Buying Your First Skateboard
5. March 2009 by ZachPlay.
By Adam Bunn
So you’ve decided to start skateboarding. Good for you. You’ve probably seen some cool skate videos, played a bit of Tony Hawks pro skater or just hung around with other skaters at your local skate spot, and decided it’s time you got in on the action yourself. By it’s very nature, skateboarding is a very creative and individual sport, and you can take it in a lot of different directions, but there is one thing you will need and that’s a skateboard.
I’m going to run through the major things you need to consider when buying a skateboard so you can make a better decision about what you buy and where you buy it from. This information is aimed at budding street/flatland skaters. I am not familiar with the requirements for vert skating.
After reading this guide, why not check out Board Crazy to read about some skateboarding tricks?
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1. Cost
One thing you should know straight off is that skateboards can be extremely expensive. Straight off the bat you can pay triple figures for a pro deck and that doesn’t even include wheels, trucks and bearings (all of which also come at a premium if you want quality gear).
You should try and blank your mind to all that great stuff. To begin with, you need something basic and functional. Something fairly disposable is ideal so if you decide skating isn’t for you or you end up ruining the skateboard in the process of learning (which you probably will) you haven’t paid the earth for 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, much less 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 branding are what make pro decks so expensive, and if you do any decent amount of skateboarding on it they will scratch off pretty quickly. You will usually get these with grip tape already on, or you can get any skate shop to do it. It’s not even very difficult to do yourself.
Try and get a 7-ply deck - this means it’s laminated with 7 layers of wood. 9-ply decks are heavier and more unwieldy, and a good sign that they are cheaply made. Try and also pay attention to the shape of the deck. If it’s quite flat and straight it’s no good - you need a decent amount of curve to the kicktails.
3. Trucks
The trucks on the first deck I bought snapped the first time I tried to ollie. Watch out for this - buy from a proper skateboard dealer (whether online or in a shop), not a high street sports shop/department store! If you look at the trucks on skateboards in these kinds of shop you can tell that the metal is of bad quality because it seems overly shiny and light. As tempting as the prices may be, walk away.
4. Bearings & Wheels
Bearings are what keep your wheels spinning when you stop pushing - they determine how fast your skateboard is. Bearing speed is measured by the ABEC value. The slowest bearings are ‘AA’ bearings, skateboards from high street shops come with these and they are BAD! With AA bearings, you will probably not be able to roll down a hill let alone on the flat. From there, you’ve got various bearing ratings including ABEC 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, getting bearings that are too fast is a bad idea for beginners. It makes riding more intimidating and landing tricks much more difficult as the skateboard is more likely to slip from under your feet.
Fore beginners, wheels are less of a consideration. Fairly standard wheels of 55mm will suffice until you decide which direction to take your skating. The wheels that come with a basic complete set are fine.
Summary
To summarise your ideal first skateboard will be a complete consisting of a blank 7 ply deck, strong trucks, basic wheels and ABEC 3 or 5 bearings. But before you go out and buy brand new, ask around among skaters you already know - often, a second hand dk from an experienced skater will be even better, as it will have been comfortably worn in and there is a fair chance you can pick up a bargain.
Adam is the author of Board Crazy Skateboarding.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Bunn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Buying-Your-First-Skateboard&id=102155
The Beginner’s Guide to Building Ramps
5. March 2009 by ZachPlay.
By Brandon Cardone
Disclaimer:
Building and riding ramps can be fun and rewarding; however, caution should be
practiced with both. The author Brandon Cardone and any other contributors to this
article are in no way, shape or form responsible for any legal matters, injuries or
even death that may occur as a result of the information and content in this article.
The following chapter is one of five that can be found in my skateboard ramp
building guide “The Beginner’s Guide To Building Ramps,” This 54 page guide can
be instantly downloaded in PDF format from www.buildaramp.com. The skateboard
ramp building guide is filled with tons of photos and easy to understand
instructions and illustrations, you will also find on my website, tons of useful links
related to skateboard ramps, a ramp building photo gallery, free skateboard
wallpaper for your computer, a free skateboard screen saver, and even up to the
minute skateboarding RSS news feeds.
Introduction
So you want to build a skateboard ramp, maybe you are a parent and want to build
something for your kid. Maybe you have been skateboarding, riding BMX, or inline
for a while and realize that you want more than the few spots you get kicked out of
on a regular basis. Whatever the reason, you?ve started in the right direction by
reading this article. Building ramps is a productive learning experience, but the
most important thing is that it is fun and very rewarding if it is done right.
