Picking skateboard parts yourself is usually more expensive but worth it when you’re serious about skateboarding.
Also, you need to put the parts together but many shops assemble a skateboard if you don’t feel like doing it yourself.
I always advise to go to your local skate shop and tell them your budget. They love giving advice and geek out about gear.
If you don’t have a skate shop nearby, buying online is an option. It’s important that think about what you’re going to use your skateboard for so you can pick the right parts.
Mainly wheels are the culprit here, but let me break it down for you.
All-Around Beginner Skateboard Setup
If you don’t know what style you prefer, are new to skateboarding or just want something that works for all styles, go with this setup.
A beginner skateboard setup for should have the following specifications:
- A deck between 8.0 and 8.25 inches
- Wheels between 50mm and 54mm
- Wheel hardness between 96A and 99A
- Quality trucks that match the deck’s width
- Hardware, grip tape and optionally a skate tool
8.0" Beginner Skateboard setup Example 2
8.25" beginner setup:
- Independent 144 Trucks or Thunder 148 Trucks
- 8.25 deck (any brand will do)
- Spitfire OG Wheels
- Jessup Grip Tape
- 7/8 hardware
Street Skateboard Setup (Technical Skating)
Wheels suggestions: Spitfire Classics 52 mm-54 mm/99D, Bones STF. These are the most common (high-quality) wheels every street skater likes.
Any reliable brand B deck with matching Thunder trucks, Venture, Royal or Indy trucks. Standard bones Reds bearings, and 7/8 hardware to attach your trucks. Don’t forget to pick grip tape.
8.25" street skateboard setup
8.25" street setup:
- Independent 144 Trucks or Thunder 148 Trucks
- 8.25 deck (any decent brand will do)
- Bones Reds, Bronson G2, or Mini Logo bearings
- Spitfire Classics, Bones STF or 100's
- Jessup Grip Tape
- 7/8 hardware
Skate Park Skateboard Setup
This is a bit of a wider setup that is excellent for parks and transition skateboarding. The wider deck provides lots of stability and the Indy trucks are great for turning.
The larger Bones Skate Park Formula wheels are the best wheels for parks, I personally love them and so do most of the pros. You can also go for Venture Lo trucks instead.
8.5" park setup
- Independent 149 Trucks or Thunder 149 Trucks
- 8.5 deck (any brand will do)
Cruiser/Tricks Custom Setup
Setup:
- Deck: 8.5″ of any brand
- Standard Jessup Grip Tape
- Bones ATF wheels size 56mm with a durometer of 80A
- Mini Logo bearings
- Ace trucks or Indy 149 Trucks
Looking for a skateboard for cruising and tricks? Go for this cruiser/ street hybrid. This one requires you to pick the parts yourself but it’s really easy, I promise.
The Bones All Terrain wheels are soft and big (80A/56mm) and provide a smooth and stable ride, very forgiving on rough asphalt. Pebbles, twigs, or cracks are not an issue.
You can pick a blank skateboard deck (8.5″) from a trusted seller or get one with a graphic. Just pick a standard 7-ply maple deck with medium concave and lots of pop.
The wheels are great for both cruising and basic tricks. They are rather big and soft so skating a mini ramp or bowl will require you to push harder.
Pick Independent 149 Hollows or Ace trucks for a more carvier setup.
You can always pick cheaper parts and upgrade along the way, consider cheap mini logo bearings and jessup grip tape.
Know Your Style
Make sure you know what you want to ride and where. Different styles require different setups, some overlap where others need wider deck and different wheels. In general these are the most common setups:
- Setups for skateparks
- Setups for Cruising (and or) tricks
- Setups for Beginners
- Setups for Street
- Setups for Pools & Bowls
Picking the Right Skateboard Deck
The only thing you need to know is that decks between 8.0″ and 8.25″ is the standard for street skating.
Wider decks between 8.25″+ and 8.5″ are better for transition skateboarding (parks and ramps) because they provide more stability.
This doesn’t mean you can’t skate street on an 8.5″, actually a wider deck is great for beginners! I’ll leave that up to you.
The truth is many skateboard decks come from the same manufacturers. There’s a difference is how some of them are pressed and the shape.
Pick Trucks That Match the Width of the Deck
Skateboard trucks are the most vital part of your setup. Reputable brands are Venture, Independent, Tensor, Ace and Thunder trucks. While there are differences in price and quality, it comes down to personal preference.
Ventures provide stability, Indy’s and Ace are a bit more carvy and Thunder is a good choice for street skating.
Independent trucks are more durable, so economically that would be the best choice. Sure you pay a little extra but they outlast cheap trucks by a factor of 5.
| Skateboard deck width | Truck axle width |
|---|---|
| 7.75 inch to 8.0 inch | 7.75 inch / 197 mm |
| 8 inch to 8.5 inch | 8.0 inch / 203 mm |
| 8.5 inch to 9.0 inch | 8.5 inch / 216 mm |
| 9.0 inch to 10.0 inch | 9.0 inch / 229 mm |
| 10 inch or more | 10.0 inch / 254 mm |
Picking the Right Skateboard Wheels
As for size up to 56mm is fine. get 52-53mm wheels if you want to skate street and do tricks. 54mm to 56mm is great for transition skateboarding.
Spitfire classics are a great choice, Bones wheels are on par and for just cruising and tricks 54mm – 96A Ricta Clouds are a great choice.
I happen to have used all of these wheels and they are great, but designed for different purposes. It gets a bit more tricky here because you have to pick the right hardness (durometer) but this isn’t really complex.
| Durometer A and B | Style |
|---|---|
| 100A – 85B | Hard, great for skate parks and ramps/verts. less grip |
| 95A/96A – 81B/82B: | A solid option for cruising and tricks, a bit more grip |
| 90A/92A – 76B/78B | Great for cruising, bouncy for tricks, more grip |
| 85A – 71B: | Just cruising, more grip |
| 80A – 66B | Too soft for regular skateboards |
Don’t Spend Too Much On Bearings
Bones bearings and Bronson are excellent bearings and come in different price ranges but the cheaper versions are the best choice.
If you hear anyone talk about ABEC ratings ignore that, the ABEC rating has nothing to do with skateboarding, it’s for machines that need to be able to run 24/7 and should be ignored.
Make sure to clean them 2x a year to get the most out of them. Proper maintenance can triple their life span, oh and don’t skate in the rain. It will kill your bearings.
Grip Tap, Hardware, and a Skate Tool
Most shops will apply grip tape and you get free grip tape as a bonus. Standard grip tape is fine but fancy prints aren’t always the best.
Some tape will come off because of poor quality so don’t go shopping for fancy stuff unless you don’t mind replacing it when it peels off.
You need hardware for your trucks and they need to be the right size. It’s not complicated. The bolts and nuts to attach your trucks come in sets of 8.
If you don’t plan on buying riser pads or shock pads go with 7/8”. Get 1” if you want 1/8” risers/shock pads.
Make sure to get the right size hardware, it’s quite frustrating to get all parts and you totally forgot to order hardware.
If they’re too tall you could shorten them, but it will leave sharp edges, don’t do that.
