How to Set Up a Skateboard

Video Transcript

"My name is Shawn Connolly, I live in San Fransisco, California. I'm a sponsored skateboarder and I run a youth skateboarding program called the SF Skate Club. Now, what I'm here to do today is to explain to you how to put together a skateboard. Let's assume that you've already applied your grip tape, and you're going to take your axle nuts and put them through the board. Now, you're going to want to do all four at the same time, it's usually a little easier that way. You're going to put your truck on the board. Now, always make sure that your king pin is faced inward. Trucks will turn the opposite direction when you lean on them, if they're backwards. So, you're going to want to make sure that you're king pin is on the inside. Now, we just hold the back of your bolt, and you finger apply all of your bolts on here. Now, each nut has a small plastic ring inside of it that enables it to lock on. Now, when you finger tighten them, you'll find that you get just to the point of that plastic, now, that's when your tools come in. In this case I have Allen key tops, so I hold one side with my small diamond tool, and then I lock this side in to the Allen key side. Now you're ready to put your bearings in to your skateboard wheels. The bearing part is facing out, and then the plastic part is facing inward. So the best way to put a bearing on a wheel is to just put it on the axle, and then force the wheel on. The most important washer to use is just one on the outside. If you don't have two on either side of the bearing, it's OK, but the most important one is the one on the outside. Now, what this does is creates a distance between your nut and your bearing. And you've just pressed your bearings in to your wheel, you're going to want to actually tighten your nut tighter than you would normally ride it. And what this does is it makes sure that it compresses the two bearing together. Now, I do the same thing for the other side, and I tighten it nice and tight until I can't move it, and then I draw it left to my own personal preference, which is nice and loose and loud with lots of space. And this is how you properly set up a skateboard. My name is Shawn Connally, and I live in San Fransisco, California. I'm a sponsored skateboarder, and I run a youth skateboarding program called the SF Skate Club. You can learn more about it at sfskateclub.com."