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All About the Board

Deck

An Illustration of a skateboard deck.

1. WIDTH

effects ride stability and ability to flip/spin the board

2. WHEELBASE

effects turning radius

3. TAIL

helps control and manipulate the board for tricks

4. NOSE

usually wider and steeper than the tail

Design Details

CONCAVITY

curvature of the board between the rails (side to side)

ROCKER AND CAMBER

curvature of the board between the nose and tail

A diagram of different board curvatures

GRIP TAPE

Increases friction allowing more precise control of the board.

A illustration showing the different forces acting upon skateboard shoes.

F = μs * N

INCREASING μs INCREASES THE FRICTIONAL FORCE THAT HELPS THE SKATEBOARDER STAY ON THE BOARD AND IMPART SPIN DURING TRICKS.

TRUCKS

TRUCK HEIGHT

Can be thought of the as the fulcrum to a lever — the higher the trucks, the greater the mechanical advantage and the higher the pop.

A diagram showing how truck height affects the amount of work on the board.

TRUCK WIDTH

A diagram comparing different truck widths

WHEELS AND BEARINGS

DUROMETER

Measures the hardness of a wheel using the Shore scale.

A diagram that shows the durability for wheels.    

WHEEL SIZE

A diagram of different wheel sizes.    

BEARINGS

Reduces rotational friction and support radial and axial loads.

A diagram of different types of bearings.    

ABEC RATINGS – 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

BONES RATINGS – REDS, SUPER REGS, RACE REDS, SWISS, SUPER SWISS, SWISS L2, CERAMIC