When Buying Cheap Skateboards Could Jeopardize Your Safety
Author: John
Cheap skateboards aren’t a bargain when you consider the possibility for injury. A skateboard that is not well made could fall apart and leave you and the pieces of your cheap skateboard on the ground. That would terrible and very dangerous. A cheap skateboard could be made with inferior parts which could lead to it falling apart and causing injury to you. However, you need to look at more than a skateboards price when trying to buy a safe skateboard.
The price of a skateboard may not reflect quality since manufacturers increase the price of a cheaper skateboard to make it seem like a better product than it is. They know that a lot of consumers equate price with quality. Make sure you aren’t buying a cheaply made skateboard with a marked up price or you won’t get a good quality product. Also, just because a professional skateboarder endorses a certain brand of boards does not mean that those boards are necessarily the best quality for the price. Educate yourself about how to tell a quality skateboard from a dangerous, cheaply made one.
A good quality deck is the key to a safe skateboard. The skateboard deck holds your weight and allows you to maneuver and steer. Good quality wood must be used on a skateboard deck for it to be safe. The wood should be firmly secured and the edges should be adequately sealed. The best test for a deck is to stand on it and jump slightly to see if you hear a cracking noise. A good quality deck should be flexible to be safe.
Examine the wheels of any prospective skateboard very closely. Wheels will be what allows you to achieve the speed you want. Be aware the you’ll need different size wheels if you are planning on using the skateboard for stunts more than for speed. Plastic wheels are something to look out for, especially on cheaper skateboards. You won’t get enough grip from plastic wheels to adequately control your skateboard.
The wheels must have good quality bearings to be safe. The bearings, which are inside the wheels, are rated on a scale of 1 to 9 (odd numbers only) and anything less than a 3 is not recommended because it will negatively affect your control of the skateboard. Spin the wheels several times to be sure the bearings move easily and there is no grinding going on in the wheel. Problems with the wheels of a cheap skateboard are going to lead to injury.
The trucks, the axles located on the bottom of the skateboard deck, are also an important part of the board. When looking at skateboards, look for trucks made out of strong, high quality metal that is secured with a good rubber sealant. Rubber holds much better than the cheaper plastic sealants used on poor quality skateboards. If the trucks are not secured well and good quality the skateboard is not worth the money no matter how cheap and will not be safe to ride.
When shopping for a new skateboard, you’ll have to find a balance between a safe board and a board in your budget. Buying the cheapest skateboard you can find is not a good idea because it may not be safe. If you can’t find one in your price range that is well made and safe, you might think about making your own skateboard. You can make a safe, long lasting, well built skateboard for not a lot of money. Don’t risk your safety to save a few dollars on a skateboard, it isn’t worth it. Skateboarding is a safe sport as long as you have good equipment.
Article Source: When Buying Cheap-Skateboards Could Jeopardize Your Safety
This entry was posted on 21. September 2009 at 20:02 and is filed under General, Protective Gear, Professional, Buying Guides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
