Welcome to SkatesZone.com!
Please find below our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
If you have a question that we haven’t answered, please get in touch!
- What is SkatesZone.com?
SkatesZone.com was created in 2017 by Jesse Silva and Ryan Knox.
Our site is something we always wanted when we were starting out as skaters – a place for skaters to find honest and independent reviews of everything to do with skateboards and skateboarding.
You can read more about us here.
- What is skateboarding?
Skateboarding, known as skating, is a sport and recreational activity that involves riding and performing tricks on a skateboard.
Some people use skateboards to travel around and some people even consider it an art form (like us!).
Skateboarding culture has been influenced by countless skaters over the years, some of whom have become famous celebrities like Tony Hawk.
It has been estimated there are over 11 million(!) active skaters in the World.
In fact, skateboarding has become so popular that it will be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for the first time!
- What is a skateboard?
A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding.
A skateboarder, known as a skater, moves the skateboard, known as a board, by pushing with one foot with the other foot balanced on the board or by moving their legs in structures.
A skateboard can also be used by just standing on the deck while on a downward slope and letting gravity do its thing.
These days you can even get electric skateboards and they better and better all the time.
- What is a skateboard made of?
Most skateboard decks are madeof glue and wood (usually 7-ply maple, often from Canad), but some are made of composites, aluminum, nylon, Plexiglas, fiberglass, foam, and other materials.
They are usually decorated by screen-printing and often customized by skaters.
- What are the parts of a skateboard?
A skateboard has 3 main parts: a deck, trucks and wheels.
The deck is the part of the skateboard that you stand on.
The trucks are are the metal T-shaped pieces that mount onto the underside of the skateboard and keep your wheels and bearings securely attached to the deck.
The wheels attach to the axles on the trucks and are usually made of polyurethane.
You can check out our reviews of the best deckshere, the best truckshere and the best wheelshere.
- What is skateboard grip tape?
Skateboard grip tape is the rough sand paper like layer of tape that’s applied to the top of a skateboard deck so that a skater’s shoes can grip the board.
Skaters often cut patterns into their grip tape before applying it to make their skateboards unique and to help them easily tell between the ‘nose’ (front) and the ‘tail’ (back).
For more information, check out our guide on the best grip tape to buy.
- What does a skateboard cost?
The cost of a skateboard varies from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. Skateboards come in many different sizes and shapes for different types of skating.
For more information, check out our guide on how to choose the right skateboard.
- Is skateboarding dangerous?
Like any other sport, skateboarding does have its risks and can be dangerous.
Skaters do get injured sometimes (quite often actually) and these injuries can range from light to severe, although most are only grazed elbows and knees.
Some of the most common skateboarding injuries include sprains, strains and fractures of the body, most often the arms, legs, neck and body.
For more information, check out our guide on skateboarding safety. (Coming soon)
- Is skateboarding illegal?
Where in place, skateboarding laws generally restrict or prohibit skateboarding as a recreational activity depending on the time, manner, age of person skateboarding and location in which skateboarding may take place, but it’s not actually illegal as such.
Thankfully, there are a lot of skateparks around and they’re often free to use!
For more information, check out our guide on skateparks in the US, Canada and the UK. (Coming soon)
- What are skateboard bearings?
Skateboard bearings are round ball bearings that mount the wheels to the axles on the trucks, either made from steel or ceramic, and each wheel has 2 bearings.
Some people get really hung up on bearings and, whilst they do have a rating system and it’s true some bearings can help you go a bit faster, from our experience the best skateboard bearings are ones that are clean and well-oiled.
Simply put, if you want to ride like a dream, keep ’em oiled and clean!
You can check out our reviews of the best bearings here.
- How long does it take to learn to skateboard?
That depends.
If you want to learn to push and ride, then you can do that in a few days, maybe a couple of weeks.
If you want to learn a particular trick, then you could do that in a few weeks.
If you want to become really good at skating, and we mean really good, then you need to practice every day for a few hours for a few years!
Fortunately, there are a lot of websites out there to help you learn – one of our favorites is Braille Skateboarding.
YouTube is also a great place to find skating videos.
If you’re interested, check out an up-to-date list of the best skaters in the World here.
You can find our reviews of the best skateboards for beginners here.
- What is the history of skateboarding?
The history of skateboarding is really interesting.
Skateboarding probably started in the 1940s or 1950s when surfers in places like California in the US wanted something to do when the waves were flat and was called ‘sidewalk surfing’ at the time.
Skateboarding as we know it today started in the early 1980s and it has become more and more popular since then.
For more information, check out our guide on the history of skateboarding. (Coming soon).
- What is skateboarding culture?
Although derived from surfing, skateboarding quickly developed its own rich culture.
Skateboarding culture is quite often known as ‘punk’ or ‘skate punk’ and has a style and language of its own that is always changing and evolving.
Skateboarding also has a strong global following and community that is really fun and cool to be a part of.
- What should you wear when skateboarding?
We know that wearing safety gear may not look that cool, and to be honest we don’t wear everything all of the time (don’t tell our parents), but regardless of whether you’re a child or an adult, every skater should wear a helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads and shoes to stay safe and prevent injuries when skating
This is really important if you’re a beginner as you can (and will!) fall off your board and hurt yourself!
You can check out our guides on the best helmetshere, the best wrist guardshere and the best knee padsandelbow padshere.
- How long does a skateboard last?
This depends on a lot of factors, not only what type of skateboard you have, but also how often you use it (or abuse it!) and where you use it.
For example, if you street skate a lot, you’re going to wear it out faster than if you only use it at a skate park and if you only use it for cruising, you’re going to wear it out slower than if you use it for tricks and flips.
It also depends on the quality of the skateboard itself and whether it has been designed to do what you (or your buddies!) do with it.
Remember, some parts of your skateboard may wear out before others, such as the wheels or grip tape before the deck.
In summary, skateboards can last weeks or months (or years if it usually sits in a cupboard at home!), so choose one carefully and look after it as best you can!
- What is the most popular skateboard brand?
Popular well-established brands worldwide include Alien Workshop, Element, Zero and Birdhouse.
There are so many brands to choose from and so many are good quality that it’s hard to say which one is most popular and to be honest it’s a really personal choice.
To help you choose, you can find our reviews of the top skateboard brands this year here.
- How much does a good skateboard cost?
If you’re new to skating, and we all have to start somewhere, before you buy a board, you need to think about how often you’ll be using your board, where you’ll be using it and what style and design you like.
You can either buy a ready-assembled board or buy a deck and then wheels, bearings and trucks.
You also need to think about other gear such as helmets, wrist guards and knee pads and elbow pads, as it can add up quick, although all in all we don’t think skateboard is that expensive compared to other sports.
In summary, you can get a good skateboard for about $40 to $60, but you can spend a lot more than that if you can afford to and find a top-quality board you really want.
Our advice about gear is only buy what you need when you need it, although trust us when we say wrist guards and knee pads are a must!
- What are the worst skateboard brands?
Hey, man, it’s not cool to be a bad mouth and we just don’t play that game!
But, if you do really want to read some comments on the worst skateboard brands you can visit a post about it on The Top Tens here.
When you’re done, you can find our reviews of the top skateboard brands this year here!
- What skateboard does Tony Hawk use?
Tony Hawk has used a lot of different skateboard brands in his career, but usually you can find him on a Birdhouse Skateboard.
Why, I hear you ask?
Because he set the company up with Per Welinder in 1992 and they are still going strong!
Birdhouse, originally Birdhouse Projects back in the day, makes decks and wheels, as well as clothing and accessories.
You can find our reviews of the top skateboard brands, including Birdhouse, this year here.
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