Though it’s probably what comes to mind when you think of skateboarding, skateboards that are capable out in the street are only one of many varieties of boards you can choose. Not every skateboard will be fast on the street
You want to be careful when buying so that you get boards that can both cruise through the street and perform tricks on all sorts of surfaces in urban environments. When looking for the fastest skateboards to cruise the street, you will want to consider the types of wheels and bearings.
We’ve looked at the online market for skateboards for you and gathered five of our favorite street skateboards, listing out their pros and cons so you can see them at a glance.
There’s also a buyers’ guide and a small FAQ included below those so you can learn what makes a fast skateboard and, more specifically, a good board for using in the streets.
In a hurry? This is Our Favorite!
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If you need to hit the streets ASAP, we’ve got our favorite street skateboard right here so you can check it out and be on your way.
The best skateboard we found was the Hikole Complete Pro Skateboard which, whilst marketing itself as a great beginner board, is also made to be a good board to perform tricks with too.
See why we liked these boards in more detail below:
- The board is made from high-density Canadian maple wood that’s durable and shaped into a double kick concave design that also makes it great for tricks.
- Along with the nine-ply hardwood deck, there’s an extra layer of grip tape that keeps skaters on the board when performing tricks or traveling fast on this street board.
- Wheels are 55mm 85A polyurethane that’s soft enough for street performance and small enough to not get in the way when doing tricks, and the ABEC-7 bearings help you pick up speed.
Best Skateboards for Street – Comparison Table
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Best Skateboards for Street – Reviews
At the top of our list is the Hikole Complete Pro Skateboard, a board that comes with the assurance that it’s great as a casual street board for beginners and a good trick board for the more experienced skaters out there who want to freestyle in urban environments.
We say that because of the double kick concave design that this board has.
The deck of the board is a durable one since it’s made from high-density Canadian maple wood, which is strong enough as is, but only gets sturdier when layered on top of the other nine times.
An extra layer of grip tape on top of the decks is also great for keeping you on the board when executing tricks, though the grip tape and the graphic on the bottom of the board may wrinkle and develop bubbles after a lot of use.
The wheels are a 55mm diameter and an 85A durometer, which is soft enough for learners but have enough give in them to be suitable for tricks and other maneuvers that more experienced skaters can find value in.
These wheels are also held by the reputable ABEC 7 bearings that are great for keeping up speed when you want it.
- Double kick concave design makes this board great for tricks.
- Durable, high-density nine-ply Canadian maple deck.
- Handy grip tape keeps you on the board.
- 55mm 85A PU wheels are great for beginners and pros.
- ABEC 7 bearings help you pick up speed when you need it.
- Graphic and grip tape can develop wrinkles and bubbles.
The next option we have is a popular one from a recognizable brand, and it’s also Amazon’s Choice for the search term “complete skateboards 7.75”.
It’s the Element Section Complete Skateboard, which comes with Element’s own branded and durable seven-ply maple wood deck.
In fact, pretty much every part of this board is from the brand itself instead of being a Frankenstein’s monster of different parts from several companies.
We see this with the trucks of these boards too, being raw polished Element trucks that are great for cruising through urban landscapes.
Under those trucks are 99A durometer wheels that aren’t only ready to perform most street tricks you’ll want to do, but they’re relatively quiet when doing them too.
The trucks are also decorated with other features like ABEC 5 shielded bearings and 90A bushings that make this popular board great for common street use.
The shielded bearings lessen the mechanical friction when moving, resulting in higher speeds, whereas the 90A bushings allow the same by smoothing the turns you make.
- Element’s seven-ply maple deck is tough.
- Raw polished Element trucks are ideal for cruising.
- F99A durometer wheels are quiet and trick ready.
- ABEC 5 shielded bearings lessen friction during movement for speed.
- 90A bushings allow for smooth turning in urban landscapes.
- The deck will wear faster if you grind with it.
The third board we have is a rough and ready budget option that also ranks as an Amazon’s Choice product, and for the all-encompassing search term “skate board” no less.
It’s the Roller Derby Deluxe Series skateboard, a somewhat plain looking board that hides a bright graphic on its underside.
