What’s Best for Beginners
The best thing for beginner skateboarders is to just go skateboarding. No, really.
So much of skateboarding is just personal preferences. Everyone develops their own unique style. There’s no such thing as “The best board for a beginner” or “Best size deck” for someone your age, height, or foot size. The most beautiful thing about skateboarding is that it’s yours! There is no right and wrong. It’s individuality.
We can give you some basic tips, or help explain why someone might want a wider deck or larger wheels. There are reasons for all of that, but until you try skateboarding for yourself, you’re not going to know what your reasons are. You need to take some time to find your personal preferences. We’ll give you a little guidance but there’s no rush here. It’s just you.
Same with getting better at skateboarding. How do you get better? Simple! You skate more. That’s it. Your brain literally has to map out what doesn’t work in order to find what does.
So, what do we recommend for beginners? We recommend you get a skateboard, and you ride the $#%@ out of it.
Some things to consider when buying your first board are:
Your budget - Getting a full pro-quality customized setup can be expensive. And you don’t know what you’re doing yet. You don’t need all of that. What if you don’t stick with it? I know I’m supposed to be trying to make money here, but what’s more important to me, is to help people find and love skateboarding. The DSC will never push you toward a product you don’t need, to drive up the price, just to make a buck. We’ll actually try to talk you out of expensive things you don’t need.
Quality - On the flip-side to your budget, there is quality. Trust me. You DO NOT want to just go get a board from Walmart or Target or Amazon. Nothing will kill your interest in skateboarding faster. The wheels and bearings are so crappy, it’s actually really difficult to ride them. Spend a little more, get a quality product, that will actually function.
Upgrades - What if you do stick with it? You start developing your own preferences, and you want to try larger wheels or different bearings. Can your first board be upgraded? Well, if you bought a Walmart board, probably not. Putting better bearings in those sucky wheels is pointless. Moving up in component quality you’ll run into issues where good parts don’t fit on these bad boards. Whereas starting with a quality board, all the parts would be interchangeable. You can get better trucks. Or better wheels. Or better bearings. Or replace the grip tape. You don’t have to buy a whole new skateboard. Upgrades can be made in stages, as the longevity or the parts is a lot better too.
Size - Remember when I said it’s all personal preference? Well, it is. But, there are some average ranges when it comes to size. They make skateboards that are a little smaller (called a Mini) that we’d recommend for really small kids, like under 10 years old or under 52” tall. But for the most part, if you’re even close to that size and age, just get a regular full-size complete.
Well, what’s that even mean, “full-size”? When it comes to the size of a skateboard, width is the most important dimension for a beginner. Most quality boards are between 7.50” to 8.75” wide. And out of those, the most common sizes people are currently buying tend to be 8”-8.25”. When buying a first board, it’s pretty safe to stay in that 8” to 8.25” range. Wider boards can help you land tricks, especially rotations where you want the board to stay with your feet as your body rotates. But wider boards weigh more and can be harder to pop tricks higher off the ground or can be harder to flip when doing flip tricks like a kickflip. So there are trade-offs with going wider or skinnier. That’s where personal preference comes into play.
As for wheels, most quality wheels range in diameter from 50mm to 60mm (Maybe larger if you bomb hills, skate a lot of transitions, pools, halfpipes, vert ramps, etc). But the most common sizes people are currently buying are 52mm to 56mm. It seems like only a 4mm difference wouldn’t make much difference, but it does. Once you get used to it, even 1mm or 2 can feel pretty different. When you’re first starting, you’re not going to know what’s best for you, but you can play it pretty safe sticking to the middle of the road here too 53mm/54mm/55mm. Larger diameter wheels roll faster, can roll over larger cracks, can help you push or pump less. But, they are also heavier. So popping tricks higher and flipping your board can be more difficult. Smaller diameter wheels can feel more stable, and lighter. Making flip tricks easier.
The hardness of the wheels is another factor. Wheel hardness is mostly measured in what’s called durometers. Higher the number, the harder the wheel. Most range 78 to 103 durometer. 78 is really soft, bouncy, grippy. Good for soft comfy rides on rough terrain. Whereas 103 is very hard, faster, powerslides easier, considered better for skateparks. The most common wheels sold for street skating and skateparks are 95-101 durometer. Again, you’re safe anywhere in this middle ground for your first board. My own personal preference is maybe a little on the softer side. I like some grippiness, and a smooth ride. But not too soft, cause soft wheels don’t slide. My favorite wheels right now are Bones X97 Formula, which is a 97 durometer, but these are unique because it’s a special formulation of urethane that still grips and gives a soft ride, but slides wonderfully! (and I skate 56mm wheels)
As for trucks, when just starting out, just get an aluminum truck, that’s the same axle width as your board’s deck is. There are different alloys, different heights and weights, and different pivot geometry, just skip all that when you’re a beginner you’re not going to realize the benefits of that stuff yet. Save some money where you can, don’t buy the magnesium ultra-lights.
Same for bearings really. Bearings are usually ABEC rated. Higher the number, the more precise the machining of that bearing is. Don’t get ABEC 1 bearings. But there are perfectly good Abec 3, 5, and 7 bearings. You’d think the higher the # the faster the bearing, but that’s not always true. Other factors can have an effect on that. But the best selling bearings and the ones we most commonly recommend are Bones Reds. They’re top quality, reliable, durable, and pretty inexpensive. Or Mini-logo bearings which are basically made by the same company as the Reds, but maybe a buck or two cheaper for the set of 8 (2 in each wheels)
With that all said, the best thing we recommend for beginners (from our shop) is actually our pre-built Dirty Skate Co. shop completes. These are typically 8” wide board, with 95-99 durometer 53-54mm diameter wheels, blank standard aluminum trucks the width of the board and either reds or mini-logo bearings. Kinda hitting all those middle-of-the-road areas, affordable, and still being top quality.