Buying Guide

Thing to look at when buying a longboard

Longboards come in different shapes, sizes and truck mounting styles. To decide what longboard, you need you have to know what style you are going to ride.

Wheelbase

Wheelbase is important parameter while buying a longboard. Wheelbase is a distance between inner truck mounting holes of board and affect stability and turning capabilities. Our longboards come with wheelbases ranging between 14”-35”

Length

Length is a distance between nose and tail of the board. Shorter longboards will turn better, but can be less stable and will have less space to stand on. Our longboards come with length ranging between 25.5” – 48”.

Nose and Tail

Nose is a front part of the longboard, where tail is at the back. Some freestyle longboards have steeper nose/tail known as kicktails. Kicktails are used to pop board while performing tricks.

Flex

Flex defines how flexible deck is. Different manufacturers have different scales; thus you should refer to manufacturer specification to find right flex for you. Decks with high flex are perfect for cruising, carving, dancing and freestyle as they offer nice shocks dampening. Decks with stiff flex are most common in downhill and freeride as they offer much more stability at higher speeds.

Concave

Concave is a sideways shape of your deck, there are various concave styles to fit different riding styles and personal preferences. Concave will affect how your feet are placed on a board  and also how much control you have while riding. Check our concave guide to see which one will fit you best.

Camber & Rocker

Camber/Rocker is a lengthwise curve of longboard, camber longboards have a curve that goes upwards. Decks with camber concave have unique flex feel. Rocker has a curve that points downwards and minimal flex, which makes them perfect for freeride.

Mounting holes

Mounting holes are holes where you mount your trucks to the deck, there are two styles of mounting holes – New School and Old School. Modern trucks are usually coming with both mounting hole layouts, however, make sure that they match before ordering them.

Hardware

It is not part of the deck, but it’s essential to mount your trucks to the deck. Depending on thickness of your deck, riser pads you use and trucks you need different length of hardware. Check the figure below to see what hardware you need.

Mounting style

Top mount – trucks are mounted in a classical style under the deck, it increases the centre of mass point and provides a bit less stability comparing to drop-through. They provide nice leverage that allows to do tricks.

Drop-through – trucks are mounted through the deck (deck must have special cut outs to allow fitting the baseplate on top part of deck). Hanger is attached underneath the deck. Drop through decks have unique shapes to prevent wheels from touching the deck. Drop-through decks are good for beginners as they provide much more stability than top mount decks. Provides much leverage than top-mount and it’s much harder to pop the board.

Dropped deck – trucks are mounted in top mount style, but the middle of the platform is lowered. This style has a unique wheel of top mount style as well as higher stability like in drop-through decks. Some dropped decks offer drop-through mount that lowers the centre of gravity even more.

Flush mount – trucks are mounted underneath the board, but deck has a special slot to fit baseplate. It slightly lowers the centre of gravity, but still provides a decent leverage.

Longboard Concave

Longboards have various concave options, concave is a sideways shape of your deck. Different concave styles will provide different feel and controllability of the board.

Radial

W-concave

Progressive

Gaspedal

Asymetric

Convex

Flat

Grip tape

Grip tape is a grainy tape that is being applied on top part of your deck. It allows you to control your board and ensures that your feet won’t be slipping on the board. You will need grip tape in most of your setups – apart from bare foot dancers which are not that common.

Grip tapes are coming in different colours, some of them might have laser cut-outs and different grit that affects how well it will hold your feet in place. Usually the lower the grit, the grippier tape is.

Grip tapes are coming in various sizes, so make sure that the grip tape you order is big enough to cover your longboard.

Wheels

Wheels are important part of your longboard and there are different lip styles, diameters, duro ratings, contact patches, core placement and core materials. You should think what you are going to use your longboard for to choose the right wheel for you.

Most of the wheels we offer are between 52mm and 83mm, however most of the longboards use 62mm-83mm wheels. Smaller wheels are suitable for street riding or specia slide setups.

Small wheels accelerate much better than big ones, but they are slower than big ones. If you’re going to cruise a lot bigger wheels will behave much better on rough surfaces.

