Recommend me a skateboard

[Theoldfm]

As the title says.

My 11 year old has joined a skate club and wants to upgrade from a scooter to a skateboard. The problem is that I have no idea what to look for or what sort of budget we should be setting - I don't want to waste money on buying a load of rubbish but likewise, I don't want to waste money buying something far too good for what is 'needed'

Any experts out there in pistonheads world?

[Hoofy]

I'd get a cheap one if I were you.

http://www.skatehut.co.uk/skateboards/complete_ska...

He might decide he has had enough of smashing his elbows into concrete for the 500th time.

Edit: for some reason, I assumed your child was female. I knew I had a heavy session in the gym but didn't think it was that bad.

Edited by Hoofy on Wednesday 18th July 09:38

[anonymous-user]

there will be a skate shop local, just pop in and ask what they recommend, different decks have different properties (based on the wood plys) so they might have something suitable for a lighter skater as throwing him on a board designed to withstand tony hawk style 25ft landings might not be wholly appropriate for a beginner

elbow pads, knee pads, helmet....

[Fas1975]

What kind of skating? There's a few types of skate styles and all will have their own board requirements. Different styles are usually based on:

Cruising
Slalom
Downhill
Freestyle
Street
Vert
Park

Let me know and I'll try to get you some more info on boards. Buy from here http://www.routeone.co.uk/ they do everything from build your own, through to full made for your budget. Great deals. I used to skate street, and bought a board last year to relive my youth. Was a disaster. Takes longer to heal when you're older

[Theoldfm]

Fas1975 said:

What kind of skating? There's a few types of skate styles and all will have their own board requirements. Different styles are usually based on:

Cruising
Slalom
Downhill
Freestyle
Street
Vert
Park

Let me know and I'll try to get you some more info on boards. Buy from here http://www.routeone.co.uk/ they do everything from build your own, through to full made for your budget. Great deals. I used to skate street, and bought a board last year to relive my youth. Was a disaster. Takes longer to heal when you're older

You seem to know your stuff!

Well, he is 11 but quite a tall lad for age. He wants something for the local skate park and skate club, so presumably more street / park...?

Thing is, I like nice things and hate wasting money on tat. I would rather pay a little more and get something that works. He has a decent mountain bike and has already had his monies worth as it is a bike that he can actually ride trails on without pushing up all of the hills because it weighs two tonnes!

[Fas1975]

Sounds like he needs something light and manouverable to allow him to get some "pop" on his tricks or riding.

I hear you about paying more for something good. and to be fair, skateboards only vary on the quality of the hardware. Boards / plywood are much of a muchness at mid-high price point, the difference comes from the trucks, bearings and wheels.

If he is as tall as you say, I'd recommend a size 7.5 - 8 skateboard.

Go to the website I mentioned, http://www.routeone.co.uk/Store/Skateboard+Action+... and then filter by size and price.

I bought a Chocolate board last year for about 100 quid, light, quick and has a "pop" for tricking. The remainder comes down to your son choosing a design he's happy with.

[Sway]

Agree with Fas.

For street/park, as long as you get mid priced kit, there's bugger all difference other than logos. Trucks take a hammering so are just simple cast affairs with standard kingpin angles, bushings are tightened right down so just go for 'soft', bearings won't be looked after so anything will be fine (ignore ABEC ratings, they're meaningless in skate terms).

If you were going for slalom, luge or longboard then things are a lot trickier and more expensive. I've got a slalom setup that's worth around a grand, but a lot of that is because the best stuff hasn't been made for years. A pack of unopened Stim bushings will go for anything up to $50-60, for two inch diameter rubber doughnuts! I may have a stash of those in the garage.

My slalom is a carbon Roe deck (£200), pair of PVD CNC trucks (things of engineering beauty, but only 50 ever made - £600), ceramic bearings (£120), couple of sets of wheels at £80 a set. Love it to bits, but don't even race! I just took advantage of a contact in the states who could track things down when the exchange rate was very favourable...

Think of that when you're being asked once every couple of weeks for a new set of £15 bearings or £30 wheels...