How To Choose Skateboard

Choosing what to purchase

1. Decide what you're going to purchase. If you want a good board for less money, you're going to want a complete. If you want a much better board for more money, you're going to want to custom make yours.
2. Decide whether you want a longboard, a classic or a street/vert board.
   
   • Longboards can cost from $120-$500
   • Classics can cost from $80-$400
   • Street/verts can cost from $50-$150

Purchase a Complete Board

1. If you're going to purchase a complete, you're going to want to buy one online. The completes are not as good as custom made, but you can get them for a lot less money.
   
   
   • A complete can cost anywhere from $50-$200 (USD).
   • A custom made can cost anywhere from $90-$500 (USD).
2. 
   

Purchase a custom board

Purchase the deck

1. Consider how much money you want to spend on a skateboard deck. Blank decks, decks with no graphics on the bottom, usually run a lot cheaper than pro decks and ride just as well. But if you fancy having your favorite pro skateboarder's deck and you have enough money, go right ahead.
2. Buy a quality deck. Do not purchase Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. skateboards. If you want an entire board, but don't know exactly what you want, buy a complete skateboard from a company or go to a skate shop and ask the employee about the products. If you want to ride on the streets, get a 7.5 to 8.0 deck, if you want to ride vert, 8.0 and up is probably best.

Purchase the trucks

1. The trucks are the second most important part of a skateboard. When purchasing a truck, you want to look for these characteristics.
   
   
   • A length that is no more 10 inches.
   • The trucks should fit the width of the deck, so 7.5 trucks on a 7.5 deck.
   • A design that you like.
   • Lightweight.
   • You also want trucks that can grind well.
2. Pick out a truck that has no design, if money is a problem.
3. Keep this in mind when picking out a truck. "Even if the design is awesome that doesn't mean that the trucks are good."

Purchase the wheels

1. Pick out wheels where deck and wheels match, you don't want a street deck with long board wheels.
2. Pick out big and soft wheels for a longboard.
3. Pick out small and hard wheels for street.
4. People might think you are a "poser" if your wheels are a different brand than your deck, unless the brand you buy only makes wheels.

Purchase the bearings

1. Make sure the bearings are correct for you. The bearings are rated in ABEC, from 1-9 (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) with the higher grades being more accurate and precise, meaning they will last longer, spin more accurately and faster, and obviously make you move a lot smoother, quieter, and faster. The best grade for your first board will probably be 5 or 7, if you start with "1"s (which are considerably cheaper) then when you upgrade them, you may have to take a lot of getting used to the board again, as it will move a lot faster than the previous. So best starting with "5"s or "7"s.