Skateboards | Skateboard Decks | Skateboards Wheels | Skateboard Shop

You usually don’t get all the best parts as certain brands are better at making different parts of a skateboard than others. So, you might get a good deck, and maybe some good wheels, but the trucks and bearings are just so-so.
You risk buying a poor quality skateboard, often you can find these skateboards sold at big superstores or high street outlets who don’t know anything about skateboards. A poor skateboard puts you and other people off the sport in the long term, because you won’t be able to learn properly.
When buying the parts you can completely customise the skateboard to exact way you want for maximum performance, plus you can ride the skateboard that you want.

What to look for when Buying a Complete Skateboard:

So you’ve decided a complete skateboard is for you….the next step to work out which one! There’s a lot to choose from out there, so here’s some tips and direction on what to look out for:

Decide whether you want a mini or a full size Skateboard:
This should be a fairly simple decision, as it depends upon the age of the person getting the skateboard.

Decide how much you’re willing to spend:
£0-25 – Cheap Quality, basic level entry Skateboard. This really is a beginner skateboard and tries to be nothing more. At this price level expect nothing more than a toy. However YOU will find that these skateboards are better quality than many very cheap mass produced skateboards in superstores.
Suggested Brands in this price range: Low End Stateside Skateboards & Other Non-Brand Products mostly.

£26-50 - Mid Quality skateboard, decent quality hardware. If you’re thinking about getting into skateboarding for the first time and want to learn a few tricks too, then this is kind of amount to spend.
Suggested Brands in this price range: Stateside, Roces.

£51-100 – Getting serious here! In this price range you can get many of the top brand complete skateboards out there, some already ridden by professional skateboarders out there. These Skateboards perfectly suit those who have already tried out skateboarding and want to get into learning some serious tricks! Pro grade skateboard companies actually spend a great deal of time trying to make their boards better, safer, and last longer, hence the price you pay.
Suggested Brands in this price range: Enuff, Angelboy, Crime, Habitat, World Industries.

£100+ - This is for the Skateboarders wanting the very best out there. Few complete skateboards are over £100, but if they are there’s a good reason for it! These babies kick butt when skateboarding, and nothing else out there beats having a top quality skateboard. Not only will you be able to learn those top tricks with the best equipment but you’ll be the envy of your friends too! Which in the skateboard world counts for a LOT!
Suggested Brands in this price range: Flip, Habitat, Zoo York

If you decide to purchase a cheaper complete skateboard, you can always replace parts on it with better quality parts later on, however if you spend a lot on your skateboard that you build yourself, remember that you are probably going to have to replace parts that you break. Decks break. That's just how they are. So, whatever you buy, whether a complete or build your own parts, you’ll need to maintain and replace the parts from time to time.

Building Your Own Board, step by step guide on each part and what to choose:

When choosing a deck it’s important you find a deck that is both the right length and width for you. Generally you’ll find not all decks have their lengths listed, but should show their widths. Usually the wider the deck the longer it is.

Most deck lengths are 31-5” to 32.5” long, whilst deck widths usually range from 7.5” to 8” wide.

There are also a few “mini” decks out there, these are clearly stated and are for younger kids usually. The mini decks tend to be 28” in length and between 7-7.5” in width.

So what width and size deck should I buy?
Well firstly it’s down to personal preference but generally, you want to be asking yourself what type of skating do I want to do?

Skateparks, Ramps, Transition & Vert
Wider skateboard decks (7.75”-8”)provide more stability for ramp skating, or where a skateboarder wishes to do lots of flip/pop tricks and want a greater room for error. If you have big feet having a wider deck is also much more helpful.

However there are a few skaters who prefer narrow decks for ramps as you'll be able to go faster, or get greater air and jumps on ramps, but you'll have to substitute that for less control.

Street, Technical & Pop Tricks
Do you see yourself skating around a school yard, the street in front of your friend's house, or in town? Most of this type of skateboarding involves flip tricks or grinds. These types of skaters are usually most comfortable with a narrower decks (7.5-7.75”), as these are often lighter and easier for these kinds of tricks.

Cruising
If you're looking to use your board as mainly a means of transportation, then the bigger the board the more balance and control you'll have. In some cases it might even be better to buy yourself a longboard instead.

Below are the suggested deck sizes to get relating to a persons height:
Under 4’ = 29” or smaller
4’ to 4’10” = 29” to 30” long
4’10” to 5’3” = 30.5” to 31.5” long
5’3” to 5”8” = 31.5” to 32” long
5”8” to 6’1” = 32” to 32.5” long
Over 6’1” = 32.4” and up

Remember these only guidelines, you are not fixed to exactly what is advise here.

Oh 1 last important point to parents or those buying presents, try and find out whoever receiving the present what brand they like most, or if there’s any specific graphics/picture they like. This can be very helpful when selecting the right product.

There are 3 aspects when choosing skateboard trucks to look for:
- Truck Width
- Truck Height
- Type of Metal Used
- Quality of the Bushings used

Truck Width
When choosing the trucks it’s really important you match the size of the truck with the size of the deck you purchase. You'll want your trucks to be within 1/4" of the size of the deck.

