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What One Should Know About Any Skateboard Brand

By Margaret Ward


Skateboarding is done using a sports equipment called a skateboard. Skateboards vary a lot in design depending on the applications they are intended for. The modern market has skateboards of various types made by different companies. One can find almost any kind of skateboard brand they want on the international market. Construction is often done by a combination of Maplewood and polyurethane coating although other materials may be used too.

There are two main classes of skateboards, that is, longboard and shortboard. Like the names suggests, the different between the two classes is size, with shortboards being smaller in all aspects. Wheels in shortboards are smaller in size, making them to have lower top speeds in comparison to longboards. On the contrary, longboards come with longer wheelbases and higher top speeds because of the large size of wheels. Both kinds of boards vary a lot in size, but longboards can be as long as 90 cm.

The wheels of longboards are larger and are often made softer. The big size of the wheels makes them suitable for use in rough terrains. They have better ability to move through mud and rugged landscape. Because of their ability to move faster, longboards are often used for racing and cruising. Conversely, shortboards are used for performing tricks. They are made with a more concave shape to enhance their ability to perform tricks.

Riding a skateboard takes skills that one must learn fast. Without proper skills, one can sustain major injuries due to falls. Riding involves using one foot to propel the device forward and retaining the other foot on the board. This is usually the case with manual boards. However, the situation has changed with the introduction of electric skateboards. These brands have come up due to technological advancement in this industry.

An electric motor propels electric skateboards making propulsion by foot unnecessary. The motor is placed on the board and is fueled by an electric battery. Electric models are available in many different colors. Most people tend to prefer black, which make black devices very common. Gray, white, pink, and yellow are other possible colors among others. There are devices are multi-colors or feature other forms of graphics.

The level of safety, functionality, and efficiency of modern varieties is very high because they are installed with many additional components. One safety feature that is usually included is grip tape. This tape get attached to the board on one side and the other side provides a surface for stepping on. The surface stepped on is rough to offer grip.

Polyurethane is the main material used to make wheels on skateboards. Wheels differ in many aspects including shape, size, and hardness depending on the skating application they are meant for. The size of larger wheels falls between 55 and 85 mm of diameter, making them suitable for transition skateboarding. Street skateboarding usually requires wheels with smaller diameter. This allows for lower top speed, better response time, and lower center of gravity.

Hardness of wheels is measured using the Shore durometer A scale. Wheels range from being soft to being very hard. Other manufacturers have started to adopt the D and B scales because of the limitations of range in the Shor durometer scale. These scales have bigger ranges.




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