How to Choose a Good Skateboard
Decide what you're going to purchase., Decide whether you want a longboard, a classic or a street/vert board., Be sure to purchase from a reputable source., How much money do you want to spend on a skateboard deck?, Buy a quality deck., The trucks...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Decide what you're going to purchase.
If you want a good board for less money, you're going to want a complete.
If you want a much better board for more money, you're going to want to custom make yours.
Keep in mind that choosing custom parts can actually save you money.
If you're buying on a budget, get a Mini Logo or blank deck, cheap all-around wheels like Bones 100s, cheap bearings like Spitfire Cheap shots or Bones Reds, and any trucks that you can afford. -
Step 2: Decide whether you want a longboard
Longboards can cost from $60-$500.
They're good for bombing hills and riding smoothly, but very hard and limiting for tricks.
They are great for beginners wanting to learn to skate.
Classics can cost from $60-$400.
A classic, cruiser, or mini cruiser is good for cruising.
Street/verts can cost from $70-$200.
They're the typical "skateboard"
mostly made for tricks but good for a little bit of everything depending on the wheels. , Buying online might save you a few dollars, but try your local skate shop first.
The few extra dollars you spend support the shop and your local skate community.
Developing a good relationship with a local skate shop often saves you money in the long run.
The completes are not as good as custom made, but you can get them for a lot less money and upgrade any bad components later.
A complete can cost anywhere from $50-$200 (USD).
A custom made can cost anywhere from $90-$500 (USD).
Completes (from left to right) Price in USD Brand Mini-Logo Red $99.00 Mini-Logo Classic $149.00 Surf One Twisted Dragon $59.00 Powell Golden Dragon Sunrise Wave $149.00 Surf One Kickflip Red $59.00 Angelboy Andy Mac Fist $59.95 Andy Mac , Blank decks, decks with no graphics on the bottom, usually run a lot cheaper than pro decks and ride just as well.
But if you fancy having your favorite pro skateboarder's deck and you have enough money, go right ahead. , Decks available at your local department store are usually of low quality and have pictures of cartoon characters on the bottom.
If you want an entire board, but don't know exactly what you want, buy a complete skateboard from a company or go to a skate shop and ask the employee about the products.
If you want to ride on the streets, get a
7.5 to
8.0 deck, if you want to ride vert,
8.0 and up is probably best.
However, it's all personal preference.
People street skate all the time with decks over
8.0.
Another tip to keep in mind while choosing a board width is how tall you are and also what kind of style you wish to skate.
Most technical skaters (the ones who incorporate advanced flip tricks... like Rodney Mullen) tend to favor boards between
7.5 and
7.75 regardless of how tall or small they happen to be.
The upper hand of having a thin board allows for quick rotation.
The other side of the spectrum is the "go big" skaters (Jamie Thomas is a classic example of a "go big" guy).
Most "go big" guys favor size
8.0 and up.
The advantage of a wide heavy board feels more stable under your feet while in mid air and while landing (especially those who have big feet).
If your a kid you might want to just stick with a
7.66 or smaller.
Decks (from left to right) Price in USD Brand SuperLight $37.50 Mini-Logo Silver $49.95 Powell No Ka Oi Longboard $75.00 Surf-One Hill BullDog $62.00 Powell Peralta Street Issue $58.00 Powell Classic Quicktail $100.00 Powell Peralta , When purchasing a truck, you want to look for these characteristics.
A length that is no more 10 inches (25.4 cm).
A width that fits the deck, so
7.5 trucks on a
7.5 deck.
A design that you like.
Lightweight.
Grinds well.
Durable material
- You don't want them to snap in half.
Pick out a truck that has no design or paint if you are on a tight budget.
Design isn't everything
- it might look cool, but that doesn't mean it's good quality.
Trucks (from left to right) Price Brand Unit Phantom II Truck (White) $17.99 Phantom Grind King The Low Truck (Silver) $16.99 Grind King Thunder Creepy Crawl Truck $16.99 Thunder Randal 180 $24.00 Randal Tracker 184 $24.95 Tracker Trucks Tracker 129 $14.99 Tracker Trucks , Long boards use big and soft wheels.
