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Skateboarding => Shoes & Gear => Topic started by: GardenSkater77 on February 26, 2021, 09:54:02 AM

Title: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: GardenSkater77 on February 26, 2021, 09:54:02 AM
@moeb74

You seem like a really earnest polite guy, so I would like to help you out instead of busting on you for starting multiple threads about just starting again.

So...I made a thread for you and others like you.

It’s called a containment thread.

If you have a product question just ask here.

Alternatively, read the last 5-10 pages of active threads.

My advice to you is to get a wider board than 8.25”. For the first few boards back just Ollie. No flip tricks. Also, push. A lot. You need to cruise and feel it.

Remember, you’ll know when you are ready to send it. That little voice inside your head will say...Let’s fuckin’ goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: YungJugg on February 26, 2021, 10:48:07 AM
Unless you were previously a gear nerd, I couldn’t think of a worse place to go to when starting skating/coming back after 15+ years than the shoe/gear forum, maybe aside from Ben DeGros madness videos.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: moeb74 on February 26, 2021, 11:27:26 AM
@moeb74

You seem like a really earnest polite guy, so I would like to help you out instead of busting on you for starting multiple threads about just starting again.

So...I made a thread for you and others like you.

It’s called a containment thread.

If you have a product question just ask here.

Alternatively, read the last 5-10 pages of active threads.

My advice to you is to get a wider board than 8.25”. For the first few boards back just Ollie. No flip tricks. Also, push. A lot. You need to cruise and feel it.

Remember, you’ll know when you are ready to send it. That little voice inside your head will say...Let’s fuckin’ goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Thanks man. Great idea. There seems to be a lot of new guys out there starting again after 15-20 years with nothing to do due to the virus.

Appreciate the lookout!
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Xen on February 26, 2021, 12:40:23 PM
8.25x32 DLX deck
144 Forged Hollow Indys
Mini Logo bearings, bolts and grip (the new grit formula is, dare I say, not bad...click ML instead of MOB on a recent order)
52mm Spifire classics 99a

That should set anyone off on the right foot for getting back into it.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Frank on February 26, 2021, 01:03:27 PM
sound advice from garden skater.

got a few loose general recommendations.

trucks: go with the big 4 thunder/ace/indy/venture i sorted them from left to right for how potentially loose they are so if you want a more stable truck you go the right. why these 4? they are available in most shops and they are all reasonably well built and they all turn, tho some more or quicker than others. try and get a size flush with your deck of choice or maybe a bit smaller, so you can change boardsizes without the setup feeling off too much. any of these brands will handle your first year of being back on the board without breaking, unless you are unlucky and your aces axles bend, but i think this might have been a problem of the past. 

get big enough wheels to help you overcome cracks, this of course depends on where you live. but if you have to go through some crust i'd get 53 at least or better 54mm wheels, preferrably in 99a duro. just get f4s 99a, simply because they will last quite a while, them being under 101 takes a bit off the edge and makes your ride a bit calmer and you won't slip out as easily as with 101s while still being able to push them into a powerslide when you want to do them. they are more expensive than other wheels, but will outlast most to the point where they are actually cheaper in the long run.

in another thread you mentioned you wore puffy shoes back then. if you want that kind of shoe, i'd recommend looking at dc or es. they have a few re-issues or remodelings of ca 2000 models in their lineup. or maybe try and get a pair of the new axions if you're adventurous. there wasn't any feedback yet on those on here though. but plenty pals skating fine in dcs and es shoes. dvs and globe also still (or again) sell this type of shoe, but i can't vouch for their quality.

some other thoughts:

-dont buy revive/braille/cariuma/berrics because they are sus scientologists and prey on kids and people starting again who have no clue
-dont buy any cheapo truck other than mini-logo(decent, but ugly) or film
-dont buy board brand wheels and bearings
-personally i don't buy ps stix, because i think these boards are mad inconsistent and get soggy fast. i usually break them doing flat tricks. sometimes they were alright, but most straight up sucked ass. but your mileage may vary. i try and stick to bloards made at bbs, south central, pennswood and i am fine with dsm nowadays.
-a good shop will have all board specs and with some luck the manufacturer listed on their site. don't trust shops that don't know what they are selling. often these people have no clue other than what they use themselve and just talk you into buying whatever or they will tell you it doesn't really matter because shit is the same anyway. not true.
-a good local will not be judgemental about you getting back into skating and will be able to provide you with all this info. why is it important to know where your board is made? maybe you want the same one again, but need to buy a different brand because the board is out of print. maybe you want to avoid that manufacturer in the future.

