I’m just going to come out and say it, because Gullwing is to polite a company to say it themselves: Gullwing doesn’t give a fuck what you think. Not you personally…but the market in general. Chargers weren’t exactly loved until v2, Stalkers still get hate (from people who think every truck should be a DH truck), and don’t even get me started on sidewinders… Here’s the thing though: Gullwing doesn’t give a fuck what you think! Did I mention that? Quite frankly, the Downhill/Freeride truck market is ridiculously saturated with very similar trucks…so what would be the point of making another one anyway? Instead, they did their own thing with Reverse and made the trucks they would want to ride. Which worked out, because what they ended up creating (possibly inadvertently), is the first true hybrid RKP truck. Why inadvertently? Because I don’t think they really care about titles like “hybrid”. Terms like that only exist because we chose to split skateboarding and longboarding into two different sports in the first place. Gullwing never really fell for that social segregation, and now they’ve decided to prove it. Let’s see how, with a little Reverse action

Freeride:

At 47° Reverse are a great middle ground for medium freeride. I find holding out slides is easier on higher degree trucks than getting techy is on lower degrees (though that’s not taking into account the benefit of speed, which is easier to accomplish on lower degrees). So speaking specifically about somewhat mellow hills, a 47° truck with a bit of rake really opens up your options. They feel really fluid on longer wheelbases and even a bit surfy on shorter ones. I’ll have to be honest, most of my testing was on a shorter wheelbase DK, simply because it complimented the kind of skating the trucks ended up gravitating towards. Even still, with tall bushings the massive lean and progressive turn leave room for all styles. Weight your heels or toes gradually and lean a bit and you’ll break out into long controlled slide. Turn sharply or give one side a good shove and these trucks will gladly respond with quick snappy rotations for those techy freeride situations. Plus, the added ride hight makes larger wheels an easy option even on wheelwell-less decks.

Pool:

So there’s a surfy RKP with huge lean and grindable hangars? You have to take it to the bowl! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. They feel super stable, and grant you quite a bit more control of your movements than your typical TKP (but with a relatively similar feel considering the drastically different geometry). I’m actively avoiding using the term “dive” because that implies they feel floppy and lacking in precision…What it is is a very progressive yet very controlled turn. The beefy hangars can take a beating and glide smoothly even over some janky-ass coping. The one drawback I found was the that the nicely tucked away kingpin made quite the surprise appearance when you tried to 5-0 (or worse, nose grind). At that angle it stuck out past the hangar and dragged on the coping, feeling off and occasionally catching. Luckily, this was only a problem when parallel to the coping…and we quickly realized that a slight tweak in either direction (think Smith or crooked grids) rectified the problem quite nicely.

Downhill:

Reverse is a weird truck if you look at it from a downhill position. With a bushing seat designed to feel open but also limit slop, a beautiful clean pivot, and spacers built into both the hangar and the axle nuts…it’s pretty obvious that Josh Rolf had a hand in these genius trucks. It’s also pretty clear that they’re meant to be (and are) some of the most precise cast trucks you can get your hands on. However, they’re also a pretty high degree, they have a bit of rake, and an above average ride hight. None of that makes them an automatic fail for downhill…in fact, most of that is preference anyway and with the right bushing setup they actually handle speed pretty well. If you’re into the stock geometry for DH then I recommend trying elims to combat the progressive turn a bit. It still won’t be linear, but it will feel more controlled all the way through the turn. If you aren’t into the stock geometry for downhill then flipping the hangar is an option. I wasn’t even going to try it until I saw a few people do our online…but the truth is, as long as you manufacture your own center (with high rebound bushings, cupped washed, ect…) It actually isn’t a bad option. Though I wouldn’t exactly recommend the trucks on this principal alone.

Freestyle/ Street:

This is probably what makes these trucks the most fun. It’s really what makes them stand out…the same RKP truck that you can take a hill and freeride with has a thick grindable hangar. Of coarse, this was mentioned in the “pool” section…but besides boardercross events, when’s the last time you saw a bowl on a hill? On the other hand, almost every hill has curbs. Now, I’m a strong advocate of longboarders learning to ollie…but maybe you don’t want to. That’s cool…slappies are still hella fun. Even just riding up on an angled curb can be exciting down a hill. With a similar feel to sliding, even just your basic 50-50 will add some flare to your hill thrashing. The only downside here is that the thick ground plate does add some weight…so flip tricks could be affected. It’s not drastic or anything (think cal gen1 weight) but it’s still worth noting.

That’s a wrap kids. As the very first hybrid trucks on the market, Gullwing really hit the nail on the head with this one. As always, versatility comes with a bit of compromise…but if there ever was a truck worthy the title “quiver killer” Reverse would be it. I don’t know if they’re stepping up their game recently, or if the current trends just happen to line up perfectly with what their wheelhouse has always been…but either way, you’re going to want to keep an eye on them!

DISCLAIMER: This company was confident enough in its quality that it was willing to provide me with product to review.