Durometer is a standard of measuring wheel’s hardness. There are two different durometer scales. Most of the manufacturers use A scale – which is a 100-point scale to express wheel hardness. Second scale is B scale which is less popular and is mostly used for harder wheels, B scale measures 20 points lower than A scale, so 100A wheel hardness will be equal to 80B.

Softer wheels are much better for cruising as they have more grip and behave better on rough surfaces.

Harder wheels are good for street, skate park and other smooth surfaces as they offer less grip and slide more.

Longboard wheels come with different lip shape. Different lip shapes will be suitable for different riding styles and will affect how stable and grippy wheels are.

Contact patch defines how much of your wheel touches the ground and is affected by wheel width and lip shape. The higher the contact patch is, the grippier wheels will be.

Wheel core placement defines the placement of the wheel core, it is divided to three categories.

• Offset – offset wheels have a core placed closer to truck, that allows rider to use trucks with lower axle length. Offset wheels are much more grippier than other types due to force distribution.
• Centerset – centerset wheels have core placed in the middle of the wheel, that allows equal force distribution. Centerset wheels last longer and you can flip them once they start to wear down – which should prolong their life.
• Sideset – sideset wheels have core placed on the side of the wheel, they are one of the slidiest wheels available. Most of the force is being applied on internal edge of the wheel – that’s why they’re that easy to slide. The downside is that they wear down much faster.

Trucks

Longboard trucks are metal parts that you attach to bottom of your deck. That’s what hold your wheels, bearings and deck together. Trucks are responsible for turning and come in different styles depending on the riding style. Opposingly to skateboard trucks, longboard trucks usually come with reverse kingpin (kingpin face outwards rather than inwards – that provides better stability and sit slightly lower that traditional kingpin trucks.

Trucks are made of multiple parts including:

• Baseplate – a part that is directly attached to your deck.
• Axle – a long metal bar that goes through the hanger, that’s what wheels are attached to.
• Hanger – a triangle shaped part that supports the axle, it is mounted in the baseplate.
• Kingpin – a bolt that holds baseplate and hanger together.
• Bushings – rings made of urethane, they are fitted around kingpin supporting the hanger. There are different durometer options for bushings where soft ones will allow you to do sharper turns.

There are three main factors when choosing trucks for your longboard – axle width, angle and kingpin style. Choosing the right truck size for your deck is really important as it will affect performance of your board. Axle width should be as close as possible to your deck width.

Angle of trucks will specify how much your trucks will lean will turning. Trucks we offer come in various angles ranging between 8 degrees – 50 degrees. Trucks with higher angles lean much more, which allows to do sharper turns, but they are less stable. Depending on riding style you will need different truck style.

Bearings

Metal, round cylinders that are fit inside wheels and slide on axle. All longboard and skateboard bearings come in a standard size – 22mm outer diameter, 8mm internal hole diameter and 7mm height.

Bearings allow your wheels to spin freely. They come in different ABEC ratings. ABEC rating is an industrial standard that specifies manufacturing tolerances of internal parts of bearings. ABEC rating does not consider important factors like load handling, materials or lubrication; thus, ABEC rating is not accurate way of measuring performance. ABEC rating ranges from ABEC 1 to ABEC 11, where ABEC 1 should be the least precise and ABEC 11 the most. Sometimes ABEC 9 bearings manufactured by one company can be slower than ABEC 3 bearings manufactured by another company due to factors mentioned above.

Skateboard Deck Width

Width is one of the most important factors while choosing your deck. Depending on your height, shoe size, personal preference and riding style you should choose the right width.

Wider boards are heavier; thus, you need to use more power to perform a trick, however they offer a bit more space to land on.

It should be easier to do a trick on a smaller skateboard due to its weight, but it might be harder to land when you have bigger foot size.

That’s why you have to find the right size, so you can compromise ease of landing tricks and amount of power you need to perform it.

Things to look at when buying a Skateboard

The most important factor while buying a skateboard is width, but it does not mean that’s the only thing you should look at while choosing your deck. Skateboard decks have various sizes, but the most common ones are 7”-9 wide and 28”-33” length. The other important factor is a material the skateboard is made off – usually they’re made of plywood(Canadian Maple), but nowadays manufacturers use various materials including carbon fiber, fiberglass, resins or plastic.

