Just bought myself a setup last week. Rolling about the house and, this morning, the garage, has proved one thing, my balance is shot to shit. To be fair, the garage isn’t as smooth as it could be, so maybe a trip down the skatepark next sunday morning for some smooth concrete is in order.

I find it quite hard going from rough tarmac to super smooth concrete, suddenly everything’s an awful lot faster and you don’t need to push so much!

I tend to just roll on smooth concrete.

Can anyone recommend a compete normal board for my lad? Small wheels are fine but reasonable hardness wheels (say mid/high 80s) for pavement would be good.

enuff completes are great value and decent. I think they do 2 different sizes for youths and adults- at least they used to. I used to own and like the rasta ones.

Whatever you decide just try to buy from a Skater Owned Store and not a chain like Route One etc

The Skate industry is being shafted by big corporations and it’s the little guys (who’ve supported it while it was in the crapper) who get the short end.

Most decent shops will give decent advice on what they have in stock and what would suit your needs

Skatewarehouse are skater owners I believe. Based in Devon and they do their own brand board. They have few options but here’s one.

https://www.skatewarehouse.co.uk/venom-custom-complete-skateboard-black-deck-8-25-black-trucks.html

Cheers everyone, ordered an Enuff board from the shop linked above!

I started again Nov 18 after probably 11 years since I last skated anything other than a longboard and over twenty years since o skated seriously.

I’ve been loving it – easy access to mini ramps / parks (never ever got to skate ramps back in the day) and a local crew of over 40’s skaters have really inspired me. There’s no way I’m at a level street skating that I unused to be and I don’t bounce well enough any more to try anything too gnarly but I’ve actually moved past my old level on transition!

My Vimeo account

https://vimeo.com/user28785870

pretty much chronicles my progression over the year. Latest clip here

Been keeping it low impact although I smashed a tooth trying to learn fakie to FS smiths the other day!

This is making me want to dig my board out..

Spent last night watching Public Domain.. Happy days..

https://youtu.be/x3KzCEWTE1E

Loving that @ceepers, I’ll check out the rest of your channel later on.

I was away in the hills over the glorious weekend so no skating for me, but the kids are back at school this week so if MiniMonkey plays ball (I was up with her from 5 this morning, so late into work = short lunch) I’m gonna try and get down the skatepark tomorrow at lunch, and see if I can still ollie.

Had a good blast into work this morning, way behind most of the folk on here but I’m feeling a lot looser on the board.

Whatever you decide just try to buy from a Skater Owned Store and not a chain like Route One etc

The Skate industry is being shafted by big corporations and it’s the little guys (who’ve supported it while it was in the crapper) who get the short end.

Most decent shops will give decent advice on what they have in stock and what would suit your needs

Totally agree with this – which online stores are skater owned nowadays? I’m pretty sure Native Skates, Black Sheep and Legacy are, but there’s tons out there.

I picked up a set of 60mm / 78a Ricta Clouds t’other day, got them fitted earlier this week and got to have a skate on them for the first time this morning. First impressions are that they look MASSIVE – not just next to the old wheels, but on the board too. Second impressions are HOLY CRAP they roll well!

On the old wheels I was constantly pushing just to keep moving, let alone keep any speed – on these they just roll for ages, even on the crappy tarmac that makes up most of my commute – and they make bits that were basically unrideable almost smooth.

I’ve yet to try any tricks on them (or on the old wheels, really) and I imagine they’ll be trickier to ollie or flip (and impossible to slide) but since most of my riding is likely to be cruising to work and back I’m not really too fussed. Plus they look kind of ridiculous, but I’m a middle aged man on a useless wooden toy, so I care even less about that.

Watch out for wheelbite. Maybe time for some risers.

No wheelbite so far – I run my trucks quite stiff (the marks on there are from when I was setting them up).

I do have 1/8″ shock pads on there, but I might up them to 1/4″, we’ll see.

Like the look of those Ricta Clouds.
From the website..
“Set up the 78a urethane Crystal Clouds on your cruiser / filmer board or on your regular skateboard when you’re hitting crusty spot. Don’t let a rugged terrain get the best of you, set up Ricta Crystal Clouds and get to it.”

crusty spots? That pretty much covers most of the UK!

We’re in the slow process of working with the council to get a skatepark in my town – drop me a line if anyone has any experience of this.

cheers

Jim

I’m a fan so far. I think slightly smaller might have made for a better all rounder, but meh.

I actually do have some experience of getting a skatepark built, but it’s a loooooong while ago (though the park is still there, still in heavy use and has just been massively upgraded). I’d be happy to offer any help I can do, drop me a PM on here if you like.

To to follow on from above where I asked for beginner board recommendations. The Enuff board turned up yesterday and I’m super impressed with it! Board looks lovely, wheels and bearings are fine considering the price and the trucks turn (so bushes are not too hard).

Thanks again for the great recommendation.

glad you like it SammyC. Good choice. It’s not just a beginner’s board!

I said earlier that I put some cloud nines on mine. I was wrong of course and meant Ricta Clouds the same as above. They really do make a huge difference and turn a normal board into a cruiser. I think I put a spacer on too.

