How To Choose The Best Beginner Skateboard

Skateboarding is an interesting sport with a lot of fun as well as challenges. It is not only ideal for you as a hobby, but also serves as a convenient means of transportation.

How To Choose The Best Beginner Skateboard

So what aspects should you consider when you buy a beginner skateboard? Let’s check!

Shop

Instead of buying your skateboards from abroad or ordering them online, you should visit the local skate shop to buy exactly what you need.

When you buy a skateboard at a local shop, the seller will instruct you on the whole process. Also, you can find skateboards made from uncommon materials such as bamboo, fiberglass, or plastic.

Quality

For beginner skaters, a high-quality skateboard will be a great companion during the learning process.

Make sure that the skateboard has reliable construction and durable wheels to help you achieve your goals. Also, it can minimize the risks of accidents.

Price

As a beginner in any field, you need to prepare all the necessary things to start, and skateboarding is not an exception. You need to to buy all the equipment together with a decent skateboard to pursue your passion.

The market provides quality skateboards for all budgets and levels. So depending on your budget, you can buy a good skateboard that you want. And as long as it meets your needs, it is always perfect for you.

The market provides quality skateboards for all budgets and levels. So depending on your budget, you can buy the good skateboards that you want. And as long as it meets your needs, it is always perfect for you.

A skateboard shop with various products. (redbull.com)

Ease of finding components for your board

In case your skateboard has some problem on its wheels, bearings, and other components, it shall be convenient to replace them.
Make sure that these components are available on the market before you make the final decision.

Fit to your level

A skateboard with the suitable design for your skills level will support you a lot during your learning process. So you should invest in the right one.

As a newbie, you should focus on the wheels and the features designed for learners.

Wider skateboards will give you much more satisfaction as well as safety. Besides, softer wheels also make you more comfortable.

Safety gears included

Even though most skateboards don’t come with the safety gears, you still can find a full set for beginners. Ensure that all the parts of such a kit are high-quality and there is no need to invest in extra parts.

In case you aren’t sure about these two elements, you can buy your skateboard and safety tools separately.

Size Matters

When you choose your beginner skateboard, you need to focus on the size of its components, including the deck, truck, wheel, bearings, hardware, riser pad, and concave shape.

Deck

The deck is the most critical part of a skateboard which fully supports you to keep your balance and grip for a smooth experience.

As a beginner in the art of skateboarding, you should select your deck based on its width, not its length or its wheelbase.

The average width of your skateboard deck is 8”; however; there is a wide variety of measurements for you to choose from.

The ideal width of your deck depends on your age, height, shoe size, skating style, and preference. Let’s check the details!

Size (inch)		Age	Height (inch)	Size of shoes	Places to skate
Full size: >= 7.5”	7.5″ – 8″	> 13	> 5.3”	>= 9	Standard board for adult skaters who skate on the streets or do more technical tricks.
	8.0″ – 8.25″				Skating parks, pools, and ramps.
	>= 8.25″				Cruising, pools, and vert.
Midsize: 7.3”		9-12	Between 4.5” & 5.2”	7-8
Mini size: 7.0”		6-8	Between 3.5” & 4.4”	4-6
Micro size: 6.5” – 6.75”		<= 5	< 3.4”	<= 3

Note: In comparison to narrow decks, the wider ones will give you a better balance. However, they do not allow you to perform numerous skateboard tricks.

General guidelines to choose the skateboard deck

When you choose the deck, its material is also an essential aspect to consider. It usually comes in a variety of materials such as plastic, fiberglass, carbon, or wood. Plastic with slight design seems to be the best for beginners as it supports you a lot during your practice.

However, slimmer skateboards with better surface grip will give you more fun and convenience when you reach a higher level.

About the price, plastic decks are the most affordable. However, if you care about its quality, then other options are preferred although they are more expensive.

Truck

The truck of a skateboard is a piece of metal T-shaped attached to the underside of its deck. Therefore, as you select the truck, make sure that the length of the truck axle and the width of the deck should correspond to each other. For example, a 149” truck will be right for a standard 8” skateboard deck.

If the measurement of these two parts doesn’t match, there will be significant issues. For example, it will be insecure if a wide deck goes on narrow trucks. Meanwhile, full trucks with a confined deck will make your shoes stick to the wheel. It will be very dangerous when you are skating.

The skateboard trucks for novices usually have small cylindrical molds made of urethane named bushings. They straddle on the kingpin and move the pressure from your feet to the skateboard trucks. On top of that, they support skaters to perform numerous movements, including curves and turns.

Hard bushings are though more stable, they make your trucks stiff, which is more difficult for you to turn. On the other hand, soft bushings respond to the pressure, and you can quickly turn with them.

Most boards have the design of the soft bushings, but you can change them to the hard ones whenever you want.

We usually measure the size of your trucks by the hanger’s width or the axle’s width. All skateboards need two trucks which are available with different colors and sizes. The following table will show you the details.

Deck size (inch)	Truck axle size (inch)
6.5″ – 7.25″	6″- 7.25″
7.25″ – 7.5″	7.5″
7.5″ – 8″	7.75″
8″ – 8.5″	8″
8.5″ – 9″	8.5″
9″ – 10″	9″
10″	>= 10″

The truck profile is the length from the bottom of the skateboard deck bottom to the hanger. Generally, a mid-size truck can go well with most skateboards while a low or high truck can fit with various skating styles. Let’s check the details!

