Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • Skateboarderists – recommend a good entry level board for young skater
  • piemann
    Free Member

    My eldest is learning to skateboard at a school club. He’s had cheapo boards in the past but I’d like to get him something a bit more, proper.
    Suggestions welcome.
    Budget up to £50.

    finbar
    Free Member

    You might need to spend a bit more than £50 to get something servicable I’m afraid (you wouldn’t buy him an Apollo, would you ? 😉 ) . £70-80 should do it though: take a look here:

    Complete Skateboards

    EDIT: actually, looking at everything on Rollersnakes properly, there are a few completes for £50 which look decent enough. How old is he? Take a look at the narrow/short youth ones if he’s young/small.

    DOUBLE EDIT: If he’s skating already, he’s probably already got a strong opinion of what companies are cool (maybe what the instructors are using at the club?). Might be a good idea to check before you get him something? When I got into skating in the mid 90s I was incredibly jealous of my two friends who had Alien Workshop decks.

    piemann
    Free Member

    Thanks Finbar, he’s 7 (but 9-10 in size/height so not the smallest).

    Cheers for the link – I’ll have a rummage through the site.

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    skids
    Free Member

    There’s no such thing as an entry level board, there are boards and there are toys

    scruff
    Free Member

    I bought my two eldest enuff completes discounted to £50 each. They are fine, cheaper deals can have rubbish bearings which do hinder learning.

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    firstly, congratulate your son for choosing a skateboard and not a stupid scooter. tell him from me… ‘good man!’

    ok, first question, what sort of skating will he be doing because if its skating in skateparks then you need a different set up to just cruising around the street.

    so lets assume the club are teaching him to skate transitions and, for want of a better way to describe it, trick skating. for this you need a conventional looking board, double kick and small hard wheels. but thats the easy bit.

    your kids height hugely comes into play but if you say he’s roughly the height of a 10 year old, and definitely with your budget, then you can at a push (pun intended) get away with a regular board in terms of lengtn (about 32″) and wheelbase (about 14.5″). width here will be the key and i’ll come onto that in a sec.

    the prob with putting a small kid on a full size board is that the stance becomes too wide, for a younger/smaller kid you really need to look for kids boards and for anyone reading if you can find them darkstar make the best cheap kids completes.

    but getting back to full size, the main thing you need to look at is width. decks these days have gone wider, 8.5″ etc but a smaller footed kid needs a narrow deck for control, massively so when they start learning to ollie and then kickflips etc. at the max 7.75 but less if you can for smaller feet. my son is a very good skater, aged 14 uk8 shoes and has only just recently gone to an 8″ deck.

    if you are buying a complete you dont need to worry about trick width, but 129 are what you should have, and wheels down around 53mm no more.

    i’ll do some links in a sec to completes, but there is a massive world of difference between a cheapo (event at 50-60quid) and a decent board. to be honest you would be better buying a cheap deck, cheap wheels, cheap bearings (skate bearings are just a standard bearing, look on ebay) and some good independent 129 trucks (pop some good soft bushings in, bones hardcore soft ideally) as the trucks will last you for years (my son is riding a ratted out set that i skated myself 10 years ago, they last).

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    skatewarehouse do some cracking discount days running up to christmas, sign up for the email…

    http://www.skatewarehouse.co.uk/skateboards/complete-skateboards/beginner.html?deck_size=52

    here you go, 31″ mid size complete…

    http://www.skatewarehouse.co.uk/fracture-broken-series-white-complete-skateboard-7-5.html

    other online stores are rollersnakes, routeone etc. i couldnt see much choice below 7.75 width at your budget.

    also a complete based on a cheap deck, indy 129 and cheap wheels comes in around 100quid.

    AND the big thing here, make sure you also buy him a helmet!

    chomp
    Free Member

    Don’t rule out second hand – but the deck new but you can pick up a cheap complete off eBay and use it as a donor for the trucks/wheels

    Where’s he learning ? Indoor/outdoor might mean a set of softer wheels would make it easier

    At the end of the day, go to a skater owned shop and not route one etc – they need supporting and ‘should’ give you good advice

    scruff
    Free Member

    Just get something with skulls on.

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    skating >>>>> scooter.

    CountZero
    Full Member

    Just get something with skulls on.

    That’ll be a Powell Peralta board, then, preferably with Bones wheels.

    scruff
    Free Member

    I was thinking Zorlac.

    andykirk
    Free Member

    Oh I wish it was me starting out all over again….. I miss the old skateboarding days. A truly wonderful sport.

    piemann
    Free Member

    Thanks guys, awesome suggestions. Lots to think about.

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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