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Skateboarding 101: Equipment
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The lazy dog days of summer are setting in, kids at home playing video games all day and adults
sipping beers on patios and pools instead of getting on skateboards. But the Mile High City often provides cool, nothing less than perfect evening for any activity and in pondering this, the memories flooded in and inspiration for a beginner's guide was born. Before the physical board (very important) inspiration is key and motivation, desire and fearlessness soon follow. But let's begin with the board.
This is a slippery slope because the craft of skateboarding is so very individualized and many heated debates have ensued on what is best, but there are some general rules a beginner can use as a guide.
Deck: Whether you become the best street skater or sickest bowl and pool shredder ever, you want a board that has some pop and make sure the wood is not warped. Despite the concave of the board top of the nose and the tail should be relatively aligned and if you drop the board grip-tape side down, it should have a nice bounce. Width is a matter of taste, but smaller widths are generally better for street/technical and wider is better for grounding when catching high speeds in pools, bowls and bombing hills. Concave, the curvature along the perimeter of the deck, is designed to aid in flipping and even turning, though each boarder seems to have an opinion on what is best and why; I will leave it at that.
Wheels: This is an element that the most variety can be attributed to because subtleties can make all the difference, dependent on any given situation. Soft wheels are best large and for the cruiser board, and can glide over the worst sidewalk cracks and bumpy asphalt, though wheels too soft can account for a lack of connection with your board, for lack of a better phrase to describe it. The smaller and harder the wheels, the more attention one must pay to more attention to imperfections in their path, consider them ollie inducing and roll on.
Trucks, bearings and accessories: Trucks can vary in quality, and flexibility in the shock absorbing material around the kingpin, but once you drag them across enough curbs/pool coping, trucks begin to feel more comfortable. If attempting to grind metal/slippery coping on brand new trucks, beware, this can cause slip-outs. Bearings also can vary in quality, but for a first complete, most any will do and keep them greased with oil and they will roll for a while, but if you hear the balls inside the bearings are loose and or squeaky, you might want to replace them. These days skateboarders seem to do a lot to individualize their rides, from painting grip-tape to stickers and all out arts and crafts, but that part is up to you.
Now the board is complete and the adventure before you is mighty!
Related Article: Skateboarding 101, first in the series of beginner's stories, old to new school
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