Choosing What to Purchase
Decide what you're going to purchase. If you want a good board for less money, you're going to want a complete board. 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 Cheapshots or Bones Reds, and any trucks that you can afford. If this is your first skateboard, you probably don't have the expertise to know exactly what you want out of it, so buying a complete board is usually a good idea.
Decide whether you want a longboard, a classic or a street/vert board, as that is the first important decision you'll need to make. Longboards can cost from $60-$500. They're more stable and good for bombing hills and riding smoothly, but they are very hard to do tricks on. They are great for beginners wanting to learn to skate, but you won't be able to skate in a skatepark very well. Classics can cost from $60-$400. A classic, cruiser, or mini cruiser is good for cruising, and you can still do tricks at the skatepark with this one. 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. A smaller board is going to be easier to maneuver, turn and do tricks with, but a little bit less stable. There are also lots of different board shapes, but that's not really an important question for a first skateboard.
Buying a Custom Board
Consider how much money you have to spend on a skateboard deck. 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.
Buy a quality deck. 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. Keep in mind how tall you are when choosing a board width. Also consider the 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
The trucks are the second most important part of a skateboard. When purchasing a truck, you want to look for these characteristics. A length that is no more 10 inches (25.4 cm).Choose a Good Skateboard Step 6Bullet1.jpg A width that fits the deck, so 7.5 trucks on a 7.5 deck.Choose a Good Skateboard Step 6Bullet2.jpg 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. Choose a Good Skateboard Step 7.jpg 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
Pick out wheels for the kind of skateboard that you have and what you mostly want to be doing. Longboards use big and soft wheels, which are great for cruising. Street boards use small and hard wheels, which are great for tricks. 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
Bearings are very important if you want to keep rolling without pushing constantly, especially while street skating. 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
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