i remember 20 years ago no one had a clue where any board was made. you only knew it was made in us or not. basically we knew that powell did boards, we knew chapman existed and did zoo and we knew that dwindle, dlx brands and crailtap had their own wood, but we didn't know who produced it. in europe that is. so this might be new to you coming back. all that info is out there now though.

if i told you anything you already know, feel free to disregard or ignore.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: yourbreakfsat on February 26, 2021, 01:13:09 PM
Hot take: don't listen to anyone on here that tells you to do some weird fucky shit with your trucks. That might work for their own personal preferences, but it might not work for you.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Frank on February 26, 2021, 01:22:34 PM
Hot take: don't listen to anyone on here that tells you to do some weird fucky shit with your trucks. That might work for their own personal preferences, but it might not work for you.

yeah i second that, just find a truck, ride it stock and get accustomed to it. the frankenstein trucks only make sense when you have access to all the parts and stuff and that's mostly stuff skateshop people do to compensate for not having as much actual skate time.

avoid madness at the start, just get decent product and have fun.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: moeb74 on February 26, 2021, 03:43:28 PM
Thanks guys.. Im here lurking and reading...
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: sammyz on February 26, 2021, 03:44:26 PM
Great thread...this was me about 2 years ago.

My advice...find a local shop that has knowledgeable staff that want to help rather than some that have an elitist attitude...then, at said shop, get advice and stand on as many boards as you can.

Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: rocklobster on February 26, 2021, 10:38:53 PM
Hot take: don't listen to anyone on here that tells you to do some weird fucky shit with your trucks. That might work for their own personal preferences, but it might not work for you.

The moment you start fucking with bushings, top / bottom washers and pivot cups, you've gone too far. You can't go wrong with the big 3 - Indy, Thunder and Venture (but only if you grew up skating them in your youth); there's a reason why they are the biggest brands in the market as the provide the most neutral truck experience.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Mbrimson88 on February 27, 2021, 01:28:00 AM
The generic setup for people could also be based on build, height and shoe size, but also factor in what you want to skate too, so depending on a few options, this has worked fairly well in the past for helping people with boards.


Super tech / Junior / Child sized, go with 7.5 - 7.75" deck, 129 trucks, 50 - 52mm wheels.

Tech / Smaller body up to size 9 shoes, go with an 8" deck, 139 trucks, 52mm wheels.

All rounder / Medium up to size 11 shoes, go with 8.25" deck, 144 trucks, 52 - 53mm wheels.

All rounder / Large up to size 12 shoes, go with 8.5" deck, 149 trucks, 52 - 54mm wheels.

Transition / Man sized to size 13 shoes, go with 8.75" deck, 159 trucks, 54 - 56mm wheels.

Cruiser / XL / Big boy sized, go with 9" deck, 169 trucks, 56 - 58mm wheels*.

80s / XXL / Fun board, go with old skool up to 10"+ deck, 169 to 215 trucks, 56 - 60+ mm wheels*.


* often softer options for wheels like Slimeballs 95 - 97 duro for normal skating or even softer around 78 - 90 duro work best on these boards as cruisers.


Also note with truck sizes, I went with what is approximate mm of hanger size (which Indy use) as many other sizes are a little harder for people who don't know much about skateboards to get.

Just in case the size numbers of different trucks are confusing and you can always look up size charts, but here are general measurements for deck size with corresponding trucks that match:

Deck size around 8
Indy 139
Ace 33
Venture 5.25
Thunder 147

Deck size around 8.25
Indy 144
Ace 44 (actually 8.38 so sits a fraction wide)
Venture 5.6
Thunder 148

Deck size around 8.5
Indy 149
Ace 44 (sits a fraction under)
Venture 5.8
Thunder 149


Deck size around 8.75
Indy 159
Ace 55 (sits wide)
Venture 6.1
Thunder 161

Deck size around 9
Indy 169
Ace 55 (sits perfectly)
Ace 66 (sits wide)

Deck size 9.5 and up
Indy 215
Ace 66


Also note, quite a few people (including pros) who skate more street than anything else ride wider decks with not quite so wide trucks, eg Andrew Reynolds rides Indy 139 on 8.25+ decks.

