How to Buy Skateboards Online

Skateboarding is already a widely recognized sport, and therefore it's usually easy to find a local store that supplies you with all your skateboarding needs - from skateboarding wheels, to decks, to trucks, to a host of skateboarding apparel. The great thing about having a local skateboarding shop is that you get the opportunity to examine the stocks first, then decide later on which one you think fits your needs best.

However, this isn't always the case especially if you live in quite a remote area, or in a location where skateboarding isn't that popular. Because of that, you probably need to travel several miles just to get to your nearest skateboarding shop. It can both be a waste of your time and money.

Why Buy Your Skateboard Gear Online

Here's the next best thing: buying your skateboard online. Buying your gear from the Internet provides you with hassle-free shopping because the stuff that you buy will be sent to you through mail. You no longer have to leave your house just to buy wheels, for example. Aside from that, online stores are generally better stocked with the latest gear than your local shop.

You need to be extra careful, though, when buying your skateboard online, including your skateboard wheels. We'll show you how to make your online shopping experience as hassle-free as possible.

First of all, check out skateboarding forums and reviews of the skateboarding gear that you want to buy. You need to do this because you can't physically check the gear first before you buy it.

Forums are generally a reliable source of information when it comes to the performance of particular skateboarding gear. You can then base your buying decisions on the feedback of the people in the forum. Alternatively, you could join skateboarding forums yourself and ask for the opinion of other people.

Once you've made a choice, find out if these are reliable brands that you're buying. By reliable we mean that the company should always deliver high quality products and has a good track record of delivering the goods to its customers quickly and reliably. Again, you can consult online forums on this one.

There are online stores that sell used skateboarding gear, which could get you great deals if you're looking for discounted stuff. However, there are types of gear that you should always buy new. These include skateboarding wheels, bearings and decks. Used wheels may be more susceptible to flat spotting, used bearings may already be worn out badly, and old decks may already have cracks in them. Besides, getting new wheels, bearings and decks are generally affordable, so don't skimp on these things.

Find out too if there are a variety of shipping options available to online buyers like you. Most online stores accept credit cards, so that means a more hassle-free transaction for you. Just be a bit careful when using your credit card online to prevent cases of identity theft and the like. Check out if the site is secure enough before you buy.

All in all, buying your skateboard gear online helps you shop from the comfort of your own home. So if you don't want to get out of the house to buy, let's say skateboard wheels, online shopping is the way to go. It's great too if there aren't any nearby local skate shops in your area. Just remember that a little research and caution will help potential problems that are the bane of shopping online.

The Fastest and Cheapest Way to Building the Best Skateboard

Unlike pro skaters who can afford to change decks, skate wheels, and other parts of their board at will, most of us don't have sponsors who will foot the bill for every customization that we make. This is especially the case if you're just starting out and you are trying to build your board out of your lunch money. You simply cannot afford to plunk down your money for something that you will end up being unhappy with eventually. Of course, you can sell the board off later. But if you can get something right from the beginning, wouldn't you do that?

So, when it comes to the fastest and cheapest way to building the best skateboard for you, it is actually the slowest one. What's the deal, then? When you work slower, that's how you get the best results that you're looking for. Read this article and we'll show you how you can make haste slowly but surely, as an old saying goes.

What Do You Want Out of Your Board?

The first step, of course, is to find out what you want and don't want from your board. This takes a lot of time with you experimenting on a variety of boards and configurations. And again, if you're going to build one configuration just to find out if you like it or not, then, you're going to bust your wallet in the end. What should you do, then? The answer: borrow and test as many boards as you can.

With every board that you borrow and test, find out the stuff that you like. Also, see what doesn't feel right. Are the skateboard wheels too fast? Is the deck too wide? Whatever you notice, ask for the corresponding figures from your friends. If the deck's too wide, for example, check out the width and try to look for a deck that's a little narrower.