Street boards use small and hard wheels.
It doesn't matter what brands your other parts are.
Get the best brand for each individual part depending on what you're doing.
Wheel (left to right) Price (USD) Brand Diameter S-3 Black $16.80 Mini-Logo 50mm Strobe Gold $32.00 Powell 53mm Wave Black $33.00 Surf-One 65mm Mini Cubic $35.95 Powell Peralta 64mm Ripper $32.00 Powell Classic 56mm G-Bones Blue $32.00 Powell Peralta 64mm , They're typically rated with the ABEC (Annular Bearing Engineering Committee) scale.
The ABEC scale only measures the precision of the bearing, not how well it rolls or how long it lasts.
It's a common misconception that the ABEC scale refers to how fast the bearing rolls.
Anything above 1 is precision and will perform fine for skateboarding, but it's recommended to go above a
3.
The ABEC ratings for skateboard bearings are 1, 3, 5, 7, and
9.
If you keep your bearings clean and well lubricated, they'll last for much longer.
If you have the money for them, bearings with ceramic balls instead of steel ones will last longer and won't need to be lubricated as often.
Ceramic balls also won't absorb as much heat as steel balls, which helps performance when they get hot from friction at high speeds.
Bearings Price in USD Brand Bones Red Bearings $6.99
- $18.00 Bones Bearings Bones Ceramic Bearings $48.99
- $140.00 Bones Bearings Bones Swiss Labyrinth $37.99 Bones Bearings Bones Original Swiss Bearings $34.99
- $55.00 Bones Bearings Bones Super Swiss Bearings $39.99
- $58.00 Bones Bearings Mini-Logo Bearings $8.99 Mini-Logo -
Step 3: a classic or a street/vert board.
-
Step 4: Be sure to purchase from a reputable source.
-
Step 5: How much money do you want to spend on a skateboard deck?
-
Step 6: Buy a quality deck.
-
Step 7: The trucks are the second most important part of a skateboard.
-
Step 8: Pick out wheels for the kind of skateboard that you have and what you mostly want to be doing.
-
Step 9: Bearings are very important if you want to keep rolling without pushing constantly
-
Step 10: especially while street skating.
Detailed Guide
If you want a good board for less money, you're going to want a complete.
If you want a much better board for more money, you're going to want to custom make yours.
Keep in mind that choosing custom parts can actually save you money.
If you're buying on a budget, get a Mini Logo or blank deck, cheap all-around wheels like Bones 100s, cheap bearings like Spitfire Cheap shots or Bones Reds, and any trucks that you can afford.
Longboards can cost from $60-$500.
They're good for bombing hills and riding smoothly, but very hard and limiting for tricks.
They are great for beginners wanting to learn to skate.
Classics can cost from $60-$400.
A classic, cruiser, or mini cruiser is good for cruising.
Street/verts can cost from $70-$200.
They're the typical "skateboard"
mostly made for tricks but good for a little bit of everything depending on the wheels. , Buying online might save you a few dollars, but try your local skate shop first.
The few extra dollars you spend support the shop and your local skate community.
Developing a good relationship with a local skate shop often saves you money in the long run.
The completes are not as good as custom made, but you can get them for a lot less money and upgrade any bad components later.
A complete can cost anywhere from $50-$200 (USD).
A custom made can cost anywhere from $90-$500 (USD).
Completes (from left to right) Price in USD Brand Mini-Logo Red $99.00 Mini-Logo Classic $149.00 Surf One Twisted Dragon $59.00 Powell Golden Dragon Sunrise Wave $149.00 Surf One Kickflip Red $59.00 Angelboy Andy Mac Fist $59.95 Andy Mac , Blank decks, decks with no graphics on the bottom, usually run a lot cheaper than pro decks and ride just as well.
