Buying Your First Skateboard
By Adam Bunn, Thu Dec 8th

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So you've decided to start skateboarding. Good for you. You'veprobably seen some cool skate videos, played a bit of Tony Hawkspro skater or just hung around with other skaters at your localskate spot, and decided it's time you got in on the actionyourself. By it's very nature, is a very creativeand individual sport, and you can take it in a lot of differentdirections, but there is one thing you will need and that's askateboard.

I'm going to run through the major things you need to considerwhen buying a skateboard so you can make a better decision aboutwhat you buy and where you buy it from. This information isaimed at people interested in street skating and flatland tricks. I am not familiar with the requirements for vertskating.

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1. Cost One thing you should know straight off is thatskateboards can be extremely expensive. Straight off the bat youcan pay triple figures for a pro deck and that doesn't eveninclude wheels, trucks and bearings (all of which also come at apremium if you want quality gear).

You should try and blank your mind to all that great stuff. Tobegin with, you need something basic and functional. Somethingfairly disposable is ideal so if you decide skating isn't foryou or you end up ruining the skateboard in the process oflearning (which you probably will) you haven't paid the earthfor no reason.

Aim to pay around £40 for a complete brand new beginner setup -any more and you're paying for something you don't need, muchless and you are buying junk.

2. Deck By far the best kind of deck to go for is a'blank' - a deck with no graphics. The graphics and the brandingare what make pro decks so expensive, and if you do any decentamount of on it they will scratch off prettyquickly. You will usually get these with grip tape already on,or you can get any skate shop to do it. It's not even verydifficult to do yourself.

Try and get a 7-ply deck - this means it's laminated with 7layers of wood. 9-ply decks are heavier and more unwieldy, and agood sign that they are

cheaply made. Try and also pay attentionto the shape of the deck. If it's quite flat and straight it'sno good - you need a decent amount of curve to the kicktails.

3. Trucks The trucks on the first deck I bought snappedthe first time I tried to ollie. Watch out for this - buy from aproper skateboard dealer (whether online or in a shop), not ahigh street sports shop/department store! If you look at thetrucks on skateboards in these kinds of shop you can tell thatthe metal is of bad quality because it seems overly shiny andlight. As tempting as the prices may be, walk away.

4. Bearings & Wheels Bearings are what keep your wheelsspinning when you stop pushing - they determine how fast yourskateboard is. Bearing speed is measured by the ABEC value. Theslowest bearings are 'AA' bearings, skateboards from high streetshops come with these and they are BAD! With AA bearings, youwill probably not be able to roll down a hill let alone on theflat. From there, you've got various bearing ratings includingABEC 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Go for ABEC 3 or ABEC 5 bearings at the absolute maximum.Though you want to be able to roll quite freely, gettingbearings that are too fast is a bad idea for beginners. It makesriding more intimidating and landing tricks much more difficultas the skateboard is more likely to slip from under your feet.

For beginners, wheels are less of a consideration. Fairlystandard wheels of 55mm will suffice until you decide whichdirection to take your skating. The wheels that come with abasic complete set are fine.

Summary To summarise your ideal first skateboard will bea complete consisting of a blank 7 ply deck, strong trucks,basic wheels and ABEC 3 or 5 bearings. But before you go out andbuy brand new, ask around among skaters you already know -often, a second hand deck from an experienced skater will beeven better, as it will have been comfortably worn in and thereis a fair chance you can pick up a bargain.

About the author:Adam is the author of Board Crazy, providing all your skateboarding news.