It also helps to check out online forums and reviews on particular brands of decks, skate wheels and other parts of your skateboard. Of course, they won't be as good as trying the board yourself, but the information that you'll get will give you a good idea of what to expect from specific brands.

Another thing that you should consider is the type of riding that you often see yourself doing. Analyze the way you ride. Do you like doing tricks? Are you in it for speed? Your answers, of course, will determine the type of skateboard that's right for you.



All the time, you spend analyzing your riding style, borrowing skateboards, and all those things will definitely take a lot of your time. But realize that you will be able to arrive at exactly the right kind of board that you're looking for at the end of the day. The end result is that you spend your money on the right stuff and you will never have to throw anything away. Of course, you might have to change a few things as your style changes, but what you'll have is a board that grows with you as you become a better skater.

For beginners just starting to skate, the best choice of skate wheels would be the softest you can get your hands on to provide grip and from there you can gradually increase the hardness as you advance in skill level.

Modern Skateboarding

Skateboarding has been a popular sport for the past 3 decades, and is quite modern. In fact, skateboarding has been around since 1980, which happens to be the year in which the first modern skateboard was made. Since then, both young and the not so young enjoy carving the streets and experiencing the adrenaline rush of free riding, trick skating, and the like.

Skateboarding is deeply influenced by and derivative of the art and sport of surfing. Surfing, which was developed and rooted in Hawaii, is the act of riding waves with a surfboard. Similar to surfing, skateboarding entails riding a skateboard on land, and more specifically, paved or concrete surfaces. Skateboards are made in different styles and made with different skating methods in mind.

Some skateboards are styled and fashioned after longboard surfboards. While these skateboards are not intended for extensive tricks, longboard skateboards are great for bombing hills and carving while you cruise the streets.

There are also skateboards that are intended for trick skating. These skateboards are shorter boards which allow the skater to manipulate movement more quickly and effectively to perform stunts and tricks such ollies, casper flips, nosegrinds, and back stabs.

Skateboarding has been popular since the 1980's, as was mentioned in the early part of this article, and has then spawned its own culture. The skateboard culture is also known as punk or skate punk culture. Skate punk culture, like many different cultures, has a fashion and language of its own.

There are many brands and companies of manufacturers of skateboards and skateboard-related items. With the popularization of skateboarding and the image that it entails, also came the monetization and financial aspect of this sport. There are numerous skating contest events, skateboarding magazines, and skateboard fashion and clothing companies. Some of these companies include Element skateboards, Sector 9 skateboards, Birdhouse skateboards, Baker skateboards, the classic Powell skateboards, and many more. Usually, each skateboard brand has a team of sponsored professional skateboarders that represent them at skateboarding events.

If you're looking for a sick skateboard or skateboarding gear, check out Skateboard Trends for Element skateboards, Baker skateboards [http://skateboardtrends.com], Birdhouse Skateboards, and more great skateboarding equipment and accessories. Skateboard Trends [http://skateboardtrends.com] provides great listings for hot deals on skateboards and the related at greatly discounted prices. You will not be disappointed at the selection of skateboards, parts such as wheels and trunks, and great skate fashion wear and gear that they have.

Few Methods to Repair and Maintain a Skateboard

Like any other sports materials skateboards also need a lot of maintenance for providing its optimum capacity to the skateboarders. Many people neglect this or do not get the time to maintain their skateboards, as a result of which their performance degrades. People, who use skateboards regularly, must do proper maintenance. Many people purchase high quality skateboard decks, skateboard trucks and wheels from the well renowned manufacturers, but when it comes to the maintenance of the board they go for the cheap tools. The result of such negligence is known to all. Either the skateboarders do not get optimum performance from the boards or crash during racing and land up in any hospital.