Haha, I’m pretty sure Cloud 9 wheels are a thing too. I was amazed how much difference they made tbh, carries speed so much better on the rough stuff now.

Hi guys – been looking through this thread with interest, recently dug out an old cobbled together setup (cheap old school 23″ mini cruiser deck with 90s venture 8.5″ trucks & slimeballs – not the prettiest but it works, kinda) using it to keep up with my 2 year old on her scooter but fancy something a bit bigger.

What’s the best option for general cruising around without spending a fortune? Probably don’t need a 40″ drop through longboard but what about a cruiser / pintail type thing? Would something like that work with my existing trucks or would it be better to pick up a cheap complete for £40 or so?

Cheers!

nothing wrong with getting a longboard.

Sounds good – fancied one for a while, had a look at some cheaper completes from mindless / osprey / Maui for around £40-£50, any reason not to go with any of those or is one better than the others?

Used to skate plenty – then started again a few years ago. Ive let it lapse again. But this is a friendly bunch

http://www.middle-age-shred.com

Any good?

https://maxtrack.com/product/atom-39-micro-drop/

I’m not sure of the best one out of those. I should image they’d all be fine. I personally would go for a longer one if some come up shorter. Would be good if you can find a reduced one.

That Atom looks just the ticket – could spend more than that cobbling some random bits together once you start buying new bolts / bearings / risers / tape etc.

A twin tip like that is probably a better shape for me than a pintail, I do like some wood grain on show – I’ll tell the wife it’s an important parenting tool… which is true as my 2 year old daughter was extremely impressed by me dragging her along on her scooter on the old mini cruiser #stillgotit #neverhadit

I quite fancy a longboard, but I’ve never skated anything without a kicktail and the idea scares me a bit! I barely use it on the commute though…

Really tempted by a longboard (even though I definitely don’t need one) and those Atoms look pretty cunning. I know nothing about longboards, which would be best for general cruising around flat, craply surfaced streets and maybe trying to carve a little bit?

Bezzed down one of the local parks for a quick session at lunch today after a fairly crappy weekend, and rather helpfully the sun decided to come out just as I got there! Took me less than 13 minutes from leaving the office, including stopping and chatting to nice lady in a hijab who used to skate. Takes all sorts.

Anyway, first time in a park in god knows how long, and it’s fair to say I’m a little bit rusty. Spent a while trying to relearn ollies (I may have landed one or two, but I’m not sure there was any actual air) then playing around on the transition trying to kickturn.

It wasn’t pretty and I’m VERY rusty, but I can’t think of many better ways to spend a lunch break in the middle of Hull.

Video to follow at some point maybe, if it’s not too embarrassing. Also I need to get one of those tiny little tripods for my camera, leaning it against the grind box isn’t the ideal solution.

Ollie attempt video as promised. Even if I do feel a bit like I’m talking to myself. Don’t laugh too much.

Side note: has anyone skated Film trucks? The old Route One own brand ones I have at the moment are pretty dire, and Film look pretty decent (plus it’s a French company, so getting away from the US big 3). Either that or Ventures I reckon, which is what I always used to skate.

Size question.
My 143cm tall/sz 4 shoe son wants a Popsicle stick skateboard as he’s wants to learn how to oli. Already spends a couple of hours a week cursing on a Penny nickel.

Is 7.25″ x 30.25″ deck gonna be good for him? With 5″ trucks? I know he will grow and I’m happy to buy him bigger deck(s) as does.

What’s that in feet and inches? I’m old school 😉

Took me a while to work it out but..

He’s 4’8” with 2 feet.

I reckon he’ll be fine with that. I think my deck is about 32″ length, Skate Warehouse have some 7.25 x 29ish” completes which is quite a big difference.

Of course learning to ollie is still really hard…

ide note: has anyone skated Film trucks? The old Route One own brand ones I have at the moment are pretty dire, and Film look pretty decent (plus it’s a French company, so getting away from the US big 3).

Out of interest, is there anything in particular you don’t like about them? My main concern about cheap trucks would be breaking them, but that’s quite a rare event, even when launching yourself down stairs and stuff. I bought a setup with some cheap trucks and can’t tell the difference. And I reckon the only thing I’m likely to break is myself.

They seem to manage to feel really stiff and not turn particularly well whilst simultaneously feeling really unstable and loose, if that makes sense. In fairness I’ve not ridden anything else for years, I don’t remember my Ventures back in the day feeling like that but it could just be that I’m still getting used to the whole thing again. I did manage to break a truck once, but they were definitely cheap ones. I think it was a combination of being a fat knacker, trying to 50-50 on rough as kerbs and too many badly landed boardslides (all off really low stuff, no massive stair gaps).

Plus I like shiny new things, which is probably more to do with it.

A lot of the feel depends on the rubbers, which are available in different hardnesses. You can tighten soft rubbers to the max, and they’ll still be squidgy. Geometry obviously differs from brand to brand though, with varying pivot designs. Trucks are something I’ve never been picky about. If I didn’t gel with a board or even the wheels, that would bug me. But trucks, I always stuck on whatever was available at the time.

Yeah that’s true, plus the bushings are a few years old now (mostly spent in the loft, admittedly) so I dunno if they might have perished a little bit.

But really, it’s the shiny things.