What is a good beginners skateboard?

All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
This stupid sweater This stupid

Every year Christmas comes and it goes
Shedding tears where no one even knows
It so hard to be good when you are poor
I don't need a lot, just a little more

All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
This stupid sweater This stupid

Look around, everybody's got the goods
And I've been cheated and misunderstood
Santa's gone and messed up once again I've been good,
But I've still got nothing

All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
This stupid sweater This stupid sweater This stupid

I don't want your socks or shirts or ties
All I need is four wheels so I can ride
You can stick that sweater up your ass
Every time seems to be worse than the last

All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
All I wanted was a skateboard, but all I got was
This stupid sweater This stupid
This stupid sweater This stupid
Yeah!

dress cool, and go hang at the skate park.

buy a good used board and then hang ten, man...

(actually skateboards are banned within the state of Kansas, so I got no fricken idea)

The ones I knew were not plastic anywhere, and had good chucks and such...

They're banned in Kansas? For real?

<sigh>

I'd better get ready for another round of shame the danger parent......

<sigh>

not officially, but everywhere you could want to do it...

It IS Kansas.

Buy a cheapie and then replace the crappy bearings with Bones Reds, which you can get at any skateboard shop or many sporting good stores with skateboard components.

Okay! So I'm guessing I want a wheel that spins like crazy!

My backfence neighbor works at a skateboard shop where they make custom boards for pro skaters. When I asked him this question he got so technical that I couldn't follow along at all. The cheap boards at his shop go for several hundreds of dollars so when his recommendation far exceeded my budget.

At the risk of exposing my doltiness - what exactly is a bearing? I know what a ball bearing is -- is it the same thing? Do you have to buy new wheels or just new bearings? Do the wheels come with the bearings or what?

if u have a copelands sports, they sell complete decks with wheels and the board, like 80.00

buy a good board to start, safer and they learn faster

Yes, the wheels come with bearings, and the ones that come with cheap boards are crap. Here's a pic:



Those are the new bearings. You need 8 per board (2 per wheel).

And here are some vids that might help explain things ...

How to take out the old bearings:


How to put in the new bearings:


Tips on putting wheels on the "trucks":


How to assemble a complete skateboard:

Thanks Tico!

It looks like the deck doesn't make much difference so I'll just look for one that I think he'd like the paint job on and look for a good set of bearings to put in.

I was wondering about the safety issue, OG -- if different styles were somehow safer than others. Mo has been riding his board that I bought years ago for $2 at a garage sale and that thing scares the bejesus out of me. Since he still continues to try to ride it I thought a better board might ease my mind.

Welcome.


Trust me on the Bones Reds. Best bearing for the buck.

You have completely shaken up my impression of you, dude.

You didn't know I was a skater dude?

I have little Ticos running around here. Been there ... done that ...