Most people really don?t understand how to build skateboard ramps and end up
giving up before they even give it a second thought. I have people all the time ask
me “How do you bend the wood like that?” or “Where would you even begin building
something like that? ”Questions like these are why I wrote this guide in the first
place. I want people like you to know that it really isn?t that hard to build skateboard
ramps if you have the right knowledge under your belt. I have been building ramps
with my friend Mike Fitch since I was like 12 years old and over the years and plenty
of trial and error, we have learned the art of building skateboard ramps. I asked
myself if this kind of knowledge should be kept a secret, then I remembered all the
fun I had growing up building my own stuff to skate and all the friends I have made
over the years. We even had the chance to fulfill our dream of building an indoor
skateboard park located in Johnson City, NY, East Coast Terminal as a way of giving
back to the pastime that gave me direction and purpose in my life. I hope this article
gives you that spark of inspiration that I found so many years ago. Who knows,
there could be your own dream skate park lurking deep inside of you just waiting to
be built and for others to enjoy. I wish you the best of luck in your quest and, most
importantly, have fun.
Chapter 1 “Scope Out The Territory”
• Before you start building
• Some Things to consider
• After the site has been decided and inspected
Before you Start Building your Skateboard Ramp
Before you get all gung ho and go down to your local lumber store to buy materials
and grab the tools out of the shed, there are some things you should think about
before you start building. For example, if all you want is a slider box or a jump
ramp, you shouldn?t need a huge area to put your ramps. In this kind of a situation,
an empty parking lot or your driveway will work. Be creative, like screwing some
trucks and wheels from an old skateboard or roller skates to the side so you can
wheel it around easy. You could even cut handles in the sides of the templates to
carry your ramp easier.
If you had your heart set on a ramp bigger and unmovable, obviously you will need
more space. You see, the idea here is that if you know where you are going to be
building your ramps, you can measure out the area and draw it on some graph
paper or even some regular paper will work fine.
Some Things to Consider
• Consider how easy it will be to get your materials to the construction site
If your spot is way out in the woods, you better have some muscles because you will
be carrying a lot of wood. This is when a wheel barrow comes in handy.
• Access to electricity
Power tools are your friends and building a ramp without them is very hard, but not
impossible if you are Amish. A generator or a bunch of extension cords might be
the way to go.
• Neighbors and noise
Those nosey neighbors of yours already hate you and are just waiting to ruin your
fun. Will they call the cops when you?re having a session at 3:00 in the morning?
One solution to this problem is to fill the coping with concrete or sand and nail a
layer of carpet to the underside of your ramp.
• Weather
Wood and bad weather don?t tend to agree with each other over time. If you can find
an area that is protected from Mother Nature, then more power to you. For the rest
of us, buying a good tarp is a really good investment. If you have the extra wood
you could even build your own make shift canopy, this way you can ride your ramp
even if it?s raining. You may also want to consider building your ramp up of the
ground on cinderblocks to keep the ramp high, dry and level.
• Helpers
The more people you can find to help you build the better off you will be.
• Ask everyone you know about available space
Hey you never know, your sisters, boyfriends, dad might have an empty garage or
empty lot of land that they will sell you dirt-cheap.
• Damage prone areas
Your trying to do a 360 flip pivot to fakie and oops, you just zipped out and your
board is heading 100 miles an hour towards your mom?s new car. You should take
note of breakable objects around your ramps and make the necessary barriers to
prevent them from being damaged.
• Zoning Laws
You may be living in an area where it is the law to get a building permit or you could
just take your chances and hope your local zoning board doesn?t find out. You may
end up having to pay fines and tear down your new creation. Trust me it isn?t fun to
take something apart that you?ve put so much time and effort into.
Remember, it is important that you build your ramps on a flat or level surface. If you
don?t, your ramp will not be as easy to build and ride. Once you have decided on a
spot to build your ramps, start by measuring the whole parameter of the space you
are going to be working in. Measure out any obstructions that might get in the way
when you are building, like a tree or a telephone pole, things like that. You should
also observe the landscape to see if you will have to level the area out or even build
your ramp up off the ground on posts. By doing this you are saving yourself a lot of
trouble down the road when you are halfway through your project and realize you
don?t have enough room or your that one side of your ramp goes uphill.
By:
Brandon Cardone
Here is a list of the other chapters that can be found in “The Beginner’s Guide To
Building ramps” found at www.buildaramp.com
Chapter 2 “Construction Preparation”
Chapter 3 “All About Ramp Templates”
Chapter 4 “All About Framing a Ramp”
Chapter 5 “All About Sheeting Ramp”
Brandon Cardone has been skateboarding for over 20 years and has been building
skateboard ramps for just as long. His knowledge and skills at building skateboard
ramps is well known in the skateboarding community. Brandon’s website
http://www.buildaramp.com is quickly becoming the number one reliable source of
information and help with building your own skateboard ramps, while making it an
affordable, fun, constructive learning process.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Cardone
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Beginners-Guide-to-Building-Ramps&id=101401
