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New School
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There is no such thing as new school of course as all skating crosses over, but it's a good way to define a sub-section of the skate market. Generally straight sided decks with nose and kicktails, 5 inch trucks, wheels from 49 to 60mm. Although a simple formula the variety is endless.
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Trucks
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Height - low trucks often used by street specialists as low clearance makes it easier to slap the deck down, higher trucks will help avoid wheelbite and will generally allow a better geometry for turning - more often used for ramp work, also helps avoid wheelbite. Can also adjust the overall height with the right riser and choice of wheels. Destructo Bam Margera is a typical high truck and Krux or Venture lows do what they say on the label.
Risers - we will generally fit a 1/8 inch soft riser to completes as it protects the deck and cushions the ride slightly.....if you want a low set-up just leave it out and if you are using big wheels you may need a bigger 1/4" riser to avoid wheelbite.
Bushings - most new school trucks will come with a set of bushings from the harder end of the range, replacements are cheap and easy to fit. For new school trucks we mostly get asked if we can tighten trucks, and often it s not possible as the bushings have been compressed right down the adjustment nut is at the end of the thread, putting in a hard bushing set will do the trick. The opposite applies if you want a carvier set-up, you slacken off the kingpin and you find that the hangar moves but is not in contact with the bushings, time for a set of softer bushings in that case.
Kingpin -generally the better known trucks will come with a decent hardened kingpin, cheaper trucks may not, but then you may never give them enough of a hammering to worry about it. The type of kingpin is one of the biggest differentiators between newschool truck brands, for example Grind Kings use a threaded insert in the base and an allen key headed bolt, the advantage is that the head of the kingpin is well out of the way of the hangar (great for grinding) and the quality is good, if the kingpin eventually snaps it is a harder replacement as the insert may need hammering out and replacing, you will also need an accurately fitting allen key (not metric) for adjustment.
Independents are a good example of a more classic set-up, an inverted bolt sticks out of the baseplate and a nut attaches the hangar, downside is that the nut usually stick up a bit more, but the upside is that it's dead easy to adjust and if the kingpin breaks its easier to hammer out and needs no extra insert (saves money)
Weight - some people prefer heavier more industrial trucks such as Independents. These will certainly last a lot longer when grinding concrete and Indys can be set-up to turn/ carve nicely, but the price is that extra weight
a lighter truck such as Tensor or Krux will help with those street tricks, can be combined with composite construction decks and aircore type wheels to make ultimate lightweights set-ups
Other truck stuff - make sure you use good deck fixings, that your axle and kingpin nuts are replaced if you have take them off too much (the nylon locking material wears down), always make sure you have two speed washers on each axle end
Trucks summary - if you ride your trucks tight and are not too worried about weight then most midrange trucks will do the job, an ideal truck in this case is the FOXII truck, cheap but very well made spending a bit more money is going to get you features such as a lower kingpin, lighter weight or ultra strong construction - choose wisely, let the force guide you.
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Decks
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intro - the majority of new school decks are 31.5" (with small variances and 29" decks for junior riders). Widths vary and each company will make models that range from 7.4" wide to 8" for new school boards. Incredible as it is that half an inch can make a huge difference to the comfort of riding. For younger riders a 7.5" deck is ideal, due to the frame of the rider and shoe size, also it is felt that these narrower decks will flip round quicker. A 7.75" deck is widely used when you want that extra stability a wider base brings, also deck width should increase with shoe size. Bigger decks will generally feel better for transition skating, to allow for that extra bit of stability and ease of manoeuvring. This is not set in concrete because at the end of the day you can skate whatever you want, wherever you want, i have seen 36" by 9" pool decks kickflipped with ease, hang up any preconceptions and go with what you think will work for you.
shapes - vary slightly, you may find some with bigger noses for catching the board with the leading foot and concave vary widely, ultra concave gives you more tranverse grip whereas flatter decks may feel more natural.
construction - most are 9 ply maple, Canadian maple, pressed in the US or Canada are generally best unless you are severely hampered by budget. Many decks now come with alternative construction such as glass and carbon composites layered between maple laminates, they promise lighter weight and increased strength, they are generally more expensive.
decks summary - personally if i was going to spend extra money on a deck i would put it into something like the Santa Cruz powerply's or Libtec composites, however the big boys such as Zoo York and Plan B do make excellent quality all maple decks. To our mind the hardest and best all maple decks we sell are by Skull Skates, they have been making decks like this since the 1970's and know whats what.
