed me in ER with a concussion and separated shoulder. I even threw up and was temporarily blinded by the initial impact.
To make matters worse, my roommate and team rider Josh Rolf was about four feet behind me in my draft and fractured his collarbone when my unexpected fall caused him to go down.
I think its safe to say that Randal trucks do not pride themselves on precision, more on being the best cheap carving and downhill trucks on the market. Ive spent years riding R2's and DHs and suggesting them to friends, but Friday will certainly be the last time I do either. I've overlooked the quality issues (such as... pivot cup holes several millimeters off center, axles too short on one side, boltholes not lining up on baseplates, etc) due to the economics... I could buy 5 new sets of Randals cheaper than one set of precision trucks, so replacement of bad Randals was not cost-prohibitive.
However, finally being a victim of the poor quality has changed my outlook. The function of my body far outweighs the $400 I'd spend on precision trucks, thus I am going that route and never looking back. As for my other sets of Randal trucks at home, I'm going to recycle them, as I can't in good conscience give them away to a friend.
I also implore Randal Skateboard Trucks to improve quality asap, before someone is more seriously hurt or dies.
Thank you the good years, I'm sure we're all sorry it had to end like this.
Sincerly,
Brody J Wixted, LEED® AP
2008 October 13 7:14 PM
Reece Man replied,
I knew what this was about as soon as I saw the title. Let me know how it goes with Randal.
2008 October 13 7:21 PM
ryan k replied,
That sucks man. I'm glad I never got those trucks and stuck with grizzlies and I'm gonna make sure when my friends get new setups not to get these trucks.
2008 October 13 7:29 PM
tim replied,
that really sucks that your randals failed on you and caused all that damage, but i have been riding randal trucks since i started downhill. i've completely abused my trucks through turns, slides, running in to curbs, etc. i still have every set of trucks i've had and they all work great. maybe i just got lucky? i dunno. all i know is that randals have worked for me and i love the dh's
good luck getting them to improve the quality, but it really sounds like you just had a faulted set
2008 October 13 8:24 PM
html police replied,
And my shoulder afterwards:
:)
2008 October 13 9:41 PM
chocolate replied,
theres your problem right there, you're riding an evo.
lol jk, that sucks man
2008 October 13 9:46 PM
Off axis replied,
MAN, i've snapped a couple cheap baseplates the same way, big deal. Your taking a risk doing what you do. Check your gear frequently for wear or cracks, don't assume your nuts are tight or your setup is fine everyday. Sorry to hear you had a bad run in with a great company, but thats no reason to not ride Randals.
2008 October 15 12:25 AM
Josh Madsen replied,
Munkae / Brody,
This was a tragedy! There is no excuse for equipment failure like this. Randals are great for pushing around town/campus, but not for hauling ass, drifting, etc. Anyone skating at this level should definitely step their game up and get some good equipment that will not break at speed. Check out the Munkae trucks... You do get what you pay for.
2008 October 18 10:42 PM
Shawn of Orlando,FL replied,
I have also had a similar issue just today. I'm just glad I wasn't going too fast. Same thing, no impacts or anything, trucks are only a month old.