The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Skateboard
Skateboards are the best way to get your adrenaline pumping. You can ride them anywhere – school, park, residential streets, and on public transport. Skating is an excellent form of exercise that’s fun, too; it improves balance while burning calories quickly, so you feel refueled after each session without any post-exercise aches or pains.
Whether you’re a beginner looking for your first set-up or an experienced rider seeking an upgrade, this guide will help you choose the right skateboard and accessories to match your skating style, ability, and budget. In addition, there are also some valuable resources like skate town guide available that will help you make an informed decision to buy a skateboard.
How to Choose the Right Skateboard:
Following are the notable things to keep in mind:
– Decide on the Type of Skating You Want to Do:
A lot of skateboarding involves finding your style and flow on the board. You can do this by trying different types of skating in different environments until you find what works best for you.
- Street skating is the most common type and involves riding on concrete or asphalt surfaces. It’s ideal if you live in a built-up area as you can skate anywhere there’s smooth pavement.
- Park skating takes place in specially designed areas with ramps, rails, and half-pipes. These provide opportunities to do more technical tricks and are great for improving your skills.
- Vert skating is similar to park skating, but instead of features like ramps and rails, it uses half-pipes (U-shaped ramps) to get air off the ground. They usually perform bigger and more complicated tricks than street or park skaters.
– Find the Right Size Skateboard Deck:
The skateboard deck is the flat wooden board you stand on when skating. It’s usually made from seven-ply maple wood and comes in various sizes, shapes, and widths to suit different riders.
Generally, the deck size you choose should be around eight inches (20cm) longer than your shoe size. For example, wearing a size eight shoe, you should look for a deck around 32 inches (81cm) long.
The width of the deck is also essential as it needs to be wide enough to give you stability when skating but not so wide that it becomes difficult to turn. A good rule is choosing a deck around seven to nine inches (17.78-22.86cm) wide. For instance, you can buy a Magneto Mini Cruiser Skateboard for beginners and smaller riders.
If you are still unsure about the deck’s size, shape, and width, it’s best to check out theskate town guidefor more information on how to buy a skateboard.
– Pick the Right Skateboard Trucks:
The trucks are the metal T-shaped parts that attach the wheels to the deck. They come in a variety of sizes, but the essential thing to consider is the width of the truck. This should be matched to the width of your deck – if you have an expansive deck, you’ll need wide trucks and vice versa.
The truck’s height is also something to bear in mind, as this will affect the height of your ride. Taller trucks are better for street skating as they make it easier to do tricks like ollies, while shorter trucks are better for park skating as they make grinding on rails and doing flip tricks easier.
You can pick Beleev Skateboard Trucks, made with high-quality aluminum alloy and can fit all kinds of boards.
– Choose the Right Skateboard Wheels:
Skateboard wheels are usually made from polyurethane (PU) and come in various sizes, colors, and hardness levels. The wheel size is measured in millimeters (mm) and usually ranges from 50-60mm.
The wheel’s hardness is measured on a durometer scale from one to 100a. The lower the number, the softer the wheel and vice versa. Softer wheels are better for street skating as they provide more grip on concrete surfaces, while harder wheels are better for park skating as they roll faster and are less likely to get caught on obstacles.
Element skateboard wheels are a good option as they come in various sizes and hardness levels to suit different riders.
Conclusion:
Phew! That was a lot of information, but hopefully, it’s given you a better understanding of what to look for when buying a skateboard. Just remember to take your time, research, and choose a board that’s right for you. Happy skating!
