Buying Guide - Skateboards

Are you looking at buying a skateboard but not sure where to start from size to buying a complete setup or building a custom?! Well we are here to help.

Here at SkateStation we are passionate about Skateboarding and getting you what is right for your skating ability and price point. Weather you are buying for yourself, child or friend, the steps are pretty simple.

Complete Skateboard Guide

We offer a range of sizes of complete skateboards which are built for younger riders through to adults. Complete skateboards range from £29.50 - £94. The most common sizes available in completes are 7.25" - 8.25". There are sometimes smaller which are 7" and below but they are less commonly available. When we refer to 7.25" it means the width of the deck. Anything below 7.5" is also shorter in length and lighter which helps the smaller riders. 

So what's the right size board for you? Measure your height and also check your shoe size, this way you should be able to get the correct size. Checkout the size guide above, please remember this is a size guide and some skaters do prefer bigger or smaller.

Why is there such a price difference between approx £29.50 - £94 setups? The setups at the lower price point are made out of cheaper materials and sometimes may not last as long as the higher end complete setups. The higher end setups also feel nicer to ride and will have better pop whilst doing your tricks.

The main thing to remember when buying your first board is getting one the correct size and also pick the raddest design.

Custom Setup Guide

Custom Setup is exactly what it says. You get to pick everything from the deck, wheels, trucks, bearings, bolts and griptape (as standard free Mob Griptape comes free with any deck bought from us). 

Choosing the correct size deck for you

• Transition (verts) skating / skateboarders usually go for bigger decks (8.38"+) this is to give better stability. 
• Street Skating usually go for deck size 7.5" - 8.25" to help with being more technical
• All-round skateboarding generally go for a width between 8.0" and 8.38"

Choosing the correct Trucks

Getting the right size is simple, on each product page it states what size deck the trucks works for.

• High Trucks are standard and give you a more responsive turn and a little more wheel clearance so that you can use bigger wheels (53mm - 58mm) with less chance of wheel bite.
• Low Trucks are generally for tech skating and better for smaller wheels (48mm to 53mm) to avoid wheel bite. Low Trucks are better suited to  general 'tech' skatepark skating and ledge grinds.

Choosing the correct Wheels

First things first there isn't a wheel out there which will work for every skating style. We have full write ups on each product page to give you more infomation

• Concrete Skateparks: 53mm - 54mm usually does the trick. Hardness 96a - 101a
• Street Wheels: 50mm and 53mm max for street / tech skateboarding (smaller wheels won't last as long but they are the best to go for tech skating). Hardness 99a - 101a.
  
• Cruiser Wheels: 58mm+ is the best for crusing and keeping your speed If you go beyond 56mm you’ll need a set of riser pads to prevent the wheels from coming into contact with your deck when you make turns which is called wheel bite. Hardness on average 78a - 87a
• Bowl Skating: 54mm and 59mm, the bigger wheels are better for pumping and keeping your energy. Hardness 99A and 104A / 84B
• Transition Skating: 53mm - 54mm go for round lip wheels / conical-shaped. You will need wheels which will help with your technical skating along with keeping your speed. Hardness 96a - 101a

Choosing the right Bearings

Picking Skateboard Bearings isn't that hard. You might be wondering why some say Abec 3 / Abec 9 etc and others say Ceramic / Swiss. That's because the Abec scale is an industry accepted standard for the tolerances of a ball bearing. To put it simply the higher the ABEC rating the more accurate and precise the bearing will be. ABEC rating is 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. You will notice that all Bones Bearings are skate rated and here's why - Bones^® Bearings component parts are engineered and tested to withstand the high impacts of hard landings, the high side loads of turning, and (to the extent possible) the dirt of skate environments. As a result, Bones^® roll faster and last longer than other bearings. To merely give Bones^® an ABEC rating would be to ignore all the improvements we have engineered into Bones and the resulting difference between Bones and standard ABEC rated bearings. Since there is no appropriate ABEC rating that will reflect the superior quality of Bones^® Bearings, we have given them their own rating, Skate Rating™, to let you know that Bones^® Bearings are special and made just for skaters like you, not for electric motors.

But which ones should you go for? Well if you are on a budget then go for the Mini Logo Bearings these spin nicely and sit at a nice price. Two of Skateboarders most popular bearings to go for are Bones Reds Bearings or Bronson G2 Bearings, both these spin nicely from the get go and will give you good perfromance. Bearings go up in price to the swiss and ceramics are are worth every penny riding them but  you should put in time looking after them now and again.

Skateboard Hardware

The most common sizes of hardware are 7/8” as long as you don't use risers and 1” for 1/8” risers. These sizes of hardware should be sufficient to assemble most skateboardset-ups. If you're using riser pads with a height larger than 1/8”, then longer hardwaresets may be required like 1.25".

Pretty much all skateboard hardware is offered in either a phillips style or allen key style which is personal preference. When it comes to hardware most people choose on size / colour than anything else