The deck is a seven ply one made from hard rock maple wood that’s durable enough for all the punishment you should want to put it through.
Attached to the decks are five-inch T5 trucks that are lightweight and allow you to weave through obstructed alleyways and the like, though some have expressed concern that the trucks may want replacement for a better performance.
The wheels are medium sized, sacrificing some speed for a more apt sizing that’s better for traversing streets and other concrete-based surfaces.
With these wheels and their wheelbases are branded Bevo Silver-5 bearings that dampen
We definitely recommend these if you’re after a competent skateboard whilst on a budget.
- Seven-ply hard rock maple wood deck is tough.
- Lightweight five-inch T5 trucks are great for weaving.
- Medium-sized 54mm wheels work well on the street.
- Trademarked Bevo Silver-5 bearings
- Our affordable option on this list.
- The trucks on these boards aren’t the best.
The fourth skateboard we have is the Powell-Peralta Vato Complete Skateboard, another skateboard that you can grab for a decent price that’s made with maple hardwood and lightweight aluminum.
That maple wood is layered in seven plies to make the deck strong and able to withstand your weight and any knocks or impacts it’ll face out on the streets.
The wood of this board is shaped into a deep concave design that makes this board a responsive and easy to control one, a useful property for a street skateboard to have since you can avoid people and other obstructions better.
These boards’ lightweight, aluminum trucks are manufactured, and quality tested by Skate One, ensuring that they’ve been looked over by industry experts, and the fact they’re light makes them easier to turn and results in a breezy ride.
As for the wheels of these boards, they’re 53mm in diameter so that they don’t get in the way when executing tricks.
That said, they’re harder at a 101A durometer rating, meaning that they’re harder to control on rough terrain and lack some bounce that you may want if tricks are the primary reason you’re buying a skateboard.
- Seven-ply maple wood deck is tough enough for the streets.
- Deep concave design gives you more control.
- Lightweight aluminum Skate One tested trucks.
- Mid-sized 53mm wheels are great for tricks.
- Harder 101A wheels are more difficult on rough terrain.
- Hasn’t got many ratings.
This last option is actually a very capable board, but it finds itself here because the board is all you get with this purchase.
The Vision Groholski Frankenstein Reissue Skateboard Deck is a great option for those looking to build their own board.
The deck itself, however, is a good one, being durable and stable thanks to its cruiser board shape and low concave design.
Part of that design is the modern truck hole pattern located towards the center of the board that makes assembling this skateboard with your own custom trucks much easier and more compatible with what you’ll find on the market.
It’s also available in a variety of striking colors and design options to have most people’s tastes covered.
As we said, it’s just the deck and so is more suitable for those enthusiasts looking for a specific board part when making their own purpose-built street board.
Since it’s only the deck, most prices to pay will pale in comparison to the prices you can get complete boards to, but this deck is even pricier than some whole boards out there.
- A durable skateboard deck that offers stability to its rider.
- Modern truck hole pattern makes assembly easy.
- Available in several color and design options.
- Just the skateboard deck.
- Pricier than some whole boards on the list.
Fastest Skateboards for Street – Buyers Guide
What Makes The Fastest Street Skateboards?
We’ve written this buyers’ guide with the intention of explaining the properties and features of different skateboards, and which ones make a skateboard better or worse to take out on the street.
We’ll be running through the deck shapes of skateboards, the materials they’re made from, their trucks, wheels, and bearings.
We’ve also included a Frequently Asked Questions section where a few common questions regarding skateboards have been answered.
Shapes of Skateboard Decks
Skateboards come in a variety of different shapes but the overwhelming majority of the ones above, and the ones that are ideal for performing tricks in an urban environment, are the symmetrical twin-tip boards with a concave in them for the sake of trick stability.
These street skateboard decks are the classic design that comes to mind for most people when considering skateboards, especially ones for use in public.
Other kinds range from longboards to cruisers, but they aren’t so pertinent to getting your hands-on street skateboards unless you only plan on riding them with no freestyling or trick performance, like using them only for commuting, for example.
