First, you need to get a real skateboard. Do not buy ”skateboards” from stores like Toys’R'Us because they only sell toys. Save $200-300 dollars and head down to a real skateshop and get advice from them or the skaters that hang out there.

You can come down to LSP and we can help you out or you can find links to the various other skateshops in Singapore on the left column of our homepage (Click on the HOME tab).

What you will need to buy:

Deck ($50-100) This is the wooden board you stand on. Decks come in different shapes, like the size and angles of the nose and tail, shallow or deep concave. They also have different widths and lengths. At this point I suppose you will not know what you like yet so maybe just go for something average, otherwise stand on the deck and go by feel. All decks made by the major brands are pretty much the same, they just have different graphics. Don’t get caught up with all the marketing, that titanium coated diamond woven graphite deck will probably feel the same as any quality deck. One way to save money would be to buy a “blank”, this means an unbranded, usually graphic-less deck. They are cheaper because you dont pay for the branding/graphics.

Trucks ($40-80) These are what holds your wheels to your deck. They come in different heights and widths. Some people like low trucks, and some like them high. As for width, they should either be narrower or not too much wider than your deck. Typically, you only need to look for wider trucks if your deck is more than 8 inches wide. My biggest complaint about trucks is that some of them have kingpins that protrude past the hanger and interfere with your grinds, other than that, some of them come with either very hard cushions or very soft cushions so you might wanna ask for something average. Again, you can save money buying unbranded “blank” trucks.

Wheels ($30-70) They come in different hardness, widths and diameters, but the biggest problem with wheels are flat spots. Flat spots can happen when your wheel skids and wears a flat patch out. You end up with a wheel that isn’t round and a skateboard that sounds like a motorbike when you roll. It seriously annoys the heck out of me. Tell the guy you’re looking for a wheel that is known to be flat spot resistant or you’re gonna go insane. For this reason I would stay away from blank wheels or wheels bearing the brands of deck companies and go for a trusted wheel brands like Darkstar, Bones etc. Generally, hard wheels are faster but have a harsher ride, have less grip (good for powersliding), and do not flatspot as easily. Softer wheels have more grip and ride smoother, but slower). Narrow wheels are lighter and look better(in my opinion), but do not last as long and are easier to flatspot. ”Normal” diameters would be about 50-52mm, larger wheels will roll easier on rough ground and are useful if you skate rough streets or do a lot of commuting with your skateboard.

Bearings ($20-100) Theres a lot of marketing here, and in my opinion the $20 Momentum ABEC 5’s that i sell are as good as any other steel bearing out there. Don’t bother about ABEC numbers, those don’t mean much to skateboard bearings, because you never know if they are true ratings and the quality of the materials and construction is way more important than ABEC ratings.

Bolts ($5-10) These are 8 bolts and nuts to mount your truck onto your deck.

Grip tape ($5-$15) This sticks on your deck to give it a sandpaper like texture for grip, most skateshops include it “free” with a deck, but LSP sells them separately, so that you can buy decks without grip for cheaper, and so you can choose which grip you want.

Riser pads (Optional $5-8) These are rubber pads between your trucks and the deck. It makes your deck slightly higher, minimizes vibrations, and I believe it helps prevent bolts loose bolts and broken decks so i use them, lots of people don’t tho.

Skate tool (Optional $10-40) All-in-one tool for your skateboard. Recommended if you do not have tools at home as you will need to tighten bolts and adjust your trucks.

Skate Shoes (Optional $75-200) If you are just starting out, any simple shoe with a flat sole is adequate. You will be spending a lot of time just learning to roll about so use this time to save up money for a pair of skateboard shoes. You wont need skate shoes until you start learning ollies. Ollies will shred the sides of your shoes against the griptape and skateshoes are usually designed to be more durable.

(You can find out what setup I and others ride in our forum thread here.)

So thats it, you’ve got all the components. Watch and learn how your skateboard is assembled, or better yet, try assembling it yourself. Once your skateboard is in one piece, take it out and learn to skate!

You can pretty much skate anywhere if you’re just rolling about and aren’t making too much noise or skating precariously close to pedestrians. Try and get very comfortable rolling about, turning, tic-tac-ing and manualing. Some people take days, some weeks, some months. It all depends on your natural ability and how much practice you put in. I recommend learning together with some friends so you can motivate each other; if you’re looking for more friends or need some advise, please do not hesitate to use our forums.

While people may be tolerant of you just rolling about, when you start learning ollies and grinds you will seriously annoy many people so head down to one of the skateparks like Somerset or ECP. All the fun obstacles are there and theres no stess from the po-pos. Of course, when you need to skate when its wet or when its too sunny, come down to LSP! We also have the best miniramp to learn on.

Good luck!

P.S. Take care of your skateboard, never ever get it wet cos moisture will ruin your deck and bearings! Also don’t drag the tail on the ground cos that’s just unnecessary wear.

Trackback URI |