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Team rider Adrian Da Kine hanging it out! 

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Adrian Da Kine ripping at Tepe and Tacos on the Grizzly! 

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Team riders Chad Lybrand and Adrian Da Kine ripping a line together! 

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  We get it, you, your child or someone you know wants a skateboard but you don't want to spend alot of money. Do you get any board and start there or do you get the right board for you or the person you are burying for? We have found getting the right board saves you time, money and makes the difference of either enjoying or not enjoying skateboarding. 

A skateboard is more than just a board; there are trucks for steering and wheels which keep you rolling. The board, trucks and wheels are a combination of components that work together to give you the feel, performance and ride you are looking for. A skateboard is kind of like a human body; the body is the board, your arms and legs are like your trucks, your hands and feet are the wheels and your brain is you on the skateboard. The board, trucks and wheels are all important elements that work together like your body.

First things first, What are you looking to use this skateboard for? Skateboards are designed to be a certain shape and size that works well for doing tricks, parks, or hills. If you're looking for a board for getting around town and never get up a curb, you're going to be looking for a drastically different board than if you want to go to the skatepark or practice kick flips in your driveway. If you are purely looking to cruise around town you are going to want a board with big soft wheels where as if you are want to be able to go to the skate-park, do tricks or ride a mini ramp, you're going to want a classic shaped board with harder wheels. We will explain further but it is important to ask yourself or the person your buying the board for what they want to use the skateboard for?If you do not want to build your own custom complete check out our selection of completes for maximum performance or cruising!  Once you know what you want to do with your skateboard  is time to figure out which components is best for you. Below are some basic components you could assemble your board with that will change how the skateboard rides/performs and what there differences are. 

Trucks are the metal T-shaped rods that attach your wheels to the board and are what allow you to turn your skateboard. They vary in width, height and there are two types of trucks; traditional kingpin (TKP) and reverse kingpin trucks (RKP). Generally traditional kingpin trucks (TKP) are good for flip tricks and riding bowls and reverse kingpin trucks (RKP) are better for cruising and mountain bombing. Both types of trucks, TKP and RKP, come in varying widths and a less wide truck has a shorter turning radius than a wider truck. A good rule of thumb is to have your trucks be a similar width as your skateboard. 

Wheels come in different sizes (milimeters), hardness (durometer, A-Scale) and shape. In regards to size, generally smaller wheels (52mm-60mm) tall are better suited for flip tricks and bowls and a larger wheel (64mm-72mm) is better for cruising. In regards to the hardness of a wheel, generally soft wheels (78-82a Durometer) are good for cruising and harder wheels (95-100a Durometer) are better for riding bowls and doing flips tricks. Wheels also vary in shape which changes the contact patch--the amount of the wheel that contacts the ground. A smaller contact patch provides less grip where as a larger contact patch provides more grip. For your first skateboard focus on getting the right hardness and size; the contact patch is less important until you know what you like. 

Now you are ready to get in there and get the right board for you! 

Longboard Envy Magazine interviews Bonzing Skateboarders Founder Austin Graziano. Read the full interview here!

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