Instead at number five on our above list we have a board that is shaped like the old school bowl/shaped decks. These are visibly wider than the street versions, looking a bit like the cruiser-shaped boards, and this betrays the fact that they’re handy as hybrid decks that can work in the street whilst still handling themselves in most other situations.
Deck Material
All of the boards above are made with some form of plywood, mainly maple hardwood, and we think that’s what you should go for when in search of a good skateboard.
Maple is probably the most common wood used to make skateboards and longboards since it’s sturdy but allows for some bend without breaking, being one of the softest hardwoods there is to work with.
Otherwise there’s a wide variety of synthetic materials that get used for skateboard decks, usually composite or fiberglass that’s more lightweight than wood though is more hit or miss in terms of durability, since it now depends on the brand of synthetic material used whereas it’s uncommon to get noticeable variations in a certain wood.
Trucks
A lot of what could be said about truck quality is how they interact with the rest of your board in use. You want trucks that are made of a lightweight metal that has a good weight to hardness ratio with the deck of your board, so that they’re not too harsh on the deck and cause any damage when weight is applied.
You also don’t want them to stick, and you want them to stay put during movement rather than coming loose and interfering with your boarding.
Wheels
Wheels are described on product listings with two main metrics, the diameter of them and their hardness. Wheel diameter is simply the size of the wheel, and larger wheels tend to be better for taking on harsher surfaces.
They also tend to be softer, providing some forgiveness and bounce to add to tricks. There’s something to be said about a healthy middle ground, especially when you want wheels that are practical for outside urban use.
Softness in wheels is measured in durometer ratings that are expressed in numbers and a letter. A good way to think of them is that ratings from 78A to 87A is soft and grips the ground very well, which is better for cruising boards than your usual skateboards. 88A to 95A is tougher, but still soft enough to dampen any rough terrain.
96A to 101A is harder again and, in our opinion, the best for most street skaters, whereas 83B to 84B is a separate classification of very hard wheels that are often only used by professionals operating in urban environments.
Bearings
When it comes to bearings, they’re usually classified by the ABEC rating scale.
The first thing you should know is that ABEC 5 is a great rating for most skaters since it’s a great starting point for beginners but capable enough to allow for skill growth in some more experienced skaters.
ABEC ratings below five are considered low-quality which, whilst cheaper, cause more friction that hampers a skater’s performance.
ABECs 5 to 7 are pretty standard, particularly in complete skateboards you can buy, since they’re smooth and responsive. ABEC ratings above 8 and 9 are very, very fast and very sensitive to the micromovements in your feet and your center of gravity, making them best for those looking for great speed.
We recommend you stay in the ABEC 5 to 7 range since it’s most of what skaters want out of their boards, allowing you a smooth, uninterrupted ride without being too sensitive to control for most, like higher ABECs can be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 7.75 skateboard a good size?
In order to have the most skating styles covered, you’ll usually be safe going for a board that’s between 7.75 and 8.25 inches. Street skateboards in particular are useful at 7.5 to 8 inches since this is best for adult riders to perform tricks with, especially the more demanding and technical ones.
That said, choosing the right size skateboard can be dependent on your height, leg length, and even foot size.
Try to stay within the ranges but go with the best size that can accommodate you comfortably whilst also allowing you to perform tricks, and all without having too much space that you can trip over.
Where is skateboarding in public legal?
Skateboarding in public is legal in pretty much the entirety of the United States, though the same can’t be said for some other countries out there.
A general rule to avoid even potentially having the book thrown at you by someone who wants to move you along is that you have to give way for any pedestrians, and in general be respectful and try not to bother them.
This will hopefully keep you safe, particularly from public nuisance laws like NYC’s reckless skating charge that prohibits skating in a way that threatens the health or possessions of another person.
Since the laws vary by city, there are places like Akron, Ohio that have made skateboarding after dark illegal, though we can’t verify how harshly these laws are enforced.
Also take into account where you want to skate, since some places have laws on the books prohibiting skating outside of police stations, libraries, museums, courthouses, and even the entirety of some business districts.