How to Pick a Skateboard Deck

Series Summary

The development of skateboarding coincides with the popularization of surfing in California around the 1950's. Since that time, skateboarding has seen many rises and falls in popularity, with several generations of young skaters developing the sport and their own skateboarding tricks and techniques. The current generation of skateboarders is more accepted and less rebellious than previous generations, and often skate on city built skate parks designed for a variety of skateboarding tricks.

Skateboarding starts with having the right equipment and tools, keeping a skateboard in shape, and making sure the parts are all working to the best of their abilities. In this free video series, our expert will teach you about the parts of a skateboard, and give advice and tips on how to pick out these parts and maintain them. You'll learn about choosing a skateboard, deck, wheels and more, as well as how to maintain ball bearings and trucks, and what tools you'll need to fix up a skateboard. Watch these video clips, and soon you'll have your skateboard rolling in top form!

Video Transcript

"Hi, we're talking about skateboarding parts and maintenance. We're going to talk about the main part of a skateboard which is the skateboard deck. The skateboard deck is the wooden part that the trunks and wheels are attached to. The top is usually covered with a granulator tape called grip tape this keeps your feet on the board and allows more ability while traveling. Choosing an important part of the deck is to make sure that the length is comfortable to your shoulder length and that the concave is how you want it. A tail that is just too long means you won't get as much pop out of your ollies, a tail that is too short causes you to have to work harder at a much greater angle to perform ollies. Make sure that your nose and your tail are the length that you want them to be, that the concave curve of the board is not too much and that the grip tape is thick and rough enough to keep your shoes on. Also make sure that your deck doesn't have pressure cracks. Pressure cracks are caused by attaching the trucks too tightly to the board or by simply the pressure of skating. To check for pressure cracks simply look along the grains of the wood for the bolts and attach the trunks to the deck. You may see minor cracks while small cracks are not a problem and are just an everyday part of skateboard wear and tear. Larger cracks can eventually cause your trucks to separate from your board and cause you to get hurt. So remember to choose the deck that is right for you make sure it feels good don't choose your deck based on the picture and graphics on the bottom. Instead choose your deck based on the style that you like and comfort when standing on it."