If you are an amateur skateboarder, you may not know about the maintenance procedures of the skateboards. You can either do the maintenance yourself or contract a skateboard maintenance store. Giving a skateboard in a skateboard maintenance store everyday is not possible for the regular skateboarders. For them, the maintenance kits are the best. The skateboard maintenance kit consists of several tools like the skateboard rails, bearing lube, skateboard wax etc. these tools are very important for the maintenance of a skateboard at home. However, if you do not know the exact procedures for maintaining a skateboard, you must take the help of a maintenance shop. There are several things that should be looked after during this procedure. The balance of the board should be checked, the wheels must be replaced with new one according to its condition. There are several other procedures that must be conducted on the skateboards for optimizing its performance.

While repairing the skateboards at home, the skateboard wheels must be taken well care of. Wheels are the most important part of a skateboard. Due to regular usage the wheels may wear out, which can result to bad performance. The skate wheels must be replaced as soon as you find out that your wheels are not in the condition to be used. During cleaning, the bearings of the skate wheel must be opened and cleaned. Due to regular usage, dirt gets deposited within the ball bearing of the skate wheels. If proper cleaning of the wheels of the skateboards is not done, it can slow down the board while racing and even cause several sounds. Besides cleaning the wheels, the skateboards decks must also be taken well care of; mainly the balance and the grip of the boards. It should be seen whether the grip of the skateboard is good enough to hold the skateboarder. If the grip is not good enough, the rider may crash during competing with others.

Besides the skateboard maintenance tools, the safety tools required for skateboarding are also very important. As we know, skateboarding is a risky game and a slight mistake can cause severe injuries to the skateboarder. To prevent such situations, proper safety measures must be taken. A person must use proper safety tools like the helmet, elbow and knee caps to prevent such injuries. People must not neglect these maintenance tools and safety tools of the skateboards.

Woody's half pipe provides great quality of Skateboards, Longboard Skateboards for the skateboard lovers. The Almost Skateboards provided by them are also very good.

Music and Skateboarding

Music has always been involved in the world of skateboarding since its earliest history. The counterculture of skateboarding, in fact, is known for its wide variety musical styles. Today, there are several different genres that are closely identified with skateboarding. The music most identified with the sport tends to have a fast beat to pump up your adrenaline while skating.

Since skateboarding grew out of surfing culture during the 1950s and 1960s, it follows logically that the music and culture of skateboarding was originally quite similar to that of surfing. However, skateboarding would soon be seen as more counter-culture than surfing, and began to develop a rebellious attitude displayed through clothing and music. This punk influence is still quite evident in today's skateboarding culture.

One of the first music styles to be associated specifically with skateboarding was reggae. In the late 1980s, the SMA Rocco Division skateboarders, including Jesse Martinez and Jef Hartsel, helped to usher in the emerging reggae-skateboarding culture. The song "I N I Style" was credited to Jef Hartsel and fellow skateboarders from Rocco, Jamie Zebulon and Albert Naphtali. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, several of those involved in the skateboarding industry recorded reggae-style songs.

While skateboarding has traditionally been associated with punk or rock music, recently hip-hop and street culture have embraced the sport, having a huge influence on the music enjoyed by skateboarders. Today, skateboarding has grown to encompass a diverse fusion of cultures, including punk, hard rock, street, and hip cop culture. As a result, there is a wide variety of musical styles that are enjoyed by skateboarders around the world, though there is also a style popularized in skate shops that is specific to skateboarding and related sports.

One of the more recent moves within the skateboarding culture is the trend towards "emo" or "pop-punk" bands like Fall Out Boy or Green Day. These bands are very popular not only within the skateboarding community but also in the larger world.

Often, skateboarders will listen to their favorite music when skating around town or trying to get themselves pumped up to try new tricks. A perennial favorite among skateboarders is the band "CKY." The brother of popular pro skateboarder and stuntman Bam Margera (known for his "Jackass" movies) is in the band, one reason for the band's continuous popularity within the skateboarding subculture. Formed in 1996, CKY videos and music have long been favorites of skaters.

