Advice Centre

Skateboard Completes

Complete skateboards are the perfect way for beginner skateboarders to get their first set-up. All the completes sold on our site are made with top quality components that we sell individually as well. Completes will arrive at your door fully assembled and ready to skate. You can buy completes with ‘complete’ peace of mind that all the components will fit perfectly and run smoothly, so there is no hassle and no worry of parts not fitting. If you are thinking of buying a complete skateboard for your child and are considering just getting one from a department store or toy shop – Don’t! They are rubbish and won’t last.
Completes are also great for experienced skaters who’s current set up’s have taken a massive thrashing and everything on them is starting to fall apart. You save money over-all by buying a complete, and your experience will tell you that the components are top quality.

Decks

When choosing a skateboard deck there are a few things you need to consider before just grabbing the one with the best graphics.

1) Size

The size of skateboard decks is generally chosen from the width. The length of the decks will differ slightly, but this will be in proportion to the width. – Go by the width!
There is no definite formula as to what is the perfect deck size for you, but here are a few points you can use to help you.
Thinner decks ( 7.5 – 7.8 ) are better for technical street style skating – they are easier to flip, so perfect for learning new flip tricks on.
Wider decks ( 8.0 + ) are better for pool and ramp skating.
Wider decks are more stable, so easier for fast ramp skating and landing big stair sets and gaps on, but slightly harder to flip. Perfect if you’re into bombing big hills!
Skaters with bigger feet should go for a wider deck.
After you’ve been skating for a while you will get a good idea of what size deck you like skating, and what size decks suit your size and style. Skating as many different size decks as possible is the only way to figure this out.

2) Construction

Construction methods – Use the filter system on our deck listing pages to select the type of deck you want. You can use them to choose decks that are either extra strong or extra light.
Extra light decks – Can make it easier to ollie higher and learn technical tricks.
Extra strong decks – Designed to not snap as easily as some decks when taking a heavy landing.
Most of our decks are still made with standard wood and glue construction. Don’t be put off by decks without new technology or materials in them. Some of the best skateboards in the world are still made with traditional methods and materials, and are still used by most of the world’s top skaters.

3) Brand

Some brands have better reputations for building better decks than others. Some brands are more expensive than others. Some brands will suit your image and style better than others. – It’s up to you! All the decks sold on our website are from top brands, from America, England and Europe.

Trucks

The majority of trucks are 5.0” in hanger width. These are fine for most skateboard decks with widths of 7.25” – 8.0”.
Most trucks are mid height. You can get low or high trucks.
Low trucks are often preferred for technical street skating and skaters that do lots of flip tricks. These are designed to be used with smaller wheels around 50 – 55 mm.
High trucks are often preferred for people that just like cruising and going fast so you can use nice big wheels 58mm +.

Wheels

The wheels you choose for your skateboard will affect your speed and stability.
Have a look at this rough guide below:
50-55mm – Slow and stable, so great for technical / trick skating and smaller skaters.
56-60mm – A great size range for beginners, learning to skate anything from street to ramps.
60mm+ – Great for going fast on Longboards, old-school boards, and over rougher surfaces.
All our skateboard wheels are sold in sets of four.

Bearings

Skateboard bearings are what mount your wheels to the trucks. They ( along with the wheels ) determine how smoothly your skateboard will roll and how fast it will be.
Bearings are all the same size, so any bearing will fit any wheel – Simple!
Bearing speeds are measured by the Abec scale. The higher the Abec the faster the bearing. I.e Abec 9 bearings are faster than Abec 3’s.
Faster isn’t always better, some technical skaters prefer a good quality abec 3 bearing as they can make it easier to judge your speed into blocks and ledges ect.
Bearings are usually pretty honestly priced – The more you pay, the better the bearings.