Transition skaters will often ride wider trucks than street skaters, or at least trucks that fit with the wheels to the edge of the deck, eg Indy 149 on 8.25 size decks.


Truck heights do come into play when looking at bigger wheels or looser trucks (and heavier skaters) and although some people never put risers on lower trucks like Thunder, I go with thin risers on any Thunders but don't need risers on Indy or Ace with reasonable size wheels and fairly loose trucks.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Frank on February 27, 2021, 02:14:19 AM
not directly disagreeing with brimson but i would ignore those size charts.

i personally think dimensions are pure preference. according to most skateboard-fitting tables i'm supposed to ride a 7.75. i ride 8.25-8.5 with shoe size 8-8.5 at 5'6''.the way bodyheight/footsize/boardsize correlate is different for everybody. people with the same height might have differently long legs or feet.

if i was to come back i wouldn't give a fuck about what the board says. i would stand on different boards and go by gutfeeling, what feels good under my feet, do i like the concave and kicks. imo feeling trumps everything and is more reliable than any chart. if you stand on boards from 7.6-8.5 and you are like 6'10'' shoe size 14 but you dig the 7.6 i'd recommend you take exactly that board.

i can not stress this enough: gear madness(the false belief that the right incremental changes to your board will result in huge progress in your skating)is your enemy at this point, it will keep you more off the board than on. it's also a lie and i'm a recovering gear madman. i had so little time to skate when i worked in shops that i obsessed over everything because when i went skating the board and shoes had to be perfect. that's total bullshit. some guys are total gear nerds and that's fine, but if you blame your stock bushings for the fact you didn't master kickflip backtail yet, you're pretty much lost.

step one: figure out what board you like
two: get trucks of a matching size, like +/- half an inch of board width. don't worry if it's not flush. you'll be fine.
three: determine wheels from how smooth or rough most of the ground is you'll be rolling on. this is the only straight recommendation i have with 99a f4s because these ride well on a lot of surfaces and have a nice sweet spot for their sliding point while being very robust. but i never had the bones equivalent so i can't speak on that.
bearings and stuff is basically whatever. if you have disposable income there's nothing wrong with getting swiss, but you can have a good time with mini logo bearings as well.

basically if you have a good shop and if you trust yourself, you'll be fine i'm sure. some decision making will be left to you either way and there is always a chance stuff might not work out as planned. i had customers that were also starting up again getting their teenage setup rebuilt at first and then two years later they still skate but have transitioned into transition(damn, what a dumb sentence) skating or whatever and ride a totally different setup. so i wouldn't take that first setup too seriously anyway. you might feel that you want to skate something else now than 20 years back, in that case you'll figure it out yourself. 
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Mbrimson88 on February 27, 2021, 03:09:31 AM
not directly disagreeing with brimson but i would ignore those size charts.

i personally think dimensions are pure preference. according to most skateboard-fitting tables i'm supposed to ride a 7.75. i ride 8.25-8.5 with shoe size 8-8.5 at 5'6''.the way bodyheight/footsize/boardsize correlate is different for everybody. people with the same height might have differently long legs or feet.


The funny thing is I agree more with what you are saying than I agree with that very approximate and actually quite laughable size chart I put up, and more often than not with people who want a board but don't know what size they want, I will pull out three different boards and say have a skate on these and see which one is most comfortable for you.  Not always but more often than not they will get something that is in about the size and range as per what I put up though.

Being able to try before you buy is not really an option for almost everyone, in the normal shop sense and even harder buying online, but it is a lot easier at my shop in the free indoor skatepark I help at. The number of times people have come back and changed their mind completely to what they first thought they wanted, after riding a few different setups or even trying second hand parts of things they were not sure of when they walked in the door really helped them a lot too.

Before covid, I have had way too many people get boards that were recommended by the main local shop in the area I was in but then could hardly skate them when they came to the other indoor park I worked at, so we were often at odds with the wonderful people who ran that shop, compared to how happy the people were to ride my boards and get one based on that.  I guess that is the difference between someone who actually skates and helps people, vs what the shop needs to sell and what those guys recommended to customers who didn't have a clue and basically sold them whatever they wanted.