MXPX is another mainstay among skaters. MXPX is for upbeat music that is good for practicing tricks. For skaters who particularly enjoy getting their adrenaline pumping before a big race or performing a new trick, check out Offspring, NoFx, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, or Flogging Molly. All are quite popular among the skateboarding crowd.

If you are a skateboarder looking to find some new bands, head to your local skateboarding shop. Skateboarding goes hand in hand with the local music scene. Often, it is the smaller local bands that are more popular within the skateboarding sub-culture. If you skateboard with friends, ask them to bring some music; you never know what new bands you might be introduced to. While there are certainly some bands that remain popular with skaters year after year, the styles are always changing, and the subculture of skateboarding has grown to accommodate nearly every musical style.

Skateboard Helmets - All You Need to Know

No matter how skilled a skateboarder you are (or think you are) you will eventually crash or come off your skateboard. AND... it doesn't take much to do some damage to one of the most vital parts of our body...OUR BRAIN! Many countries have also set laws which require a helmet to be worn when you are skateboarding.

Important points to remember:

1. Buy a skateboard helmet, not a bicycle helmet - they are specially designed to protect you while you are skateboarding and often offer more coverage than bicycle helmets.

2. The best interior foam for skateboard is probably Expanded PolyPropylene (EPP). It looks like bike helmet foam, but feels a little bit rubbery. Unlike bike helmet EPS foam, EPP recovers and is good for the next hit.

3. This may seem like common sense but make sure you actually secure the helmet to your head! A helmet that will just fall off your head is absolutely useless if you come off and land on your head. Make sure also that the strap and buckle are strong.

4. Make sure your skateboard helmet meets the industry standards of your country. You should find a sticker telling you as much inside your helmet. Ensure it is Skateboard standards and not Bicycle standards.

5. A good Skateboard Helmet shouldn't need replacing every time you fall or crash. Keep an eye on the straps and buckles though and replace if necessary.

What Does a Skateboard Helmet Do?

A helmet softens the impact when the foam inside crushes or slowly deforms.
The hard shell on a skateboard helmet holds up under multiple impacts.

What Brands are good to buy?

A reputable brand of skateboard helmet is one that is dual certified (ASTM and CPSC). Such as Arc Freestyle, B-2, Pro Tec, Free Agent and Mirra.

Want to Learn How To Surf? 10 Things You Must Know Before You Start!

