Skateboard Anatomy 101

Introduction to skateboard anatomy

A skateboard consists of some components. Some skateboards are sold already preassembled with those elements, that is called a complete skateboard. These skateboards are normally precise in case you are simply beginning out because they may be inexpensive and producer already made sure that the additives used on this skateboard work nicely together. Once you have a better knowledge of various parts and what position they play inside the skateboarding dynamics, you may pass for a custom built skateboard. In this case you may be assembling a skateboard your self with your preferred components.

Grip tape

Grip tape is a sand-paper like sheet that is applied to the top of a board. It provides traction between skateboarder’s shoe and a skateboard. It is self adhesive and usually comes free when buying a deck. They used to be only black, but nowadays you can buy them in different colours and graphics, which gives better customization options for your skateboard.

Hardware

Bolts and nuts that mount trucks to the skateboard are called hardware. Each truck is mounted by 4 bolts and nuts, so you need 8 of them in total. Hardware comes in a variety of colours as well as two different sizes: 7/8″ and 1″. 7/8 inch hardware is used without riser pads and 1 inch hardware is used with riser pads. Some skaters like to have differently coloured hardware to be able to easily tell the nose and tail apart.

Image portraying skateboard hardware containing bolts and nuts. One set of bolt and nut is of a different colour. Doing so makes it easy to tell your nose and tail apart.

Trucks

Trucks help you steer, and they’re what comes between your board and wheels. You need to buy two trucks for your skateboard. Sometimes the prices are for both trucks, and sometimes for each, so look out for this when buying trucks.

Trucks consist of few parts, one of the weakest being a king pin, which, however, nowadays is pretty well made and way more solid than it used to be. You should choose a good brand when buying trucks because they need to be well made in order to sustain the wear and tear of daily grinding (pun intended). They also don’t wear as much as your board, wheels, and bearings, so if you don’t do too much grind tricks on them, they’ll most likely outlast the rest of your gear.

An overview of various truck parts

A truck consists of a few parts, which allow it to attach itself to the skateboard, control steering strength, and roll wheels.

A hanger is the top part of your truck. It is attached to the baseplate and contains the axle. It provides the surface that the grind tricks are performed on. An axle is a metal rod that runs through the truck hanger. Wheels are attached to it and held in place by axle nut.

A baseplate is attached to your board. The hanger is inserted into the baseplate and held in place by a kingpin and pivot cup.

Bushings are two urethane donut-shaped pieces that go above and under the hanger on the kingpin. If you tighten the kingpin nut, bushings will get squeezed, thus decreasing the turning radius of your truck. If you loosen the kingpin nut, bushings will decompress and allow for wider turns.

This is how a skateboard truck looks like. Image shows most important parts of a truck: two bushings, hanger, baseplate, axle, axle nuts and a pivot cup. Naturally, kingpin is not visible but is held in place by a kingpin nut.

Truck width and profiles

It’s important to choose trucks, which are the right width and profile for your board. The width of the trucks must match your board — you don’t want to be riding trucks that are wider or narrower than your deck. If ever in doubt, tell the shop assistant what board you have and they will help you pick the right trucks for you.

A truck profile is the height of a truck. It’s measured from the axle to the bottom of the board. Higher trucks allow you to use larger wheels, thus you’ll be able to feel less resistance on the ground and ride faster. They are good for transitional skaters. Street skaters prefer smaller wheels with lower trucks. This gives them faster response time when they pop the board, better control over their flips and grinds.

Wheels

Wheels come in many different colours, graphics, sizes and even hardness, which is called durometer. Wheels are made from a hard plastic called polyurethane. Your riding style will influence your wheel size and durometer.

Wheel size is measured in millimetres. The larger the wheel, the faster your skateboard will go. This is because the wheel will cover more surface in a single turn. The smaller the wheel, the more you’ll feel cracks and terrain.

When riding vert, you want fast wheels, so go for something that’s 55mm+. When riding street and doing technical tricks, like grinds and flips on ledges or boxes, then go for wheels that are 50-55mm. If you like speed and do many ollies and tricks that require jumping stair sets, you’ll want larger wheels, something along the 55mm+ size. If you’re a park rider, you’ll want universal wheels. Good choice is 53-58mm.

Wheel durometer is measured in A and sometimes B grade. An A grade is industry standard for soft plastics and most of the wheels are measured in an A grade. However, there are some companies, that measure their wheels in B grade. B grade is a little bit more accurate and it’s about 20 points lower than A grade. Basically, what this means, is that B grade = A grade – 20. For example, if you have 84B durometer wheels, it will translate to 104A.

Skateboard wheels stacked on top each other.

Soft wheels are good for cruising, because they have a better traction with the terrain and provide a smoother ride with better grip on turns. Hard wheels are great for doing technical tricks because when you slide on the side of your board and your wheels touch the surface of the ledge, they won’t grip to it and will allow you to slide smoothly.

If you like cruising the city, go for soft wheels. 84A should do fine. If you like technical tricks in the park, you’ll want hard wheels — 95A+ should be good. Vert riders will also want hard wheels, since the wood that the ramps are made of is soft and you’ll want to compensate with hard wheels — 99A+. However, if you ride pools, you’ll want a little softer wheels, something like 84A-95A.

Bearings

Bearings are the small round steel component that fit into your wheel and are mounted onto the axle. Good bearings will allow your wheels to spin faster and longer. Inexpensive bearing balls are made from steel, whereas expensive ones are made from ceramics. It is a good idea to get bearings that have one of their bearing shield’s loose. This way you can open them for lubricating and cleaning. Some bearings are graded using an ABEC scale. It goes from 3 to 7, 3 being the lowest quality and 7 being the highest quality. Higher quality means that the bearing will be faster.

Image displays parts of a skateboard bearing, consisting of: casing (also known as outer race), inner race, ball bearings, delrin crown (known as retainer) and bearing shield.

Spacers

Spacer is small metal tube that goes in between your bearings when you install them on your wheel. They are absolutely optional and typically have no real impact while riding your skateboard. In theory they should keep your bearings evenly spaced and vertically aligned. Some people think that they make your bearings last longer, however it’s difficult to measure. Instead, you should learn how to take proper care of your bearings.

Riser pads and how they help preventing wheelbites

Riser pads help you increase the distance from your trucks baseplate to your board. This makes your skateboard higher, preventing “wheel bite”. If your trucks are very loose, when you turn, one of your wheels might end up touching your board, which might slow you down or throw you off the board. Another reason to have riser pads is to make your skateboard higher. Some people prefer this for higher ollies. But remember, the higher you are from the ground, the more difficult it is hold balance, the more difficult it is to make technical tricks and grinds. I haven’t felt a difference myself. The third reason is shock absorption. Again, this is just a myth with no evidence to support it. Try it out for yourself and see if it makes a difference, most likely it won’t.