But if you fancy having your favorite pro skateboarder's deck and you have enough money, go right ahead. , Decks available at your local department store are usually of low quality and have pictures of cartoon characters on the bottom.
If you want an entire board, but don't know exactly what you want, buy a complete skateboard from a company or go to a skate shop and ask the employee about the products.
If you want to ride on the streets, get a
7.5 to
8.0 deck, if you want to ride vert,
8.0 and up is probably best.
However, it's all personal preference.
People street skate all the time with decks over
8.0.
Another tip to keep in mind while choosing a board width is how tall you are and also what kind of style you wish to skate.
Most technical skaters (the ones who incorporate advanced flip tricks... like Rodney Mullen) tend to favor boards between
7.5 and
7.75 regardless of how tall or small they happen to be.
The upper hand of having a thin board allows for quick rotation.
The other side of the spectrum is the "go big" skaters (Jamie Thomas is a classic example of a "go big" guy).
Most "go big" guys favor size
8.0 and up.
The advantage of a wide heavy board feels more stable under your feet while in mid air and while landing (especially those who have big feet).
If your a kid you might want to just stick with a
7.66 or smaller.
Decks (from left to right) Price in USD Brand SuperLight $37.50 Mini-Logo Silver $49.95 Powell No Ka Oi Longboard $75.00 Surf-One Hill BullDog $62.00 Powell Peralta Street Issue $58.00 Powell Classic Quicktail $100.00 Powell Peralta , When purchasing a truck, you want to look for these characteristics.
A length that is no more 10 inches (25.4 cm).
A width that fits the deck, so
7.5 trucks on a
7.5 deck.
A design that you like.
Lightweight.
Grinds well.
Durable material
- You don't want them to snap in half.
Pick out a truck that has no design or paint if you are on a tight budget.
Design isn't everything
- it might look cool, but that doesn't mean it's good quality.
Trucks (from left to right) Price Brand Unit Phantom II Truck (White) $17.99 Phantom Grind King The Low Truck (Silver) $16.99 Grind King Thunder Creepy Crawl Truck $16.99 Thunder Randal 180 $24.00 Randal Tracker 184 $24.95 Tracker Trucks Tracker 129 $14.99 Tracker Trucks , Long boards use big and soft wheels.
Street boards use small and hard wheels.
It doesn't matter what brands your other parts are.
Get the best brand for each individual part depending on what you're doing.
Wheel (left to right) Price (USD) Brand Diameter S-3 Black $16.80 Mini-Logo 50mm Strobe Gold $32.00 Powell 53mm Wave Black $33.00 Surf-One 65mm Mini Cubic $35.95 Powell Peralta 64mm Ripper $32.00 Powell Classic 56mm G-Bones Blue $32.00 Powell Peralta 64mm , They're typically rated with the ABEC (Annular Bearing Engineering Committee) scale.
The ABEC scale only measures the precision of the bearing, not how well it rolls or how long it lasts.
It's a common misconception that the ABEC scale refers to how fast the bearing rolls.
Anything above 1 is precision and will perform fine for skateboarding, but it's recommended to go above a
3.
The ABEC ratings for skateboard bearings are 1, 3, 5, 7, and
9.
If you keep your bearings clean and well lubricated, they'll last for much longer.
If you have the money for them, bearings with ceramic balls instead of steel ones will last longer and won't need to be lubricated as often.
Ceramic balls also won't absorb as much heat as steel balls, which helps performance when they get hot from friction at high speeds.
Bearings Price in USD Brand Bones Red Bearings $6.99
- $18.00 Bones Bearings Bones Ceramic Bearings $48.99
- $140.00 Bones Bearings Bones Swiss Labyrinth $37.99 Bones Bearings Bones Original Swiss Bearings $34.99
- $55.00 Bones Bearings Bones Super Swiss Bearings $39.99
- $58.00 Bones Bearings Mini-Logo Bearings $8.99 Mini-Logo
About the Author
Debra Scott
A passionate writer with expertise in home improvement topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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