bucksaw87
02-16-2008, 12:15 AM
Your skateboard and you. (By giantsfan7791, bucksaw87, and greenday)
I will start off by saying that quite a few of the things we talk about here are things that have/make only a subtle difference, or things that you do not have to worry about until you are advanced enough to be able to grind/do other things. While we do go over a lot of technical mumble-jumbo for the sake of accuracy, don't think about it too hard. Make sure all the sizes match up, stop dwelling over every detail, and go skate. It's kinda long, but read carefully, and bear with us on the length
Decks:
Decks are the main part of a skateboard. A deck is the standing platform for riding, the leverage to get pop out of an ollie, and the main input device for the rider. A typical street deck is anywhere between 7 and 8 inches wide, by 30-32 inches long. A vert deck can get up to 9" wide, but those are a lot less common.
What about the shape of a deck? What about concave, the angle of the nose and tail, and the shape in general? The concave is the dish-shaped contour in the area between the trucks on the deck. Depending on the brand of skateboard, the shape can vary quite greatly. Some companies use a constant curve, others use a flatter middle and steeper edges. Also, the amount of concave varies with the company. Some companies have a large amount, 1/2" from top to the bottom. Others can be almost flat. Concave is mostly a comfort issue, but steep concaves can be easier to control flip tricks.
The angle of the nose and tail can change how a board feels, too. A shallower nose and tail will put more effort into the deck to ollie, which will make the deck last marginally shorter. A steep tail means that more effort has to come from the rider in order to ollie, but the deck will last marginally longer. I should put a footnote; by "marginally shorter" and "marginally longer" I mean ONLY under the stress of ollie'ing...flip tricks, rails, big gaps, etc. put a LOT more stress on the deck than just ollies. if you are skating rails, big gaps, etc. a steeper tail isn't going to help your deck last longer by any means
as far as the shape of the deck goes, some companies make one end a little wider than the other. The wider end is usually the nose, or front of the board. The reason for this is that a wider nose makes it easier to start and catch flip tricks. Other boards might be perfectly symmetrical, from front to rear. This design makes it easier to ride switch (backwards), especially in parks or on mini ramps.
Then there's the magical, mysterious property of a deck called "pop". pop has a lot to do with the wood composition of the deck itself, and can add height to an ollie. Now, a lot of companies add gimmicks to their boards to make them poppier or last longer. Things like element helium, darkstar armorlight, and foundation fiberlam (although I personally love foundation fiberlam boards).
Bottom line: The only real way to find out if a board is right for you is to try it out. For the right shape, width, and concave you can go to your local shop and stand on a few completes; see if the board feels right under your feet. The next step is to head up to the skatepark and see if any skaters will let you borrow their board for a few minutes...this will allow you to try out the pop of the deck, as well as how it handles with you skating on it. Then, after you've made your decision, you can go buy a brand new skateboard. Pro decks (http://www.ramprage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11703). Blank decks (http://www.ramprage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29747).
Trucks:
Trucks are what attach your wheels and bearings to your board, and give your setup the ability to turn. They consist of a baseplate (the part which is attached to your board), a hanger with an axle (the part that your wheels are attached to, usually the hanger and axle are casted together, meaning they’re both one part, usually indicated by the company when they say ‘non-slip’ axles), a kingpin and kingpin nut (the part that attaches the baseplate and the hanger together), two bushings and bushing cups (kind of like the suspension of your car, only instead of metal springs it’s with urethane bushings, they’re shaped like doughnuts and are threaded through the kingpin)
Wheel bite - Wheel bite is the term used to describe the wheels rubbing against the bottom of your board, usually resulting in the board and the skater suddenly stopping and ultimately ending with the skater on the ground. There are many ways to prevent wheel bite. You can increase the distance between the wheels and the board, by getting higher trucks, using risers, or getting smaller wheels (not recommended). Or, you can get stiffer bushings, or tighten your trucks more (not recommended). Another not really recommended solution that’s sure to stop wheel bite is to get trucks much wider than the board, or a thinner board, only recommended to long boarders.
Turning -There’s a lot of things that can affect your turning, things like bushings, truck geometry, and wheelbase. If you want to get into more detail about those things, just go to www.alphaskate.com.
Bushings - (see post below)
Wheelbase - Wheelbase is the lengthwise distance between the inner bolt holes on the deck. The smaller it is, the sharper the turning is. Lower wheelbases are prone to wheel bite if the trucks are loose.
Highs vs. Low. vs. Mids - Lows: are lower than high and mids (obviously). They make your board closer to the ground, which means more of a feel for the ground. It's also generally easier to flip your board with lows trucks. Being closer to the ground also means less clearance for your trucks, more chance of wheelbite (you wheels rubbing against your board, and violently stopping you), and less turning.
Mids: are in the middle between lows and highs. Pretty much the average type of trucks, a balance of everything.
Highs: are higher than lows and mids. Might be a bit uncomfortable since theyre higher off the ground. Less chance of wheel bite, more turning, but its generally harder to flip your board.
Stability - Lows are more stable than highs, even if you raise low trucks with risers.
Kingpin Clearance - Kingpin clearance is the distance between the tip of the kingpin and the top of the hanger. If the kingpin sticks out, it’ll catch when you grind and stop the board. Too much clearance is bad though, because the ways companies increase kingpin clearance usually affect the turning, and reduced the turning. Just get trucks with the right amount of clearance, not too much and not too little.
Bottom line: you have to experiment with different trucks to see what you like. i always choose a different pair of trucks to try, don't like sticking with the same kind. i suggest you look over the thread at the end of this sentence and see what sounds good. Pros and Cons of Trucks (http://www.ramprage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33350).
