A skateboard is made up of 6 main parts:
Deck / Trucks / Wheels / Bearings / Truck Bolts / Griptape
Additional parts:
WHAT IS A SKATEBOARD?
Most decks are made from 7 plys of North American Maple wood, making them strong and durable. Using a water based glue or resin, the plys are pressed together under high pressure to make a skateboard deck.
All decks have a nose and tail, sometimes curved, sometimes not, depending on what type of deck it is. The nose is at the front and the tail is at the back, the nose is usually wider and steeper than the tail although on a shaped deck, the nose is usually smaller. People say that the steeper the nose or tail, the more pop you will have off the floor and you will go higher.
The distance in between the trucks is called the ‘wheelbase’, which is usually between 12” - 15” long. The wheelbase of a standard popsicle deck is around 14.5”, shaped boards and cruiser boards will have varying wheelbase lengths. This measurement can affect the handling of the skateboard - the shorter the wheelbase, the more agile it will feel and tricks will be easier but turning will be sharper. The longer the wheelbase, the harder the tricks will be to perform but turning and the general ride will be smoother. Your height can be linked to your wheelbase, some people say the taller you are, the longer the wheelbase you need.
The ‘concave’ is the curvature at each side of the deck. There can be low (sometimes referred to as mellow), medium and high concave: the higher the concave, the more steering control you will have and flipping the deck will be easier. Lower concaves will give you a smoother and more stable ride. Concaves can differ from brand to brand, so do not assume a medium concave of one brand will be the same medium concave for another.
Trucks are sold as pairs because you will need two of them to fix onto your board. They are the heaviest part of your skateboard setup and are made up of various materials such as aluminium, titanium, steel or magnesium. Trucks come in different height and width sizes to match your skating style and your deck width. Trucks are made up of a number of components.
Hanger / Axle: The hanger is what you use to grind along a coping, ledge or rail with / the axle is what your wheels attach to.
Baseplate: The plate that the kingpin and hanger sit in. There are 4 holes in the baseplate so you can attach your truck to your deck.
Kingpin: This pin connects the hanger to the baseplate. Your bushings and washers sit around the kingpin and are tightened with the kingpin nut.
Bushings / Washers / Pivot Cups: Polyurethane bushings attach to the kingpin and sit in between the baseplate and hanger. These allow you to easily turn and carve the board left and right as you skate along. They vary in degrees of hardness (durometer). The pivot cup is a bushing that sits inside the baseplate and the front pivot point of your hangar. Bushings can wear down over time and need to be changed accordingly.
Kingpin Nut: The screwing nut that will tighten your trucks to your preference.
Axle Nuts: The nuts that screw onto each axle end, keeping your wheels on your trucks.
Skateboard wheels are made from plastic polyurethane in varying degrees of hardness, which is measured in durometers. Brands are constantly working with new variations of urethane to produce faster, smoother, more durable wheels that will deal with all kinds of terrains and skating styles. Generally, the larger the trucks you ride, the larger the wheel you need. You will need 4 wheels - 2 on each truck - all of our wheels are sold as packs of 4.
Most skateboard bearings are made of steel. Bearings come in packs of 8, so 2 bearings sit inside each wheel on either side, with the option of having a spacer in between each bearing in the middle of the wheel. This cylindrical spacer helps to keep the bearings parallel with each other and stops you from over tightening your bearings! Some brands use the ABEC rating, which means the higher the rating the more speed and quality of the bearing, but this is NOT a skateboard based rating. Other brands use their own ‘Skate Rated’ rating system, which takes into account the whole spectrum of skateboarding such as high impacts and turning forces.
These are the bolts and nuts that you use to attach your trucks to your deck. A pack of 8 truck bolts means that you use 4 bolts on each truck.
- Truck bolts come in allen key heads or phillips cross heads.
- They come in various different lengths such as: 7/8” - 1” - 1 ¼ ” - 1 ½”
* There are different length options because when using riser pads you will need longer bolt clearance.
Griptape is a type of sandpaper, which is glued onto the top layer of your deck. This rough texture gives the skater the friction he or she needs to lift off the ground and perform tricks. Griptape comes in various colours, black is the standard, but you can choose from our wide range of colours and patterned griptape here. If you have something to say or you want to express yourself, black griptape is a good place to start so you can truly make your own unique grip pattern or graphic!
* We can apply the griptape for you free of charge or you can apply it yourself
These rectangular shaped pads are made from polyurethane and sit in between the bottom of the truck and the deck. Riser pads are sometimes referred to as shock pads. There are 3 main purposes of riser pads: to dampen the vibrations of skating rough surfaces, to protect the deck from impact and shock and finally to increase the distance between your wheels and your deck, therefore creating less chance of wheel bite*.
- Riser Pads normally come in 3 different sizes of thickness: 1/8” - 1/4” - 1/2”
* Wheel bite is when you make a sharp turn or manoeuvre and your wheel touches the bottom side of your deck and makes you suddenly stop and take a tumble!
Rails or ‘deck rails’ are thin plastic strips that attach straight onto your deck, which come in a pack of 2. The main benefit of using rails is that they allow you to slide for longer and smoother on double sided curbs, smooth ledges or rails. Also, they stop you from scratching the rad graphic off your deck! The rails screw directly into the bottom of your board on either side, parallel to the edges of your deck, using 5 small screws for each rail. It’s up to you where to position them, but we suggest having them around 1” away from the edges of your deck, with the top and bottom in line with the inner side of your truck baseplates (this will prevent extra wheel bite!) Some people just ride one rail, it’s completely up to you!