How To Buy A Skateboard
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By :
Lee MacRae
Submitted
2009-07-02 13:15:04 |
Skateboarding has become an extremely popular sport worldwide. In the mid-2000 there were about 20 million participants, mostly under the age of 18 and 75% of those being male. Board styles have changed dramatically since the 1970s but have remained mostly alike since the mid 1990s. The contemporary shape of the skateboard is derived from the freestyle boards of the 1980s with a largely symmetrical shape and relatively narrow width. This form had become standard by the mid '90s. Skateboarding, In fact, has become so popular that in 2004 the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) began to promote June 21st as an unofficial annual holiday designated "Go Skateboarding Day" (GSD). If you are interested in getting involved in the sport of skateboarding you are probably wondering about the type of board you should buy. Follow along and we'll give you some tips.
Most skateboarders today are street skaters and the most common board is the Traditional/Street board model that is about 7-1/4 to 8 inches wide and 30 to 32 inches long. These boards are the most versatile and allow you to do many of the tricks that you see performed. As a rule of thumb, a shorter skater should stick with a shorter sizes to maintain more control. Skateboards over 35 inches long are known as "Longboards" and are more for simple cruising as they give you a ride very similar to a surfboard.
Most beginning skateboarders will buy a complete skateboard. There are large number of reputable manufacturers and you should be able to get a decent board. However, you should keep in mind that the manufacturers will not always use the very best of each component that is available. The combination of components they use will be more a reflection of the street price they need to meet in order to meet the competition's prices. Advanced and professional skateboarders will pick and choose their own components to make the best skateboard possible according to their particular preferences.
Skateboards are broken down into three basic components - the deck (board), trucks and the wheels:
The decks are usually made from either wood or plastic. Almost all the wood deck skateboards are made from Canadian Maple in layers ranging from five to nine sections. Plastic is used to make the boards more affordable but they don't offer the same feel as wood decks. Other materials like aluminum and fiberglass/carbon composites are also on the market, usually for more durability. But again, they don't usually give the same feel as the wood deck will.
Trucks are the metal T-shaped parts that mounts onto the underside of the skateboard deck. Trucks act like the axle of a car and the wheels are attached to it. Trucks components consist those the axel or pin, the hangar, the kingpin, bushings and the baseplate. Truck components are made from various materials and advanced skateboarders often pick and choose the various components to suit their requirements. For example, the bushings are available in varying degrees of hardness, which effect the ease by which a skateboard turns. Skateboarders can also vary the ease of a turn by adjusting the tightness of the kingpin. The material of each component in the looseness or tightness can all be adjusted according to personal preference.
The wheels are usually made of an extremely hard polyurethane, from 52mm to 54mm in diameter, with a hardness or durometer normally of approximately 99a [a scale]. Street/Technical skateboarders who are more interested in flip tricks gravitate to 50-55mm skateboard wheels, with a hardness of 97-101a. the smaller wheel allows a lot more maneuverability. Transition/Vert skateboarders who like to ride ramps often go to wheels that are 55-65mm in diameter and a hardness of 95-100a. And, of course, skateboarders of all types love to find colors or patterns on wheels that fit their personality.
So there you have the very basics. Skateboard shops have sprung up everywhere and usually every city and even many small-towns will have someone selling skateboards, often along with other sporting goods. Whether you decide to buy a complete board or you decide to be adventurous and put your own individual pieces together, skateboarding is an amazing sport that will keep you occupied for hours as you learn to do a Nosegrind or a Nollie. |
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