Here is my list of the top 10 things every beginner surfer must know before paddling out!
1. Choose the right surfboard & wetsuit!
2. Go to the right spot.
3. Go surfing on the right day.
4. Know what rip currents are and how to get out of them.
5. Know about localism.
6. Know how to catch a wave.
7. Know how to stand up on your surfboard.
8. Know how to make it outside (beyond the breaking waves into the green water).
9. Know some of the unwritten rules of the line up.
10. Have fun surfing is a blast!
1. Choose the right surfboard & wetsuit
You do not want to start on a super thin high performance short board, or any short board for that matter. When you are learning, you need to start on a surfboard that has some width and thickness to it, yes a long board. How long depends on a how big you are, the bigger the person the bigger the board should be. If you do not want to be a longboarder that's okay, but you will get a lot better faster if you use the long board. A longer board will help you to get the basics down. From there you can scale down in size as you progress, think of it in steps. A short board is super wobbly and unstable if you are inexperienced. Starting on a bigger board will help you progress faster, ride more waves, ride the waves you do catch further, and have more fun! Along with choosing the right surfboard is choosing the right wetsuit. You will want to check with your local surf shop about the wetsuit thickness for your area. Your average water temperature will determine what wetsuit thickness you should purchase or rent. You can also ask the local surfers what they wear.
2. Go to the right spot!
You will want to go to a beginner friendly surf spot. If you do not know of one, ask your local surf shop where the best beginner spots are. The weather conditions can make a beginner friendly spot into a dangerous place quickly. Stay away from; heavy shore break beaches, reef breaks, and point breaks. You want a mellow sandy bottom spot, with slow peeling mushy waves, and a small crowd. You want to learn to surf, not get beat up, held down and thrashed around. Do your homework and this will make the difference between having a good first experience or a bad one!
3. Go surfing on the right day!
As mentioned above every day is different, you need to respect the ocean. It may be your first day off in a month, but if the current conditions are 14' W swells @ 13 seconds, it may not be the right day. Unless you are surfing a protected cove that is blocking most of that swell and does not have rip currents. Waiting for a better day may be difficult, but you want to be safe. When the surf is big there is a lot more water moving around. Rip currents are generally stronger under these conditions. It is also difficult to surf in poor conditions because you will be wasting all your energy battling the current. Again check with your local surf shop, or check your local surf report. Some surf shops (like ours) have a surf report right on their websites.
4. Know what rip currents are, and how to get out of them.
A Rip Current is a strong narrow current heading from shore back out to sea. Returning the water seaward that is pushed in from the waves, wind, and the tide. If you get caught in a rip current, don't panic, it wastes energy. Do not paddle directly against it, you will get exhausted. You want to paddle parallel to the shore where you see the waves pushing in, to get out of a rip. Most rip currents are not very wide, so by paddling parallel to shore you should be able to paddle out of it. Remain calm, you want to be able to hold your breath at any given time while out in the ocean. You never know when a wave could break on you, or in front of you. You will not be able to hold your breath long while panicking, so remember stay calm. Work with the ocean not against it. Sometimes (with strong rip currents) you may have to go out with the rip into deeper water, where the balance is restored and the pulling current subsides.You then can paddle parallel to shore and work your way in. Remember do not fight the ocean, try to work with it. The ocean is bigger than all of us.
Signs of a Rip Current:
1. Waves will usually not fully break in the rip (Water is deeper in rip, because it's a seaward channel)
2. You may see objects or other surfers being pulled out to sea rapidly, with little or no effort.
3. A change in water color within the rip. It may be murkier from sediment, or greener from depth.
5. Know a little about localism.
Like with life, or even driving on the freeway, surfing has its dark side! Surfers that surf the same spots a lot start to feel like that spot is theirs. They like to take a sense of ownership of the spot. Some locals feel like they should get all, or most of the waves out there. New people who show up are considered intruders. Localism may show itself as; someone yelling at you, dropping in on you, flattening your tires, waxing your windshield, or even throwing your shoes and or back pack in the water, along with many other tactics. What can you do about it?
1. Be respectful to the locals. If you are a beginner you probably should not surf the same surf spots as the locals, until your skill level improves. You will most likely just get in their way, and give your self and the locals a bad experience.
2. When you are ready to surf with them, just try to be nice and give them respect. You will find that most of the locals are regular guys and gals who when treated nicely, and with respect will respond in the same way. (Yes, I know their are exceptions).
3. Do not show up with a big crowd of people to the local hot spot. The locals will not be happy with you, and you will most likely get a negative vibe at the least.
4. If their are 5 or 6 surfers on a peak and you and your friends show up to go surfing, it is usually better to paddle out down the beach and wait for the crowd to thin. Let them have the peak that they were on first, and do not invade them.
5. Get to know the locals and you may gain a friend and a surfing buddy. They are not all bad!