Truck profile height

Duck profile height	Usage	Wheel size (mm)
Low	– Give flip tricks additional stability. – Suit small wheels.	50-53
Mid	– Suit the park or the street.	53-56
High	– Be ideal for carving and cruising. – Be great for large wheels.	>56

Wheels

Size

Skateboard wheels usually come in various colors and sizes. Most of them are made of hard plastic with multiple sizes, but there are some skateboards made of the old metallic as well. With hard wheels, you can experience more pops during your learning process.

Using smaller board wheels, you can perform some skating tricks when you are closer to the ground. Nonetheless, as a beginner, you should always start with larger board wheels.

Here is the table of wheel sizes:

Wheel size (inch)	Objects	Places to skate	Advantage
49″ – 52″		– Street.	Be more straightforward to rotate
50″ – 53″	Trick riding and small riders.	– Street – Bowls – Skate parks.	Be stable.
54″ – 60″	Novices and big riders.	– Street – Bowls – Skate parks – Transition or vert ramps.	Give you more covered surface area to achieve speedy tricks.
>= 60″	Special riders who use dirt, downhill, old-school boards, and longboards.	– Rougher and speedy surfaces.

Note: A street skating wheel is usually lighter and more responsive than a park skating wheel. This design will allow simple rotations.

Hardness

We usually use durometer to measure the wheel’s hardness. Harder board wheels are more speedy while softer ones are slower but give you a firmer grip.

The manufacturers usually use a Durometer A Scale (1-100a), or some use the B Scale (20 points lower) to measure the wheel durometer. 99a is the average durometer of the wheel.

Durometer	Features	Objects and places to skate	Advantage/ Disadvantage
78a-87a	Soft wheels	Cruising, hills, longboards, street boards, and rough surfaces.	– Gives you smooth rides. – Provides a lot of grips to roll over pebbles and cracks.
88a-95a	– Quite harder and more speedy. – A bit less grip.	Street boards and rough surfaces.
96a-99a	Good grip and speed with an all-around nice wheel.	– Beginners. – Ramps, street, skate parks, pools, and other smooth places.
101a+	The hardest and most speedy wheel with the lowest grip.	Professional skaters.	Does not work well on rough and slick places.
83b-84b	Extremely hard

Note: Bigger wheels provide a more enormous and more correct scope of hardness.

Beginner skateboards come in various shapes. (wheelscompared.com)

Bearings

Bearings is the part connecting the wheels to the axle. They have a standard size which will fit every skateboard.

When choosing bearings, you should pay attention to their quality because it will affect your skateboard’s performance. Low-quality bearings will connect your wheels badly and might cause a lot of risks when you are skating.

People usually say that “You get what you pay for”. High-quality bearings made of high-quality materials generally go with a high price. They give you faster speed and higher accuracy with proper maintenance.

Meanwhile, poor-quality bearings won’t seal accurately and easily collect dirt and dust inside. Also, they will lower your skateboard’s speed and affect your whole skating experience adversely, for example, deform or break totally under the skateboard’s pressure.

Hardware

The hardware of a skateboard is the part connecting the truck to the deck by the bolts, locknuts, nuts, and screws.

Manufacturers designed an array of skateboard hardware with one different colored bolt on them to mark the board’s nose.

Size of hardware	Riser
7/8″ – 1″	No
1″ – 9/8″	1/8″
5/4″	1/4″
3/2″	1/2″

Grip Tape

Grip tape is a sandpaper-like material firmly stuck to the peak of the deck to pull the whole board. Also, it mounts your shoes firmly to the surface of your board when you are skating.

You can use the grip tape to lighten your board, add texture, and show your style. Most brands frequently offer high-quality grip tapes for you to choose from.

Children are practicing skateboarding. (seattle.curbed.com)

You can buy the grip tape separately from skateboard shops to replace worn-out tapes. It typically comes in various sizes in single sheets of 9″ x 33″ as well as customizable ones to match your board.

About the color, it most often comes in black, and also bright ones to display a company logo, or die-cut to express the design and color of your board deck.

Riser Pads

The riser is a flat plastic pad gripped between the deck and the truck. It comes in different colors and thickness levels.

The main function of this part is to expand the area between these two components, raising your skateboard up so that your feet will not touch to the wheel.

Depending on your skating style, the riser pad will decrease the risk for stress cracks where the truck and the deck meet to extend the lifespan of the deck.

The decks using the wheels smaller than 55mm typically do not need risers; nonetheless, 1/8” riser pads can stop the hardware from shaking. As a result, longer boards with larger wheels will require for higher riser pad.

Concave Shapes

The back end of a skateboard has a higher end, named the hollow. Its depth decides how many dramatic tricks a skater can make. Shallow concaves are ideal for novices, while deeper ones are great for profe skaters.

The shallow concave allows the user to gain confidence before advancing to the deeper concave.

Final verdict

According to Longboard Brand buying a good skateboard that meets your need and budget is not easy, so you should consider all the above-mentioned aspects carefully before you decide to buy it.

And now, it’s time to say goodbye. I hope that my information is helpful and it helps you give a right choice. Keep following my posts for the next tips!