by Bonnie Blouin
Skater's Edge
THEN
NOW
GET FOCUSED
CHOOSING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT
Standing in a well-stocked skate shop is
a lot like standing in front of the millions of
albums in your favorite record store. Even if
you have the bucks, you have to make a
limited choice from a gigantic selection. If
you buy a crappy album, you can just give
it to your kid sister or shoot it with a B.B. gun,
but you should choose your skate equipment
with more care. Otherwise, as soon as your
money's in the register, your deck will sud-
denly become too fat, your wheels will be too
soft and your trucks won't turn.
YOUR FIRST SET UP
When beginners ask me what products |
would recommend, my first suggestion is to
piece together a complete board from used
equipment. The price is righteous and you're
merely looking for a temporary jump start.
Three or four months down the road, when
you can maneuver with some grace and agil-
ity, you will have gained a better feel and
understanding for skateboarding. Therefore,
you will be better prepared to choose new
equipment that will suit your own needs.
Used equipment is easy to come by if you
know where to look. Most skaters have a
closet full of old gear. Ask around and offer
to pay a small sum. Some shops sell second
hand stuff. You can also post your own want
ad on the shop bulletin board.
PREPARING TO FORK OUT THE BUCKS
Before you set foot in your local skate shop
with the wad in your hand, you should do
22
some research. Read product reviews. Test
a few of your friends' boards to get a feel for
how the different products actually work. Ask
friends who are the same height and weight
why they like certain equipment.
Never rely solely on the expertise of the
shop employee. You wouldn't go to the
barber shop and say, "Cut my hair how you
think it would look best." Shop employees
do know the products they sell and they can
advise you if you have a basic idea of what
you want. But you are the one who's going
to ride the stuff, and only you can eventually
determine what's best.
Unless you are completely desperate
and/or your parents insist on getting you that
$19.95 special, never buy a skateboard from
a department store. "It's better than nothing."
is true, but just barely. Save your money or
go the used equipment route. No matter what
you buy and how much you pay, everything
wears out eventually.
BOARDS
Generally, kids under 13 years old and
shorter than 5'2" should stick with mini
models which are 28" to 29" long and 8" to
10" wide. Average sized people normally go
for boards in the 30" range, while the big-
ger guys like 'em 31" to 33" long. Of course,
all of this is variable, especially to folks
who've been skating a long time and have
definite ideas of what they enjoy riding.
Beginners should stick with a basic shape,
average concave and a decent upturned tail.
Ultimately the only way to select a new board
is to stand on it in the shop. Make sure it feels
good under your feet. Check the concave
and the kfcktail. If your back foot feels
tweaked, think twice. Look at your foot place
ment and make sure your front foot isn't too
far away from the front truck bolt holes. If it
is, you need a larger or smaller size. If the
shop person won't allow you to stand on the
board, go somewhere else. You wouldn't buy
a car without driving it first, and you are
indeed buying a new vehicle.
WHEELS
Unlike trucks and boards, there are often
only two or three specific types of wheels on
the market that are the best, so you can rely
on friends or shop employees to point you
in the right direction.
Your main choices will be the durometer
or hardness of a wheel and its actual height.
Durometer ranges from 85 (way soft) to 97
(way hard). Softer wheels (85-92) are good
for street skating because they allow you to
roll right over gravel and cracks in the
sidewalk, but they are also slower and don't
slide very well. Harder wheels (95 to 97) work
well on ramps because the surface is smooth
and speed is essential. The general rule of
thumb for beginners is 92 for street, 95 for
both street and ramp, and 97 for ramp only.
Light colors tend to be closer to their stated
durometer than dark colors.
The height of a wheel is generally dictated
by the terrain you ride. Most street skaters
ride loose trucks so they choose smaller
wheels (57 to 58 millimeters) for maximum
turning radius. Tall wheels and loose trucks
don't mix because of "wheel bite" unless you
have high riser pads. Ramp riders enjoy thin,
65 to 66 millimeter wheels because there is
less surface friction which makes them faster
and quicker to turn. Of course, none of this
height business is carved in stone.
TRUCKS
Truck selection is harder because trucks
themselves are so adjustable. Five of your
friends could skate the same brand, but each
board would feel and ride differently. On top
of this, each brand generally has a different
turning radius based on axle placement so
some turn quicker, others turn wider and
some hardly turn at all. Truck axles range in
length from 8" to 10". The smaller the truck,
the tighter the turning radius. The larger the
truck, the wider it turns. Little people should
stick with little (8" to 8%). Average people,
9" to 9" and big people 9" to 10". A good
rule of thumb is that your trucks, with wheels
intact, should be even or slightly wider than
the width of your deck.
With the exception of one or two brands,
most trucks come with crappy bushings, so
you may wish to buy new ones. Bushings,
like wheels, come in a durometer scale..
Soft-92, medium-95, and hard-97. If you
ride your trucks tight, hard bushings will com-
pliment you best. For average to loose trucks,
choose medium or soft. In the end, it all
depends on what you like.
Just remember-a skater does not a board
make. In other words, if you're standing in
the shallow end of a pool and some fool gives
you guff about your chewed and chaffed
skate while his is all shiny and new, just
answer him with a backside thrusting edge-
wheel carve into a twisted Smith grind over
the shallow lip. That ought to shut him up.
hund
BLAIZE
BLOUIN
PO BOX 884413 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94188 SEND $1.00 FOR STICKER AND INFORMATION