6. I could go on, but I think you get the point! Do to others as you would want them to do to you!
6. Know how to catch a wave.
The first few waves you catch will be in the white water (already broken waves). You will want to catch your first few waves in a prone position (laying down). You should point your board toward the beach, wait for a white water wave to come in, then lay down on your board and practice riding to shore. After you get that down you can practice paddling to catch the wave. To paddle you need to dig down deep and really try to stay smooth, and keep the board in a planing position. The paddling method will be more difficult. Do not be to far back on the board as you will push water.
7. How to stand up on your surfboard.
Before going to the beach, practice doing pop ups. Lay down on the floor with your hands near your chest but not too wide. You want to be able to push off your board to get up to your feet in one smooth motion, without touching your knees. Practice going from laying down, to popping up to your feet, and landing side ways in a surfers stance. Jump back down to a prone position and repeat, until you can do 20 of these pop ups without stopping. Remember it will be harder in the ocean because you, and the water will be moving. Your board will not be as stable as the floor. You do not want to practicing going to your knees. This is a bad habit and will make progressing much more difficult. Your first experience surfing will be much better, if you get this down before you ever enter the water! Remember stay off your knees.
8. Know how to make it outside (beyond the breaking waves into the green water).
Look for a channel, or a spot that the waves do not seem to break in. These spots will have murkier and deeper water. You might be thinking, "Hey that sounds like a rip current, don't I want to stay away from those?" If they make you uncomfortable, yes by all means stay away from them. Do experienced surfers use the rips, and channels to get out into the line up? Yes, surfers do work with the ocean and do use rips, and channels to get out into the line up easier, and quicker. When you work with the ocean the rip can help you to get out beyond the breaking waves easier. It is still important that you remember your limits. Did you check the surf report? Do you know how big the swell is? Are you in good enough shape to handle the current conditions and swell size? All important factors to think about. With a longboard it can be difficult to make it outside if there is a lot of white water to battle, and without a channel or a rip to help you. You can paddle straight at the white water, and before it hits you slide off your board and turn your board over holding on to the rails, and pulling the board downward as the wave sweeps over you. You will need to turn your board back over quickly and start paddling before the next wave or white water hits you. With perseverance you can make it outside depending on how big of a day it is, and how much white water you have to deal with, and how strong and determined you are. This is called turning turtle. Short boarders can duck dive, but this is a beginners article, so we are not going there.
9. Know some of the unwritten rules of the line up.
1. The #1 unwritten rule in surfing is, the surfer closest to the curl has priority. If you are on the shoulder of the wave and someone else is deeper (closer to where the wave is starting to break), they have priority. Always look before you take off on the wave. Beginners are notorious for just paddling into anything, unaware that someone else may have the wave already. I try to stay away from beginners for this reason. I do not want to get in a collision with anyone while I am surfing. This is one rule you don't want to learn the hard way. It can lead to collisions, getting yelled at, or at the worst causing a fight. I think it's better to know the rules before any of this happens.
2. When you are paddling back out, it is your responsibility to stay out of the way of other surfers, who are up and riding waves. That may mean you have to paddle wide of the take off area, and then back into the take off position.You do not want be in anybody's way. If you do find yourself in a surfers way, who is riding a wave, pick a direction and continue to go that way. Changing directions at the last second makes it hard on the surfer, riding the wave, to steer around you! The surfer, riding the wave, also has responsibility to try to prevent the collision. Most of the time they should be able to avoid you. But sometimes this means you will be wrecking their wave. In which case, they will not be happy. If you find yourself in this position, try to apologise, and paddle wide the next time.
3. Don't be a wave hog! If you just caught a wave, you don't want to paddle back outside, and sit deeper than everyone else. If you just had a wave, give other surfers a chance! It is better to give a wave than always take a wave. I understand that sometimes beginners do not paddle into the take off spot, and therefore never really get any waves. The better surfers usually get more waves because they know where to go and have the ability to take off in the critical part of the wave. As you get better you will learn where you want to be, and catch more waves, and hopefully give a few waves to a beginner. Beginners should try to find a spot where there are not a lot of other people out. This way they can catch lots of waves, and learn to surf faster, and have more fun without the negative vibe!
10. Have fun surfing is a blast!
Do not get discouraged or expect to much of yourself to early. Surfing takes a while to get any good at, but it is still fun while you are learning! Try to have fun and enjoy yourself.
There is no other sport like surfing! I hope this article helps to make your first surfing experience a great one! I was so stoked the fist time I went surfing, and I hope you to will share in that stoke!