May , 2022

What type of riding do you want to do?

What type of riding do you want to do? Do you want to do tricks? Do you want to skate hills? Do you want to do tricks and skate hills? Do you have a long commute, or are you just looking for something to cruise around town on? Are there hills and slopes where you live, or are you always within walking distance of a skate park or bowl? We have boards to fit any type of riding or varation of riding you want to do. 

Shorter boards are better doing tricks and longer boards are more stable for hills. If you are looking for a combination of the two try some of our hybrid boards.

Once you know what you want to do with your skateboard it 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.

What trucks should you get?

Trucks - T-shaped metal rods that attach your wheels to the board and allow you to turn. They vary in width height and there are two types of trucks; traditional kingpin (TKP) and reverse kingpin trucks (RKP). Truck widths can range from 7" all the way up 13". 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 but generally a smaller width will have a shorter turning radius than a larger width truck but also less stability don't go too small though! A good rule of thumb is to have your trucks be no more than 1" wider than your deck itself so if you have an 8" wide deck use an 8" or smaller truck.

What wheels should you get?

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! Have some fun with it and do not over think it. To make things easy we offer recommended completes for all of boards. Check em out here.