I will start off by saying that quite a few of the things we talk about here are things that have/make only a subtle difference, or things that you do not have to worry about until you are advanced enough to be able to grind/do other things. While we do go over a lot of technical mumble-jumbo for the sake of accuracy, don't think about it too hard. Make sure all the sizes match up, stop dwelling over every detail, and go skate. It's kinda long, but read carefully, and bear with us on the length
Decks:
Decks are the main part of a skateboard. A deck is the standing platform for riding, the leverage to get pop out of an ollie, and the main input device for the rider. A typical street deck is anywhere between 7 and 8 inches wide, by 30-32 inches long. A vert deck can get up to 9" wide, but those are a lot less common.
What about the shape of a deck? What about concave, the angle of the nose and tail, and the shape in general? The concave is the dish-shaped contour in the area between the trucks on the deck. Depending on the brand of skateboard, the shape can vary quite greatly. Some companies use a constant curve, others use a flatter middle and steeper edges. Also, the amount of concave varies with the company. Some companies have a large amount, 1/2" from top to the bottom. Others can be almost flat. Concave is mostly a comfort issue, but steep concaves can be easier to control flip tricks.
The angle of the nose and tail can change how a board feels, too. A shallower nose and tail will put more effort into the deck to ollie, which will make the deck last marginally shorter. A steep tail means that more effort has to come from the rider in order to ollie, but the deck will last marginally longer. I should put a footnote; by "marginally shorter" and "marginally longer" I mean ONLY under the stress of ollie'ing...flip tricks, rails, big gaps, etc. put a LOT more stress on the deck than just ollies. if you are skating rails, big gaps, etc. a steeper tail isn't going to help your deck last longer by any means
as far as the shape of the deck goes, some companies make one end a little wider than the other. The wider end is usually the nose, or front of the board. The reason for this is that a wider nose makes it easier to start and catch flip tricks. Other boards might be perfectly symmetrical, from front to rear. This design makes it easier to ride switch (backwards), especially in parks or on mini ramps.
Then there's the magical, mysterious property of a deck called "pop". pop has a lot to do with the wood composition of the deck itself, and can add height to an ollie. Now, a lot of companies add gimmicks to their boards to make them poppier or last longer. Things like element helium, darkstar armorlight, and foundation fiberlam (although I personally love foundation fiberlam boards).
Bottom line: The only real way to find out if a board is right for you is to try it out. For the right shape, width, and concave you can go to your local shop and stand on a few completes; see if the board feels right under your feet. The next step is to head up to the skatepark and see if any skaters will let you borrow their board for a few minutes...this will allow you to try out the pop of the deck, as well as how it handles with you skating on it. Then, after you've made your decision, you can go buy a brand new skateboard. Pro decks (http://www.ramprage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11703). Blank decks (http://www.ramprage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29747).
Trucks:
Trucks are what attach your wheels and bearings to your board, and give your setup the ability to turn. They consist of a baseplate (the part which is attached to your board), a hanger with an axle (the part that your wheels are attached to, usually the hanger and axle are casted together, meaning they’re both one part, usually indicated by the company when they say ‘non-slip’ axles), a kingpin and kingpin nut (the part that attaches the baseplate and the hanger together), two bushings and bushing cups (kind of like the suspension of your car, only instead of metal springs it’s with urethane bushings, they’re shaped like doughnuts and are threaded through the kingpin)
Wheel bite - Wheel bite is the term used to describe the wheels rubbing against the bottom of your board, usually resulting in the board and the skater suddenly stopping and ultimately ending with the skater on the ground. There are many ways to prevent wheel bite. You can increase the distance between the wheels and the board, by getting higher trucks, using risers, or getting smaller wheels (not recommended). Or, you can get stiffer bushings, or tighten your trucks more (not recommended). Another not really recommended solution that’s sure to stop wheel bite is to get trucks much wider than the board, or a thinner board, only recommended to long boarders.
Turning -There’s a lot of things that can affect your turning, things like bushings, truck geometry, and wheelbase. If you want to get into more detail about those things, just go to www.alphaskate.com.
Bushings - (see post below)
Wheelbase - Wheelbase is the lengthwise distance between the inner bolt holes on the deck. The smaller it is, the sharper the turning is. Lower wheelbases are prone to wheel bite if the trucks are loose.
Highs vs. Low. vs. Mids - Lows: are lower than high and mids (obviously). They make your board closer to the ground, which means more of a feel for the ground. It's also generally easier to flip your board with lows trucks. Being closer to the ground also means less clearance for your trucks, more chance of wheelbite (you wheels rubbing against your board, and violently stopping you), and less turning.
Mids: are in the middle between lows and highs. Pretty much the average type of trucks, a balance of everything.
Highs: are higher than lows and mids. Might be a bit uncomfortable since theyre higher off the ground. Less chance of wheel bite, more turning, but its generally harder to flip your board.
Stability - Lows are more stable than highs, even if you raise low trucks with risers.
Kingpin Clearance - Kingpin clearance is the distance between the tip of the kingpin and the top of the hanger. If the kingpin sticks out, it’ll catch when you grind and stop the board. Too much clearance is bad though, because the ways companies increase kingpin clearance usually affect the turning, and reduced the turning. Just get trucks with the right amount of clearance, not too much and not too little.
Bottom line: you have to experiment with different trucks to see what you like. i always choose a different pair of trucks to try, don't like sticking with the same kind. i suggest you look over the thread at the end of this sentence and see what sounds good. Pros and Cons of Trucks (http://www.ramprage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33350).