Sorry, I think I have really said way too much right now, but it just makes it so easy to help people when they can stand on the boards, get a feel for the concave, even ride a few different sizes before they buy anything and I wish there were more rad shop people rather than just wanna be / cool dudes who seem to not have a clue in being able to help people set up a board for their needs.

Note - don't get me wrong, there are also a lot of great local shops, run by or who have skateboarders working there who are awesome, but I have seen some shockers in more recent years too.

Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: cky enthusiast on February 27, 2021, 06:06:56 AM
8.5, 55’s at a soothing 99a, whatever trucks and bearings
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: j....soy..... on February 27, 2021, 06:48:01 AM
New skaters just don't want to buy the wrong thing.....what they don't realize is most of the stuff is pretty similar....like 60% of decks are made in the same factory....

There's a bunch of Facebook groups for older skaters if you want some friendlier...but probably less accurate info.....
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Easy Slider on February 27, 2021, 08:03:05 AM
As a skater who  was on a hiatus for 20 years when I came back last year I still had a bloard from back then and shred it until it broke (not long after).

I then just looked how wide it was (8.38) and ordered one online with the same width, as I could not go to a shop due to lockdown. I got a Real Full 8:38 Ishod which turned out to be 8.5 but I loved it and now that it's time to retire it I am very reluctant to let it go as it was/is such a great board.

Guess I just got lucky. I really had no clue and basically chose it based on width and because I liked the graphic. Tbh I didn't even know who Ishod was lol.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Frank on February 27, 2021, 11:47:41 AM
Expand Quote
not directly disagreeing with brimson but i would ignore those size charts.

i personally think dimensions are pure preference. according to most skateboard-fitting tables i'm supposed to ride a 7.75. i ride 8.25-8.5 with shoe size 8-8.5 at 5'6''.the way bodyheight/footsize/boardsize correlate is different for everybody. people with the same height might have differently long legs or feet.

[close]

The funny thing is I agree more with what you are saying than I agree with that very approximate and actually quite laughable size chart I put up, and more often than not with people who want a board but don't know what size they want, I will pull out three different boards and say have a skate on these and see which one is most comfortable for you.  Not always but more often than not they will get something that is in about the size and range as per what I put up though.

Being able to try before you buy is not really an option for almost everyone, in the normal shop sense and even harder buying online, but it is a lot easier at my shop in the free indoor skatepark I help at. The number of times people have come back and changed their mind completely to what they first thought they wanted, after riding a few different setups or even trying second hand parts of things they were not sure of when they walked in the door really helped them a lot too.

Before covid, I have had way too many people get boards that were recommended by the main local shop in the area I was in but then could hardly skate them when they came to the other indoor park I worked at, so we were often at odds with the wonderful people who ran that shop, compared to how happy the people were to ride my boards and get one based on that.  I guess that is the difference between someone who actually skates and helps people, vs what the shop needs to sell and what those guys recommended to customers who didn't have a clue and basically sold them whatever they wanted.

Sorry, I think I have really said way too much right now, but it just makes it so easy to help people when they can stand on the boards, get a feel for the concave, even ride a few different sizes before they buy anything and I wish there were more rad shop people rather than just wanna be / cool dudes who seem to not have a clue in being able to help people set up a board for their needs.

Note - don't get me wrong, there are also a lot of great local shops, run by or who have skateboarders working there who are awesome, but I have seen some shockers in more recent years too.

yeah, didn't want to knock you for it either. those charts are good for exactly that, when people can't show up in person for whatever reason or something. you gotta go by something. all that you said was true i was more like forget it if you get the chance to try those boards. i think we're trying to say the same, but are focused on different particular details or what ifs. i already talked too much as well lol.
Title: Re: Help skateboarders returning to skateboarding select skateboard products
Post by: Mbrimson88 on February 27, 2021, 04:53:04 PM

yeah, didn't want to knock you for it either. those charts are good for exactly that, when people can't show up in person for whatever reason or something. you gotta go by something. all that you said was true i was more like forget it if you get the chance to try those boards. i think we're trying to say the same, but are focused on different particular details or what ifs. i already talked too much as well lol.

That is why we are here and that is what this is for!  :)