Bullet

Let’s start with the thing that trips people up: Bullet doesn’t make decks. It’s an NHS brand — the Santa Cruz house that also runs Independent, OJ and Slime Balls, founded in Santa Cruz by Richard Novak, Doug Haut and Jay Shuirman — and what it sells today is cheap trucks, grip, truck-and-wheel packages and safety gear. If you landed here looking for a Bullet board, there isn’t one.

History

The confusion has deep roots, because Bullet has been two different things. Thrasher’s issue archive carries Bullet ads from the August 1984 issue onward, and from March 1987 the ads say “Bullet Wheels” outright, with names like Bob Pribble, Steve “Salba” Alba, Reese Simpson and, later, Tony Tieu and Vanik Hacobian. NHS itself places it: its commemorative Speed Wheels collection describes “the golden era of Santa Cruz Speed Wheels from 1985–1991” and lists OJ Wheels, Bullet and Slime Balls inside it. In other words, in the ’80s Bullet was a wheel line within that family, not a deck brand.

The other leg is protective gear: helmets, wrist guards, knee pads and elbow pads, still a core part of the catalog and, in Europe, with local riders behind it — Sidewalk announced Sam Bosworth joining Bullet Safety Gear back in 2014.

The trucks

Bullet’s job inside NHS today is straightforward: entry-level product that works and costs little. The company says so plainly on its own site — “Get rolling for cheap” — and the range is skateboard and longboard trucks, pre-assembled truck-and-wheel sets, grip tape and safety gear. What European shops actually stock is mostly the 130 mm axle (for decks around 7.4 to 7.75) and the 110 mm, in black, blue, red and polished, often for less than half a set of high-end trucks.

Who it’s for

Bullet makes sense in three situations: building a first complete without spending much, keeping a spare set at home, or putting together a beater cruiser. It isn’t a truck for long grinds and daily punishment on the kingpin — that’s what Independent, Thunder, Ace or Krux are for, and the difference shows. If you want to understand what to look at before choosing, start with the high vs. low trucks guide.