Many riders now put their money into good quality 'blank' decks. Good examples are by FSU and Speed Demons who make Canadian maple decks with a simple logo applied, you get the quality without the graphics. |
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Wheels
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All skateboard wheels have a durometer. This measures the hardness of the wheel on a scale of between 70A and 105A, with the higher number meaning the harder the wheel. A soft wheel will allow you to ride over most terrain, and give you a smoother ride. They also absorb more shock from a landing, and many prefer these for bowl or general transition skating. The downside is they won't slide as well and on smooth surfaces will not be as fast. The harder the wheel the easier it is to slide your board, flipside? well this old fool thinks they are too hard to ride on the street, but seeing as almost all the kids round here ride them just fine on every surface, it has to be me in the wrong. A hard wheel is less more likely to slip along curbs and coping. Again like truck selection it is down to preference and your style of riding.
Wheels also come in different sizes. Normal new school wheels vary from 49mm up to around 60mm. 50mm wheels are generally preferred amoung street skaters, whereas larger softer wheels are better for transition and bowl riding. It gets more complex, because some wheels are really narrow now, which saves more weight and decrease the contact area....whew!!
Cheap wheels can be okay, but be careful, there is a lot of rubbish out there in the sub £20 market. JSURF will often buy in decent mid priced wheels (which are either out of production or slight seconds) so you can have decent quaity without breaking the bank |
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Bearings, Spacers, Speed washers, Rims, Grip
It just goes on and on....decisions, decisions
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bearings - forget about this ABEC nonsense, it is not necessarily a reflection of good quality in skate bearings. Sure a Lucky ABEC-7 will be better than a Lucky ABEC-3......but a Lucky ABEC-3 might be miles better than a cheap ABEC-7........
we buy in good quality budget bearings and for most purposes they will cover you, but you will notice a slight improvement with some of the branded bearings
personally i would forget ceramics for this end of the market unless you have lots of money to replace them regularly, they will initially be fast, but do break down with the hard life they get on this type of set-up
best bet is to look after them, don't leave them out in the rain, wipe them over over, lube them occasionally and they will last a lot longer.....also don't over loosen your axle nuts, it may make the wheels spin faster by hand but it won't make them any faster on the street and the extra play will jsut distort the bearing casing over time
spacers and washers - use them! - from the inside of the axle out you should have a speed washer then bearing then correct spacer then another washer and finally the axle nut. Tighten it correctly to lose all the side play. This set-up means that when you tighten the axle nut the bearings won't distort as all the pressure should be on the inner ring of the bearing and not the casing.
rims - look nice and can keep dirt out of the bearings - why not?
grip - go for the good stuff (Jessup) in black, enuff said |
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Set-ups and Maintenance
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So what kind of set-up?, Don't be swayed by brands, go where the quality is and the rest will follow
Never skated, not sure if you wll like it? - Get a cheap (say around £30 or less) ready made set-up......sure it will be heavier and less tech but who cares?, bin it or sell it if you get good or if budget is tight, change the bits that mean most to you
Done some skating, want to take the next step? - There are mid priced completes by companies such as speed demons that have really nice components and are definitely a step-up from the cheapies.....alternatively talk to us about entry level custom set-ups, generally you can get a good blank deck, quality trucks and branded wheels for £60 to £70
Robbed a bank, loaded, 'found' some money, worked hard, it's my birthday!!!, i'm really good (delete those that don't apply) - For £100 plus you are going to start getting the best of everything.
Maintenance - Cant' say it enought, keep those axle nuts done up, check your truck fixings, clean and lube your bearings occasionally.........don't let you board and particularly your bearings and grip get wet............after a while you will start to wear the grip, a new sheet can make all the difference to your riding
Not sure? - Feel free to call or email us, we don't know it all but will always try and help you to find your ideal gear
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