Width

The most common deck widths for adult skateboarders are between 7.5” and 8.5”. Wider decks are heavier – you need more power to do tricks, which might make it harder for you to successfully land it. Smaller decks are lighter which should allow you to use less force while doing the tricks, however there’s less space to land on. If your shoe size is higher it might be uncomfortable to ride smaller deck.

Wheelbase

It is the distance between inner mounting holes of the deck, wheelbase determines the distance between your front and back trucks. The higher wheelbase is the more stable your board will be, however, your board will have higher turning radius.

Length

Usually between 28” and 33”, length is not as important as width and wheelbase and most often won’t affect performance for new skateboarders.

Nose and Tail

Nose is a front part of the skateboard, where tail is at the back. There are slightly different, and it might be hard to tell the difference, usually the nose is slightly wider than the tail. If you’re not able to see the difference, have a look at graphics as they also indicate where the nose and tail are.

Kicktail

Kicktail is a nose or tail that is pointing upward, it’ll allow you to pop your board while doing tricks. If you’re looking to do tricks on your skateboard make sure that your board has them.

Concave

Concave is a sideways shape of your deck, there are various concave styles to fit different riding styles and personal preferences. Concave will affect how your feet are placed on a skateboard and also how much control you have while riding. Check our concave guide to see which one will fit you best.

Mounting holes

Mounting holes are holes where you mount your trucks to the deck, there are two styles of mounting holes – New School and Old School. Modern trucks are usually coming with both mounting hole layouts, however, make sure that they match before ordering them.

Hardware

It is not part of the deck, but it’s essential to mount your trucks to the deck. Depending on thickness of your deck, riser pads you use and trucks you need different length of hardware. Check the figure below to see what hardware you need.

Longboard Concave

Longboards have various concave options, concave is a sideways shape of your deck. Different concave styles will provide different feel and controllability of the board.

Radial

W-concave

Progressive

Gaspedal

Asymetric

Convex

Flat

Grip tape

Grip tape is a grainy tape that is being applied on top part of your deck. It allows you to control your board and ensures that your feet won’t be slipping on the board. Despite the style of riding grip tape is a necessity. Most of the skateboard grip tapes are pretty much the same and only slightly vary.

Grip tapes are coming in different colours and some of them might have laser cut-outs.

Grip tapes are coming in various sizes, so make sure that the grip tape you order is big enough to cover your skateboard.

Wheels

Wheels are important part of your skateboard and there are different styles, diameter and duro ratings. You should think what you are going to use your skateboard for to choose the right wheel for you. The most important factors when choosing the wheels are diameter and durometer – a standard of measuring hardness of wheels and bushings.

Most of the wheels we offer are between 52mm and 83mm, however most of the skateboarders use 50mm-60mm wheels. Bigger wheels are suitable for cruisers and longboards.

Small wheels accelerate much better than big ones, but they are slower than big ones. If you’re going to cruise a lot bigger wheels will behave much better on rough surfaces.

Durometer is a standard of measuring wheel’s hardness. There are two different durometer scales. Most of the manufacturers use A scale – which is a 100-point scale to express wheel hardness. Second scale is B scale which is less popular and is mostly used for harder wheels, B scale measures 20 points lower than A scale, so 100A wheel hardness will be equal to 80B.

Softer wheels are much better for cruising as they have more grip and behave better on rough surfaces.

Harder wheels are good for street, skate park and other smooth surfaces as they offer less grip and slide more.

Trucks

Skateboard trucks are a metal parts that you attach to bottom of your deck. That’s what hold your wheels, bearings and deck together. Trucks are responsible for turning and come in different styles depending on the riding style.

Trucks are made of multiple parts including:

• Baseplate – a part that is directly attached to your deck.
• Axle – a long metal bar that goes through the hanger, that’s what wheels are attached to.
• Hanger – a triangle shaped part that supports the axle, it is mounted in the baseplate.
• Kingpin – a bolt that holds baseplate and hanger together.
• Bushings – rings made of urethane, they are fitted around kingpin supporting the hanger. There are different durometer options for bushings where soft ones will allow you to do sharper turns.

There are two main factors when choosing trucks for your skateboard – axle width and truck profile. Choosing the right truck size for your deck is really important as it will affect performance of your board. Axle width should be as close as possible to your deck width.

