How to choose a skateboard for beginners: All Clear

Due to the increasing popularity of skateboarding, it has become the fastest growing sport, especially among youth. To meet the demand for skateboarders, different brands have entered the market with different types of skateboards, too. Thus, choosing the best skateboard is quite challenging nowadays.

Therefore, we have compiled this guide on how to choose a skateboard for beginners, allowing them to make the right purchase that is both fun and worthwhile.

This article will go through everything a beginner should know before buying skateboards, such as size, cost, material, and shape. This will be the last skateboard guide you’ll ever need.

How To Choose A Skateboard

Before you begin reading, figure out the kind of skating you enjoy because each skateboard is designed for different types of riding. Even if a skateboard is a right size, you cannot use it for all types of riding.

First, let’s go over the different types of riding you can have on a skateboard or a longboard.

Longboards are a great choice if you like to go downhill and cruise long distances for work, school, or college. Because the deck is long and wide, they are more comfortable. Longboards are hard to use for tricks, and they are also expensive.

If you want a board for cruising around, skating on the street, performing tricks, riding in a skatepark, ramp, pool, or vert skating, a skateboard will be a great choice.

If you consider yourself a skateboard rider, then continue reading because skateboards come in many sizes, shapes, and materials, which can also be confusing. The skateboards for different riding styles come in different shapes and sizes. 

Skateboard Budget

As skateboards are available in different shapes, sizes and materials, it’s obvious to have a price difference. Though if you’re on a tight budget, you need to focus on this point more.

A person with a tight budget can get a quality skateboard at a reasonable price, but they have to do deep research in the market, which is not easy. Hence, we’ve already done that for you by reviewing the best skateboard under 100 dollars.

When shopping for a low-cost skateboard, it is essential that it is from a reputable brand and the skateboard’s deck, wheels, bearings, and trucks are of high quality. Below you will find a section about skateboard material.

A quality skateboard usually costs between $80 and $200. However, you can also buy a skateboard for less than $50 or $40, but they aren’t recommended for serious skaters.

Types Of Skateboard

Even though more than 12 different types of skateboards are available on the market, they all fall into two categories: Standard and Cruiser.

Standard: If you like to do street skating, park skating, and other similar types of skateboarding, then the standard skateboard is ideal for you. The board features both the nose and tail to perform tricks efficiently. Thus its shape is similar to a popsicle stick. Further, the board is used for heavy rides, like performing tricks, though assembled with hard wheels.

Cruiser: According to what we told you further, longboards are suitable for long cruising, but they are also very heavy and long. Due to this, some skateboards can also be valuable for cruising, which have a similar length to the standard board but are shaped differently. Additionally, the board includes soft wheels to make cruising faster, smoother, and more comfortable on rough surfaces. Due to their shape and size, these boards are great for cruising while still being lighter than longboards.

Skateboard Size

As soon as you decide which skateboard to choose according to your preferred riding style, the next most important thing is picking the right skateboard. If you mistake selecting the proper size, your board won’t function the way you expect it to.

You’ll need to choose the skateboard size according to your height, age, and shoe size. Skateboards are available in different sizes ranging from 6.5″ to 8.0″. The skateboards are relatively medium in terms of length, so always consider the deck width in selecting the size.

The above image should help you determine what skateboard you need according to your age and shoe size, but you should also consider your riding style. To do tricks, choose a skateboard with a narrower deck under 8.25″, and for those looking for a comfortable ride for cruising, select one with a wide deck.

Here’s our list of the best skateboard for 10 year old, which we’ve compiled to make your search easier. As a bonus for college students, we reviewed the best skateboards for college students in a separate article.

Material Of Skateboard And Parts

Skateboards must be chosen according to their build quality and the materials used. The material of your skateboard may be high-quality if you own a costly skateboard, but when it comes to a budget skateboard, you need to analyze everything.

Start by looking at the deck where you will stand and ride your board. A deck made of Canadian maple and bamboo is one of the most popular and quality materials available today. Usually, you’ll see a wooden deck made of Canadian maple because it’s a high quality deck with an affordable price range that is durable and stable.

Skateboards with plastic decks are not recommended for serious skaters, so you should probably avoid them. Plastic deck boards are usually found in penny boards, so be aware of that.

Make sure that the trucks that connect the wheels to the deck are made from quality material. Aluminum trucks are the best choice if you want long lasting, affordable, and high quality trucks.

In addition, you should pay attention to the wheels material, because that is the part that touches the ground. Wheels made of polyurethane are of high quality.

Best Skateboard Brands

Several brands online seem to be the best at skateboard manufacturing, but they are actually outdated. The brands haven’t updated them with time, so they are now the worst skateboard brands, and new brands are gaining popularity because of their new technology.

Therefore, when choosing the board, also keep in mind its brand value and demand because the brand will tell you everything about it.  

Therefore, if you’re looking for the best skateboard brands today, you should check out these brands:

• Powell Peralta
• Minority
• Element
• Magneto
• Enjoi
• Santa Cruz

The skateboards from these brands may not all be high quality and reliable, but the majority are top notch and thriving on the current market.

Additionally, we do not recommend Walmart skateboards as they are not long-lasting and of low quality. Alternatively, you can purchase from an offline retailer or from Amazon.

Complete Skateboard Vs Custom

There are two ways to obtain skateboards: purchasing a pre-built skateboard or making your own skateboard from scratch. Therefore, the question arises, which is better for you?

If it’s your first time buying a skateboard or you have a tight budget, consider a pre-assembled complete skateboard. All you have to do is make sure the board brand and construction quality are of high quality so that you can rely on them.

On the other hand, if you’re an experienced rider and want the board set up according to your riding style, go with a custom skateboard. The advantage here is that you can choose your own parts according to your riding styles, such as a hollow or standard truck, soft or hard wheels, and deck shape. In order to make a custom skateboard, you have to learn how to do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you.

Tips For Beginners

So far, we’ve explored everything you need to consider when choosing a skateboard. Here are a few skateboarding tips we want to share with you if you’re a beginner.

• There is no need to spend more on the first skateboard. If you’re just starting skateboarding, then prefer any decent skateboard quality skateboard and start the journey because buying an advanced board is of no use for beginners. Initially, you will learn balancing, standing, turning, and cruising, which is possible on every skateboard.
• Beginners should not buy penny boards because they are small and too narrow for learning skateboarding. Make sure you get a medium size standard skateboard so that you can balance easily.
• Avoid buying cheap skateboards that cost $20 or $30. You can’t learn skateboarding from them, and you won’t get any benefit from them. You should at least choose a $50 skateboard if your budget is extremely limited. Depending on your research, you can get a decent quality skateboard under 50 dollars as well.

Conclusion

Hopefully, we were able to answer your question about how to choose a skateboard for beginners with extra tips.

This guide makes it easy for beginners to choose a skateboard. As guided in the article, a skateboard of decent quality can be selected by paying attention to parts like wheels, trucks, and deck. Further, If you are a beginner, the only thing you need to focus more on is selecting the correct size.