All you need to know about different skateboard models

Throughout history, skateboard decks have gone through many stages of development and change. Nowadays you can find skateboard models suitable for every rider, with specific widths, lengths, shapes and special construction technologies. Most of the decks are made of North American maple wood, which thanks to its slow growth is particularly resistant and stable. Traditionally, 7 layers of maple wood interlaced with a water-based glue or a special epoxy resin are pressed together at high pressure to create a board.

The three parts of a skate are: the nose, the pan (between the trucks) and the tail. The design on the bottom of the deck can help distinguish nose from tail as most graphics are designed so that the nose is up. The nose and tail are generally rounded and are more or less bended upwards. The theory is that higher kicktails give your board more POP, due to the higher leverage. On the other hand, flatter nose and tail provide better board feel and stability.

The wheel base is normally 12 “-15” long and not only affects the overall length of the table but also how it is managed. Usually a skate is between 28 “-33” (70-80cm) long. So, the shorter the deck, the more agile the board will be while the longer the deck the more stable it will be.

Skateboard models

Street, bowl, vert and cruising all have different shape requirements. For this reason, different shapes and widths have been developed to best meet the respective needs. A standard shape, for street and park, is the twin-tip. This means that the nose and tail are basically the same shape, so you can easily change direction of move. The boards for transitions (ie bowls or ramps) are almost always a bit wider, with a minimum width of 8 “. Then there are boards reminiscent of old school skateboards, now called shaped decks, which are a hybrid between street and old school.

Concave refers to the longitudinal curvature of the board between nose and tail, but also affects the edges of the deck. The higher this curvature, the more pressure you can exert to both ollie and flip, but it will also be more difficult to control. Skate decks are usually distinguished between low, medium or high concave. Unfortunately, the manufacturers reveal very little information about the concave of their boards. So a medium concave for one brand can be very different than another brand. If you are not sure which level of concave suits you best, you certainly can’t go wrong with a medium one, because it offers the right compromise and allows good progression in your tricks. Most skateboard decks are medium.

Skateboard measures

The choice of a deck is usually its width. Wider boards offer a smoother ride at high speeds. However, they are also heavier, which makes them a little more difficult to ollie and flip because you will need more power in your legs. On the other hand, the large surface offers a lot of space and can be an advantage when performing a trick. So if you like transitions and want comfortable landings, a wider board might be right for you. Narrow boards, on the other hand, are lighter and easier, are great trick skateboards because you will need less energy to learn. However, narrow decks can be difficult to control at high speeds and have less space for feet. Therefore they are ideal for technical skate like doing combos on curbs or flat surfaces.

Regardless of the various shapes you can find, wider decks are also typically longer. Using a board that is too long, if you are small and short legs, is usually not the right choice, because it will be difficult to bring the front foot up to the nose of the deck when you ollie. So if you’re not that tall, it’s probably best to get a shorter board. Of course, all of our suggestions are just recommendations. Each rider has their own preference and there is no exact rule on width and length. If you are not sure which one suits you best, the height and size of the shoe are good indicators.

Skate trucks measures

The truck attaches the wheels to the deck and allows you to turn. Typically made of steel, a skate truck consists of several pieces, including bushing and kingpin. The kingpin is the threaded bolt that sits inside the bushing and holds all the pieces together. The ease of rotation of the trucks can be adjusted by tightening the kingpin nut that holds the bushing. To have a stiffer skate you will have to tighten it, while if you want more maneuverability it will have to be loosened. The trucks are available in different widths, so it’s important to know the size of the board. The ideal size of the truck, including the wheels, is the width from one side of the board to the other. Heavier trucks are ideal for grinding, given the heavier weight, but at the same time it can be more difficult to make the skate jump higher. There are trucks with low, medium, high setups: the low ones are ideal for flip tricks and for greater stability, thanks to the low center of gravity. The mid ones are suitable for park and street skate, while the high ones are used for carving or cruising in the city.

Bushings are round rubber rings found around the kingpin. There are 2 rubber pads per truck. Harder bushes are more restrictive and can be more stable at speed. Softer bushing offers less resistance which makes them better for carving and freestyle, but less stable for high speeds.

Skate wheels measures

Skateboard wheels have a variable diameter suitable for different styles of skateboarding. The most common range for street and park is 50mm to 60mm, while wheels larger than 60mm are usually used on longboards or cruisers. Smaller wheels (50mm to 54mm) are slower and more easy to get stuck on cracks or pebbles, but are preferred by technical skaters, due to their lower weight and easier tricks. Larger wheels allow the rider to go faster and avoid cracks but increase the weight.

The wheels also vary in their hardness. The softer ones (<88A to 95A) are perfect for riding on rough surfaces, cracks and pebbles. They are not appropriate for technical tricks, because the grip and softness of the wheel reduce the ability to blow the board off the ground. The harder ones (95A to 100A) are more common and perfect for street and park. These wheels have less friction and travel faster.

Skate bearings

A wheel needs two bearings to rotate on the axis. The bearings adapt to the inside of the wheels and allow them to turn with less friction and greater speed. The differences in bearings include the quality of construction and the rated speed of the bearings themselves, which is expressed on a scale, called Abec, of 1-3-5-7-9-11. Lower Abec numbers stand for a rough and not very smooth but resistant bearing. While higher ones indicate faster and more silent bearings. Abec 5 or 7 is usually used for skateboards and cruisers, while Abec 9 or 11 are used for longboards.

Spacers are small metal cylinders that are located between the two bearings and which serve to keep them apart. Especially if you are using slightly softer wheels then it is advisable to use spacers, because they ensure that the bearings stay in place. Washers, on the other hand, minimize the friction produced when your wheels spin and therefore slide faster.

So, anything that isn’t skateboard or longboard is a cruiser. Different types of materials are used to make a cruiser deck. In addition to the traditional maple, there is the famous and popular cruiser made of plastic, better known as the pennyboard. Here, too, the decks differ in length, width and shape. They can be mini in plastic from 22 “up to 32” in wood. Their main feature is the soft and wide longboard style wheels, the light weight and they are easy to transport. So perfect for cities and to take you from point A to point B, but difficult to use for ollies, flips and tricks in general. They almost always have a small raised tail and flat pointed nose and are generally already assembled ready to skate. If a longboard is too big for you, or you just aren’t interested in complex skater tricks, then the cruiser is the right choice for yo

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