Resources
One of my favorite skateboard resources is The Disposable Skateboard Bible by Sean Cliver. It's the most comprehensive archive of skateboard history dating back to the 1960's. While many might focus on the graphic content of the book my main interest was the evolution of skateboard construction. This page tries to explain the features of skateboards which I hope gets you closer to your perfect board.
Styles
There's a variety of skating styles to choose from. I was born and raised a street skater on a popsicle deck and that's the type of skating I love most. The five most common skating styles are street, vert, freestyle, longboard and surfskate. If you're new to skateboarding, choose what ever looks like the most fun.
Shapes and Profiles
Shapes and profiles refer to the front view of a board when mounted on a wall or a top view when looking downwards when skating. Below is a library of shapes dating back to the 1960's. We don't charge setup fees for custom shapes. If you'd like a custom shape we will add the shape to our library. That way you get your perfect board, and the shape is available for others to purchase.
Geometry
Generally, skateboards have a tail and nose. There's no standard for the angles and shapes. A beginner might not notice the differences in angle from brand to brand but an experienced rider will recognize something feels different. Traditionally, tails are shallow and noses are steep. Our stock boards have a symmeetrical tail and nose angle except for our surfskates.
Wheel Base
I have many memories visiting skate shops and always trying to find the shortest board. Being 5'7" I rarely selected boards based on the graphic. I would position the board between my legs and imagine if I could front side flip it. My rule of thumb was the shorter the better. I never realized the signifigance of the wheel base on a skateboard until my thirties. My general preference is to have a shorter wheel base, 13.5" or 13.75" but everyone has different preferences.
The actual wheel base of a skateboard takes some time to get to know. Each skateboard deck maker/manufacturer decides the spacing between the inner truck holes, and the spacing between the outer truck holes and transition to the tail and nose. Combine that with the angle of the tail and nose, where the board is positioned in the stack in a 3, 4 or 5 stack mold, plus curing/drying contraction and you find unmeasureable dimensions. In addition to this, each skateboard truck manufacturer positions their mounting holes differently relative to the axle. See below.
Trucks
Shown below are the 4 most used trucks, and the relationship bewteeen their mounting holes and axle. This means some trucks, when paired with a certain board and wheel size actually perform better when skating particular terrain. My general observation is that when axles are closer together the setup is ideal for manuals becuase this creates a better center of gravity over the axle. However the closer wheel base might not be so great for transitions becuase the board requires more time/distance to make contact with the transition face or coping.
Bushings
I never thought a lot about bushings until my forties when pro skaters talk about their setups. I don't have any expertise in this area except I see one common trend. Regardless of the brand everyone seems to be swapping out their stock bushings for Bones bushings. So much so they won't even skate unless it's Bones.
Hardware
Some years ago I noticed my trucks were constantly twisting more than they ever had previously. I got curious and measured the diameter of the holes on my current board and the diameter of my hardware. Call me crazy. I was shocked to learn two things. 1. Not all manufactures drill holes using 3/16" drill bits. I regrrettably had to stop buying boards from that particular manufacturer. And 2. What I initially thought was all the same #10-32 threads I was shocked to see so much variation between the leading brands. Since then I only buy the fatest, PIG BOLTS and never looked back.
Bearings
I've been told the more expensive bearings perform better than less expensive ones. I've tried both. My preference are low to medium cost bearings with removable shields which I clean regularly after 10 skate sessions.
Grip Tape
I love seeing the varieties of grip tape available; solid, perforated, color, graphic etc. We carry Jessup. It's been around for a while, it works, and it's what we can afford to buy in bulk. When I grip my own boards I take a cut off scrap and sand the perimeter of the grip edge. I've found this to help prevent grip tape from catastrophically tearing when skating a new board.