Hi, my 10 year old son is asking for a skateboard for Christmas. He currently has one of those plastic penny boards, which he uses regularly, so is past the complete beginner stage, and now wants a "real" skateboard. I would like to get something fairly decent and that he will be able to use for quite a few years (without getting too carried away, he is 10 after all), but know nothing about skateboards.
Any advice or recommendation woudl be appreciated
Thanks
Please Help Me Buy a Skateboard
slow on 09/12/2016 - 08:10
Comments
Maybe let the boy assemble it, then he knows how to replace parts as needed. Youtube has videos to help. No idea how much a setup costs today ($200-300?). 20 years ago I was paying over $90-130 for the deck alone, and would need a new one about every 6 months as I got better. Unlike a penny, a real skateboard will be grinded and broken away so quick. There are also different widths and sizes of things, so a skate shop will be a big help.
Personally, I would be guiding my kid away from the sport. I'd probably get him the board if he's that keen, but then try have him participate in other sports, gymnastics, basketball, swimming, or as a compromise maybe longboarding, or whatever. But that's just my own experience of smashed limbs, broken faces, and backward subcultures I encountered back in the day.
Yes, I tend to agree with your second comment, but fortunately he has other interests - in fact soccer and cricket are his number 1. And he is quite cautious on the board, not the daredevil type
Hope I didn't get yo too worried. I do remember injuries were an everyday thing. Usually nothing major, but as soon as you learn to kickflip or shuvits the board will start slamming into the shins everyday, to compliment an assortment of scrapes and bruises. Rolled ankles are perhaps another minor injury you could expect and an unbelievably painful thing that keeps you limping for a month. These are just an entre. If lucky, worst could be only a broken wrist or a small piece of flesh ripped off to the bone. My cousin faceplanted while going down hill on his first skateboard age 12, because of a tiny stone that wedged between the wheel. The injury was bad, and I don't like to think about it, so I won't go into the details. The sport is addictive, so we kept riding.
Where in melb are you?
Visit Ballistyx (in Ringwood) they can help you out.
Grab an element complete online
$100ish plus postage
Go to Port Melbourne 1 Fennell Street TODAY
They're having their 6 monthly warehouse sale.Full skateboards -trucks, wheels etc $50.
Dont know why someone neg you, so I set right.
This is Globe Headquarters and yes they are having a sale today, not sure if today only.for the weekend.
So as it happened I was heading back from the city with the kids yesterday and dropped in. Got him a complete board for $50, Globe skate shoes for $10 and various other bits and pieces for next to nothing. People were walking out with black rubbish bin bags full of stuff
My assessment of the board was based on
1. My son rode it around the shop a few times - "wow, this is so awesome, it is so fast and smooth"
2. Everything else was so cheap, so surely the board must be a good deal??
3. There were cool-as skater looking dude types buying them, so they must be OK?
I am now officially the best dad in the world (well this weekend at least)So thanks for the tip!
Glad to help.
Globe head quarters usually have sales every 6 months and heaps of people go.
Globe is well know skate Brand too.
Make sure he is padded up while skating!
Kicking myself I missed this! Where did you find the information on the sale? Hoping to not miss out on the next one.
i work in the area and they do flyer drops.
FYI the warehouse sale was posted on Ozb but was removed because of 'no listed bargains'
They also have a newsletter sign up - however not sure how you get on it unless you attend.Oh that sucks! Hopefully next time someone will post it with a bargain listed then…
Get a lower ABEC rating bearing as anything above 5 will be quite fast
Any deck will be fine.. between 7 - 7.5 in size. If he is a smaller kid, you should look into Element Twig decks.
Independent Titanium or Thunder Titanium. They're expensive but they're super light and strong, they are by far the best and will last the longest.
Bones wheels are my pick ($30-50ish). If he likes skating on random/rough surfaces, you'd want to grab a softer set of wheels. If he wants to get predominately on a nice skate park surface, 99a/100a is perfect.
Modus Black bearings, Bones Reds bearings - not the fastest, but fast enough for sure and good quality.
If you get a complete, they can be very heavy and have low quality hardware on there.. but they're best for bang for buck.
Thanks, appreciate all the replies. Done a bit of reading as well and it is all a bit clearer now. I may give him some money for it and then we can choose the components and build it together (and then he gets to choose colors etc).
Knowing him I think he would like to do it that way.
I am in the South East
As a joke you should get your boy a TECH-DECK, then give him the money.
reaction would be pricelessI must praise him thou… atleast he isn't wanting a hoverboard
that was soooooo last year GET IT ;)
Buy the components separately (deck, trucks, bearings, wheels) then put it together. Anything you buy as an individual component is probably going to be decent quality.
Decks only last about 12 months for a beginner. The other items should last much longer.