Axle width	Deck width
6″-7.25″	6.5” to 7.25”
7.5″	7.25” to 8”
7.75″	7.5” to 8”
8.0″	8” to 8.5”
8.5″	8.5” to 9”
9.0”	9” to 10”
10.0”	10” wide or more

Truck profile is a height of your truck. You have to choose the right profile for your wheels. They come in three different types. It is important to choose the right profile to avoid wheel bites – situation where your wheel touches the deck while turning –  and ensure proper stability on the board.

Low profile trucks

Due to low centre of mass you will be more stable on the board, low profile trucks are designed for small wheels that don’t exceed 54 mm diameter.

Mid profile trucks

Slightly higher than low profile, is a good compromise for stability, suitable for wheels between 54mm and 57mm.

High profile trucks

The highest trucks, will be a less stable, but will allow you to fit bigger wheels that are sized 57mm and more. Often used in cruisers or longboards.

Bearings

Metal, round cylinders that are fit inside wheels and slide on axle. All skateboard bearings come in a standard size – 22mm outer diameter, 8mm internal hole diameter and 7mm height.

Skateboard bearings allow your wheels to spin freely. They come in different ABEC ratings. ABEC rating is an industrial standard that specifies manufacturing tolerances of internal parts of bearings. ABEC rating does not consider important factors like load handling, materials or lubrication; thus, ABEC rating is not accurate way of measuring performance. ABEC rating ranges from ABEC 1 to ABEC 11, where ABEC 1 should be the least precise and ABEC 11 the most. Sometimes ABEC 9 bearings manufactured by one company can be slower than ABEC 3 bearings manufactured by another company due to factors mentioned above.

What is the difference between Suftskates & Longboards?

The surfskate offers a completely new and different way of riding compared to traditional longboards! The mouvements on the surfskates are very similar to surfing and therefore very different from longboard and skateboarding.With the Surfskate trucks there are many more possible movements. By shifting the weight – from toe to the heel – speed can be built up on the board – called pumping. This technique just like surfing allow you to generate speed without having to put your feet down to push. This will be very difficult to do with a conventional skateboard or longboard trucks. The Surfskate trucks are much more manoeuvrable than Longboard trucks and allow very tight turn and carve which are simply not possible with Longboard trucks.

Which Surfskate brands are there?

Carver Skateboards

Carver skateboards from California – Is one of the pioneers in surfskate development – comes with two  surfskate trucks: Carver C7, Carver CX truck. Carver produces very high quality   surfskate trucks.  Check out our full range of Carver Skateboard currently in stock.

Smoothstar Surf Trainer

Smoothstar Surf Trainer: Smoothstar from Australia is specializes in surf training with the Smoothstar Thruster System . Those guys have been around for while and their trucks are pure surfer orientated. Check out our full range of 

 Surfskate Surf Trainer

Surfskate surf trainer: Surfskate from UK  is devoted to surf training with the Swell Tech system. Surfskate, a skateboard surf trainer that lets you  surf the streets thanks to its patented revolutionary 360 degree truck design. Check out our full range of Surfskate currently in stock.

Penny Skateboards

Designed for the flat-day fun, The Penny High-Line Surfskate replicates the feeling of surfing the streets.Check out our full range of Penny Skateboards currently in stock.

What’s the difference between trucks systems?

Carver VS. Smoothstar

If you are looking for a surf training or if you have already tried other surfskate and looking to take your surfing to the next level Smoothstar Surf is the right choice. Smoothstar have the most flowless Surfskate systems making any of your bottom turn feel like you in the water. The steering of  Smoothstar boards is clearly extreme.

The Surfskate trucks of Carver, Carver C7 and Carver CX are more stable than those  Surf and Smoothstar. If you want to cover a slightly longer distance besides surfing manoeuvres, carves and pumping, the Carver skateboards are the right choice. Surfskate beginners will also find it easier to get started with the Carver Board.

For the pro: Get the  Smoothstar !

Carver VS. Surfskate UK

When the guys at Surfskate UK  made their  trucks system I believe they only had one goal in mind, make the Swell Tech system a surfing machine. Those trucks have one purpose is making you a better sufer.

