First Skateboard | Complete Setup vs. Separate Components

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Buying Your First Skateboard | Complete Setup Versus Separate Components

What's better as a beginner skateboarder, a complete setup or separate components? This helpful video and guide talks you through the basics.

Buying your first skateboard can seem like a total minefield, especially if you’re a complete beginner. Should you opt for a complete set up or buy skateboard wheels, trucks and a deck separately?

If it’s the latter, how do you go about picking the right sized deck? And what about assembling your board, choosing wheels or bearings, or adding grip tape? Thankfully, there are a few basic beginner tips which can help you answer these questions. We’ve teamed up with Surfdome to present them in this series of easy-to-watch videos.

Buying Your First Skateboard: Completes vs. Separate Components

Picking between a complete skateboard setup or separate components is one of the first choices you’ll have to make when buying your first skateboard. Photo: Screenshot

The first issue you’ll face when buying a new skateboard is whether to opt for a complete setup or buy the various components separately. A decent complete setup can be a great way to get started, as skate shops usually offer them at a bit of a discount.

However what you gain in convenience you sacrifice in terms of the ability to customise. Most completes won’t include the very top-level components either, which is why intermediate and advanced skaters tend to buy trucks, wheels, bearings and deck separately.

“A word of warning – don’t, whatever you do, buy your board from a supermarket, your local pound shop, or somewhere else cheap and cheerful.”

A word of warning – if you are opting for a complete setup don’t, whatever you do, buy one from a supermarket, your local pound shop, or somewhere else cheap and cheerful. Boards sold in places like this may look like a bargain, but the parts will almost certainly be rubbish, with bearings that don’t spin properly, trucks that won’t turn like they should and decks that are liable to snap.

This video from The Berrics gives you a pretty good idea of why it’s just not worth it.

You may also like:

Best Skateboard Decks | How to Choose the Right Deck for You
Best Skateboard Wheels | How To Choose the Right Skateboard Wheels & Bearings

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