Throughout America skating style and culture is widely popular. Skating brands like Vans and Thrasher are super popular and almost anywhere you go you see people wearing it, along with other skating brands. Most of these people, to your surprise, are probably not skaters. But if you are like me, then you want to jump on bandwagon and learn how to skateboard, but you don't know where to start. Finding the perfect skateboard for you is harder than you think. There is actually a lot of different parts when it comes to setting up a skateboard and tons of different styles to choose from. Here is a step by step process of how to set up a skateboard for beginners.

1. Find the perfect deck

There is two different basic decks to choose from. A longboard and a skateboard. (There are different sized longboards and skateboards, but honestly just pick out the deck you think looks the coolest and easiest for your first board.) Choosing between the two depend on how you are wanting to ride your board. If you are just wanting to coast down sidewalks and streets, then longboards would be the best. If you are wanting to learn how to do tricks then you would want to get a skateboard. Remember by deck I just mean the base of the whole skateboard or longboard. (Like no wheels on it or anything)

2. Finding wheels

When picking out wheels it is important to pay attention to measurements. All skateboard wheels are usually measured in millimeters (mm). The bigger the diameter of wheels the faster they go. Smaller slower wheels are good for doing tricks. 54-59mm is good a good size for beginning skateboarders. Wheels the size of 60mm+ are for longboarders. Density is also important when picking out wheels. The harder the wheel the faster, but the softer wheels have better grip.

3. Bearings

Bearings is the metal pieces that are inside the wheels that mount them on the axle. Bearings consist of a c-ring, a bearing shield, an outer ring, an inner ring, steel balls, a ball retainer, and a rubber seal. When choosing bearings it's usually based on the price and quality of the bearings. The rate them based on this and you can usually find the rating online or on the package.

“Most bearings are measured by an ABEC rating. The higher the ABEC rating, the more accurate and precise the bearing will be. This rating system includes grades 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The ABEC rating does not specify many critical factors, such as load handling capabilities, ball precision, materials, material Rockwell hardness, degree of ball and raceway polishing, noise, vibration, and lubricant. Due to these factors, an ABEC 3 classified bearing could perform better than an ABEC 7 bearing.

###b skateboard bearings tend to be the least expensive, the most crude, and the least accurate. The quality of the steel is not very high.

ABEC 3 skateboard bearings are generally inexpensive and do not roll smoothly or quickly.

ABEC 5 skateboard bearings are standard for most types of skateboarding. This rating gets you a fast speed at an affordable cost.

ABEC 7 skateboard bearings are very fast, smooth, and cost slightly more.

ABEC 9+ skateboard bearings are extremely fast! They are great for downhill skating and skaters that want to move insanely fast.

There are a handful of companies that do not use the ABEC rating scale, such as ###a href="Bones" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://www.warehouseskateboar... Bearings. Bones Bearings uses their own rating system known as Skate Rated. Their bearings do not follow the ABEC ratings because they are superior in performance and the ABEC rating ignores many quality factors on which Bones Bearings prides itself.”

Go on warehouseskateboards.com for more information.

4. Trucks

No, trucks are not the vehicles you drive in. (At least not in this case) Trucks are the piece of the board that connect the wheels to the deck. Trucks consist of an axle, a hanger, a kingpin, and bushings.

The size of your truck is according to the size of your deck. Measure the width in inches and use the following information from www.warehouseskateboards.com to figure out the sizes for the trucks.

– 5″ Hanger / 129mm / 7.75″ Axle skateboard trucks fit decks from 7.5 to 8 inches.

– 5.25″ Hanger / 139mm / 8.0″ Axle skateboard trucks fit decks from 8 to 8.5 inches.

If it’s 9ins or above then it is for bigger skateboards or longboards.

– For decks 8.5 to 9 inches, use a 149mm skateboard truck.

– For decks 9 to 10 inches, use a 169mm truck.

– For decks 10 inches and above, use a 215mm skateboard truck.