The Surfskate trucks of Carver, Carver C7 and Carver CX are more stable than those  Surf and Smoothstar. If you want to cover a slightly longer distance besides surfing manoeuvres, carves and pumping, the Carver skateboards are the right choice. Surfskate beginners will also find it easier to get started with the Carver Board.

Smoothstar VS. Surfskate UK

Smoothstar and Surfskate UK  are made for pure surfer who wants to improve in the water. The Smoothstar Thruster system offers a little more adjustment for the rider. The Surfskate UK  Swell Tech system  make any  surf tricks possible. The Smoothstar boards are a more aggressive with their concave but the Surfskate UK board are mini surfboard.

Carver C7 VS. Carver CX

Carver Skateboards has two Surfskate trucks: Carver C7 and Carver CX. The Carver C7 . Both trucks are very similar the CX is a more versatile trucks  and will allow you to surf in the skatepark, go downhill and practise your surfing the CX does it all. The C7 is smoother and your turn will be more aggressive. Both trucks are great for surf training.

Penny Skateboard VS. Carver

The Surfskate trucks of the Penny Skateboard , are really similar in sensation to the Carver trucks.

The Penny surfskate system convinces us as a cheaper alternative to the Carver .

No matter if you like the design better or want to dig a little bit deeper into your pocket – the Penny  boards  Surfskate system are just as much fun.

That means with the 2 boards and the truck systems you can carve, cruise and pump and have a stable feeling despite the flexibility of the board. These boards are recommended for beginners to experienced cruisers.

Which Surfskate deck is the best for me?

Not sure about what the best decks for you ?Below is chart with body height, weight and board length as a guide.

Height	Weight	Surfskate Length
under 155cm	3.93st – 8.66st	under 30″
150cm – 170cm (5”0` – 5”7`)	6.30st – 11.80st	27 – 31”
160cm – 181cm (5”3` – 5”11`)	7.87st – 13.40st	30 – 32”
165cm – 187cm (5”4` – 6”2`)	9.45st – 14.17st	31”- 33”
175cm – 193cm (5″7` – 6”4`)	11st – 15.74st	32”- 35”
182cm – 203cm (6”0`- 6”8`)	13.38st – 18.90st	34”- 39”

Use the chart  as a guideline to pick a suitable  surfskate for you-But nothing is set in stone! Depending on the use and purpose, the chart can also be ignored: For example, if you are looking for a Mini Cruiser surfskate for the city and are bigger than 180cm, you can easily do this with a board under 30″. Same work for someone who is lighter  and like to ride a long surfskate for long distance pumping. However, you should always check if the length of the board still suit your normal stance, ideally you want to position your feet above the rear truck and slightly behind the front truck.

Surfskate Beginner

You have no experience with longboards, skateboards or surfskates? That’s not a problem!

With some practice you will learn to pump and carvevery fast. After the first few sessions, you’ll make significant progress and get the hang of it! No matter your age.

As a beginner you feel more comfortable on a stable board. Therefore, we recommend a longer and wider board with a long wheelbase. Beginners are also advised to wear protective equipment such as helmet and kneepads.

Recommended Boards and Brands: Carver Skateboards

Advanced Riders

You already have a surfskate or surfing experience, or you are riding a longboard and skateboard and you are looking for something new. After a short time you will master all Surfskateboards!

Recommended boards and brands: Carver skateboards, Smoothstar, or any other.

Pro Riders

The wheels of your surfskate board are already worn up and you call the bowl and skatepark your second home, then you should definitely have a look Smoothstar and Surfskate UK!

Recommended Boards and Brands: Smoothstar, Surfskate UK

Which Surfskate for which purpose?

Which Surfskate suits best for Surfskating?

For surf training we recommend  Smoothstar or Surfskate UK. The Surfskate truck systems from Smoothstar and Surfskate UK have the strongest turn radius among all surf skates. With Smoothstar or Surfskate UK boards you can do much tighter turns and surfing maneuvers like cutbacks than with other surfskateboards.

If you mainly want to push your surfing skills, Surfskate UK and Smoothstar is the right choice!

All-round Surfskate for surf moves and cruising through the city

In addition to surf maneuvering, you want to cover a longer distance or simply cruise through the city, we recommend a Carver Skateboard.

We hope you find the right board! Otherwise just send us an email!