Skateboards

[rjstaaf]

Guys,

Never really got into stakeboarding much when I was younger but, my son has an interest in skating and wants a skateboard for Xmas. So far his skating experience has been limited to Heelys but, he picked that up pretty quick and he is getting board with them.

So far he has shown little interest in other sports and while skateboarding probably wouldn't be a sport I would chose to do with him, under the circumstances I think I am gonna give it a go as well. He is interested in doing tricks, I will probably stick to cruising.

I have looked at places like WalMart and local shops but, I know nothing about what is out there. I want to get him a good quality skateboard that won't make the learning process more difficult by having to fight with crappy hardware.

Any hints or suggestions you all can offer would be great.

Thanks

[sneek]

Re: Skateboards

i know you won't have west 49 in the states, but you might have a clothing store that sells better quality skateboards

[Murr1525]

Re: Skateboards

Well, I dont know much about skateboards, but I do know that when I needed hockey skates for a class at school, I just went to a hockey store and asked questions. I really didnt know much, but the guy asked knowledgable questions, and got me the product I needed in the right price range.

Just find a store that looks reputable and busy, and head on in. Between customers and employees, you should get a few good opinions.

[SL1CK]

Re: Skateboards

I use to skateboard, and its alot of fun.

I got into the professional brands too, so let me give you some advice.

There are different kinds (Blind, Zero, Shortys,...etc) that you can get at:

https://www.ccs.com

Be prepared to spend up to 200$ for a complete deck. Its worth the money if you get the right stuff (aka no crappy hardware). Ask around to see what brands sounds good to you (i.e., i heard birdhouse (tony hawks label) decks break easily..etc.)

Gotta get the shoes too, so they can grip the grip tape.

You can find them at some stores in your town too.

[rjstaaf]

Re: Skateboards

Yeah, I know there are a lot of brands. There are too many and like you said you can't really even count on the big name brands having the best quality.

I have gotten a few recommendations on specific brands and so far one that I really like is Sector 9 (http://www.sector9.com). They mainly make old school cruiser boards but, that is what I remember from my youth and so far I am really drawn to them. They have a couple of boards that I am looking at right now, for myself the Hydra in the Sidewinder series and for my son, the Mentawai Mini in the Mini Series.

I am open to suggestions of other brands to look at as well...

Thanks

[F-150]

Re: Skateboards

Guys,

Never really got into stakeboarding much when I was younger but, my son has an interest in skating and wants a skateboard for Xmas. So far his skating experience has been limited to Heelys but, he picked that up pretty quick and he is getting board with them.

So far he has shown little interest in other sports and while skateboarding probably wouldn't be a sport I would chose to do with him, under the circumstances I think I am gonna give it a go as well. He is interested in doing tricks, I will probably stick to cruising.

I have looked at places like WalMart and local shops but, I know nothing about what is out there. I want to get him a good quality skateboard that won't make the learning process more difficult by having to fight with crappy hardware.

Any hints or suggestions you all can offer would be great.

Thanks

Guys,

Never really got into stakeboarding much when I was younger but, my son has an interest in skating and wants a skateboard for Xmas. So far his skating experience has been limited to Heelys but, he picked that up pretty quick and he is getting board with them.

So far he has shown little interest in other sports and while skateboarding probably wouldn't be a sport I would chose to do with him, under the circumstances I think I am gonna give it a go as well. He is interested in doing tricks, I will probably stick to cruising.

I have looked at places like WalMart and local shops but, I know nothing about what is out there. I want to get him a good quality skateboard that won't make the learning process more difficult by having to fight with crappy hardware.

Any hints or suggestions you all can offer would be great.

Thanks

I skateboard everyday (have been for the past 6 years):

But hey it depends on how big your son is and be careful what skate shops you go to cuz chances are they have employees that don't skateboard.

But to help you out a bit:
Trucks: Independent or Thunder, either of these you can't go wrong.
Hardware: only get Shorty's original hardware (guaranteed not to break and last me 6-12 months)
Decks: it depends on your son's preferences
Bearings: only get Bones Swiss bearings (they're the best out and I'm sure you've heard of them from back in the day, yup they're still the best)
Wheels: I like 52mm autobahn wheels (don't flat spot easy) but get what ever, it's not a big deal (again preferences) but if you have a little kid that's gonna get a mini skateboard (less than 7.5 inches wide) get 48-50mm wheels.

But hey give how old your son is, if he's tall, how big his shoe is, and what he'll want to skate (rails, stairs, ramps, vert ramps, skateparks, or just cruisin) and I'll help you out.

[mikeg8r]

Re: Skateboards

Check out this video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8427923352088919359&q=tony+hawk&hl=en

The first 10 minutes or so talks about equipment you'll need.

I would stay away from walmart/toy store skateboards. You definitely won't get as much fun out of them as a real quality skateboard. Most likely if you child wants to do trick it will either be too difficult (because of the size, weight, angle of the tail, what-have-you) or he will get laughed at by the other skaters. I know it's sad, but it's a fact of life in the life of a kid.

You should buy your deck from a dedicated skateboard shop where the sales people will be knowledgable and be able to get the right kinds of skateboards for you and your son. If you don't have a skateboard shop near you go online and use the phone.