Suggested truck sizes relating to your deck with would be:
4.75 for up to 7.5" wide decks
5.0 for up to 7.75" wide decks
5.25 for up to 8.125" wide decks
For 8.25" and up, you can use 5.25 trucks, or use super wide trucks (like the Independent 169mm)

A conversion also available is here:
129mm = 5.0”
139mm = 5.4”
149mm = 5.8”
159mm = 6.2”
169mm = 6.6”

Most trucks range between 4.75 in and 5.5 in width. A slightly wider truck will offer a more stable landing platform and shorter turning radius, but is heavier. Some trucks can be found up to 7 in., but this is strictly used with longboards.

Truck Height
You’ll notice some trucks state “low” on the name when looking to buy, this will relate to the truck height. This is the gap between the wheel axles and where the truck meets the deck.

The truck height can vary. Low trucks make flip tricks easier and add some stability, but with lower trucks you will want smaller wheels. High trucks allow you to use larger wheels, which will help when skateboarding at higher speeds or long distances.

If you are a new skateboarder, I recommend using medium or standard trucks, unless you know for sure that you want to use your skateboard for street or cruising. For street, low trucks are good and for cruising, medium or high trucks are a good choice.

Type of Metal Used
When buying trucks you want to take note of the alloy metal used. Increasingly, truck manufacturers are experimenting with space age metals in their alloy, like titanium. The obvious aim being to maintain the strength of the truck while reducing the weight. This is often one of the main differences between a cheap and expensive truck.

Quality of Bushings Used
Trucks also use a bushing, this is the mechanism by which a truck turns. These bushings are available in varying degrees of hardness, which effect the ease by which a skateboard turns. It’s small part that looks like a rubber donut.

Bushings cushion the truck when it turns. The stiffer the bushings, the more stable the skateboard. The softer the bushings, the easier the turn. For a brand new skateboarder, I recommend using stiff bushings. They will break in over time. For more seasoned skateboarders, medium bushings are usually the perfect choice. I would only recommend soft bushings to skaters who want to spend most of their time carving on their skateboarding. Soft bushings can make tricks difficult, and require a lot of control. This is often one of the main differences between a cheap and expensive truck.

Skateboard wheels come in a variety of colors, sizes and degrees of hardness. Wheels have two stats to look for: diameter (how tall the wheel is) and durometer (how hard the wheel is -- in this article, we refer to the a-scale for durometer). The bigger the wheels, the faster your board will roll, and the harder the wheels, the faster you'll ride with more stability.

To help make your decision you need to look at the type of skating you wish to do:

For overall skating of all types of skateboarding you’ll want to get something like a wheel size 52-60mm, with 95-100a hardness. This should give you a balance between speed and weight.

Skateparks, Ramps, Transition & Vert
Larger wheels roll a lot faster, and when riding ramps this is what you want. Try 55-65mm size wheels (though many ramp skaters will use even larger wheels -- try something like a 60mm wheel first, as you learn), with a hardness of 97-100a.

Street, Technical & Pop Tricks
Skaters who like doing flip tricks often like smaller wheels, as they are lighter and closer to the ground, making some tricks easier / faster. Try 50-55mm wheels, with a hardness of 97-100a.

Cruising
Wheels for cruising are very different from trick skateboard wheels. Usually much larger for speed (64-75mm) and much softer for riding over rough terrain (78-85a). Other wheels for cruising are available, such as huge dirt wheels and the like, but these aren't recommended for skateboards (try longboards or Mountain boards).

Bearings are more important to a good skateboard than most people realise. A good set of bearings can make doing those tricks and the effort to get and maintain speed much easier.

Bearings are rated by ABEC rating, 1,3,5,7 or 9. The higher the number, the better the precision of the bearing is and the faster you can go on them, however this is substituted for durability as it’s more likely to break.

For skateboarders the general recommended bearing would be ABEC 3 or 5, as these ratings enough precision and speed, but with suitable durability needed for skateboard tricks.

Some skateboard bearings don't even bother with the ABEC rating system, e.g. Bones and Flip HKD’s. Ask some your skateboard friends for their favourites. Bones are the biggest well known worldwide brand of Skateboard bearings.

Choosing Everything Else...

5. Griptape

This is applied to the deck, and is used for grip when skateboarding. One sheet is all you need to cover your board. There’s not much of a difference between griptape in general, a few have finer grip tapes available, if you want. However, when choosing griptape I’d recommend you go for a design or brand that you would like on your board. The most famous brand for griptape is Jessops.

6. Risers

Risers do two things. They help relieve stress from the trucks, which helps keep the deck from cracking. More importantly, risers help keep the wheels from biting into the board on a hard turn, causing the board to suddenly stop. It's a bad thing to have happen. Most risers are about 1/8" high. If you have extra large wheels, you'll want higher risers. On the other hand, if your wheels are small (52mm), then you might not need risers at all. It all depends on what you want.

Not all skateboarders use risers, its down to personal preference. If you do decide to get some make sure you purchase bolts 1 and 1/4" long.

7. Bushings

Bushings are the little rubbery rings inside skateboard trucks. Skateboarding puts a lot of wear on your bushings. They can lose their spring, and your board will end up always turning in a certain direction, or simply losing performance.

8. Hardware

The nuts and screws to put the board together. There are special colored nuts and bolts available, if you want. This is all just for looks, if you're on a budget, just get the basic parts. IMPORTANT: If you have decided to purchase and ride with Risers on your trucks you will need longer bolts, 1 and 1/4" will be needed. NOT 7/8" or 1" as these will be too short unless you have particularly thin risers.

If want to speak to someone by phone you can call us on
01794 517761 or email us on sales@UKSkateboards.com

Skateboards Buying Advice