As far as your son is concerned, most quality street decks (I am assuming he wants to do street) are shaped similarly and the difference is mainly in the graphics or you can save some money and get a naked deck (no graphics). You might want to buy your son some videos and let him find a favorite style of skating and maybe a favorite skater. Then you can outfit him with that skater's deck. That's how I picked a deck when I was a kid at least

F-150's recommendations are correct:
Independant (Indy) trucks are pretty much indestructible but they have a tendency to be on the heavy side. Venutre and gullwing (do they still make trucks) are also popular.

The only think about wheels size that I would like to add is smaller wheels (<50mm) are typically better for street tricks and such. But larger wheels are eaiser to cruise on (a small crack won't send you flying). Also softer wheels (durometer) are more comfortable but slower than harder wheels.

Good luck i'm excited for the two of you. If I hadn't killed my ankle a couple years back I would still be skating.

[rjstaaf]

Re: Skateboards

Thanks for the advice guys, very much appreciated!

I was going to go for a complete skateboard for my son but, now that I have looked around more, I am probably going to have to build it myself. He just wasn't that thrilled with the boards I showed him.

I am going to take your advice mikeg8r and get a naked deck and most likely have it painted. I have heard good and bad about just about every manufacturer out there and at this point have no clue where to look. Who makes the best decks out there that will have a naked one that I can finish the way he wants? I am thinking of a deck in the neighborhood of 8"x28", wide enough where he will have good control and short enough where it will still be light. He is mostly interested in street skating/tricks as the nearest ramp is an hour away.

It would appear that Gullwing is still in the biz as the board I am looking at for myself has Gullwing trucks on it. I am more into cruising/carving myself and am looking at a Sector 9 Hydra board.

http://www.sector9.com

[Awlms]

Re: Skateboards

Rjstaff,

Just want to tell you that you are choosing one of the best skateboards possible with the Hydra, either for your son or yourself. The double pivot trucks are superior in almost all ways for carving and board control, which makes them safer and more fun for older riders, women, kids...everyone. I probably have ridden over 500 miles cumulative on the Sidewinder/double pivot trucks so far. They are superior for long distance pumping, wherein you don't need to kick the ground to propel the board forward. So for both flat land pumping and severe slopes the Sidewinders are pretty much the best out there.
One note. I know Sector 9 will soon start including conical bushings in the new Sidewinders, which makes the Sidewinders perform even better. But if for some reason they haven't made this change yet, it is good to buy 2 sets of soft indy bushings and replace the stock barrel bushings. Most newbies to longboarding probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but this little upgrade gives an even better ride to to an already excellent performing truck. Also, The Fiji Sunrise (and Charger, also), both use Sidewinders, and came out a couple of weeks ago, mid September. The Fiji Sunrise has an all wood board (no fiberglass like the Hydra) with an excellent graphic. I talked with a rider a few weeks ago who test rode the new decks and he said he thought they rode even better than the Hydra. You also might note the wheels included with all the Sidewinder trucks, and compare them to the wheels on all the other longboards that Sec9 sells. They are about 4-8mm wider than the rest, and of the highest quality urethane. This little detail is huge and means you don't need to swap wheels for max carving performance. Hope this bit of tech info. on the Hydra/ Fiji Sunrise helps some! Best with everything have fun and ride safe!

[rjstaaf]

Re: Skateboards

I ordered my son's board today..

The deck is by Popwar and we ordered Black Magic grip tape to go with it...

http://www.utilityboardsupply.com/get_item_pwd082_popwar-v-i-deck.htm

For trucks we are going to go with Independant Stage 9 with 1/8" risers and Independant hardware...

http://www.utilityboardsupply.com/get_item_int010_independent-stage-9-raw.htm

Wheels are 55mm, from Spitfire...

http://www.skateboard.com/p-pinf/cat-2_205/pid-3512/spitfire-og-white-ltd-wheels.html

Lastly Bones Swiss bearings...

http://www.utilityboardsupply.com/get_item_swb001_bones-swiss-bearings.htm

I am going to hold off on a cruiser from S9 for a while, I am going to put together a street board for myself so I can "attempt" some of the less painfull tricks with him I am probably going to go with all the same hardware but, an Alien Workshop deck...

[mikeg8r]

Re: Skateboards

oooh nice deck graphics! good choices. sorry i didn't get back to you intime, but it seems you're well on your way. enjoy!

[rjstaaf]

Re: Skateboards

It took Josh a long time to pick out a decent deck with graphics he liked. There are a lot of junk decks out there that have awesome graphics. Everyone seems to have good things to say about Popwar...

I just finished ordering my board as well.

The deck is Alien Workshop and I ordered Black Magic grip tape to go with it...

http://www.skateboard.com/p-pinf/cat-1_145/pid-2827/alien-workshop-og-woodland-nice-price-deck-775-x-31375.html

For trucks I also went with Independant Stage 9 with 1/8" risers and Independant hardware...

http://www.utilityboardsupply.com/get_item_int010_independent-stage-9-raw.htm

Wheels are 55mm, from Spitfire...

http://www.skateboard.com/p-pinf/pid-3510/spitfire-og-black-ltd-wheels.html

Lastly Bones Swiss bearings...

http://www.utilityboardsupply.com/get_item_swb001_bones-swiss-bearings.htm

[SL1CK]

Re: Skateboards

Dang, you picked out the perfect board. All of those brands are super good (trucks, griptape, etc.)

[rjstaaf]

Re: Skateboards

well, everything came in yesterday and I put both boards together last night. Josh wanted me to do his first so the grip tape job didn't come out as well as I had hoped but, mine came out better It was dark last night when I finished putting them together so we didn't get much of a chance to try them out.