Scooter
The skateboard, also known as a skateboard, patinete, skateboard or skating board, is a vehicle consisting of a wooden board with four wheels in pairs that is used to practice the sport called skateboarding. To use it, you must stand on top of it. Each pair of wheels has an axle that is attached by a flexible stem at a slight angle to the board, allowing for lean turns of the board to one side or the other, and the smooth turning motion of the trucks that comes with it. The board is used to do jumps and different types of tricks, such as kickflips, ollies, 180º and others.
It was invented in 1963 in Malibu, California, United States, by Jack Ferrà and Phil Lyaakoubi as a substitute for the surf board on land. They removed the wheels from skates, attached them to a wooden board, and named their invention the Surf Roll.
History
The skateboard emerged in the 50s, although they began to be manufactured by factories in 1959, there is no one who is recognized as its creator. In its beginnings it was known as "Sidewalk surfing" (sidewalk surfing) since it was born as a substitution for Californian surfers when there were no waves.
In the year 1963, skateboards had rubber wheels, which did not have good adhesion with the asphalt, which caused lots of crashes and accidents. In the 1970s, manufacturers began using urethane wheels, like those used on roller skates, which gave riders more traction on the pavement.
The "Ollie" is Born
The Ollie first emerged in 1978. This basic skateboard trick was named for Alan “Ollie” Gelfand, who was the first skateboarder to use his back foot to kick the tail of the skateboard and then jump.
The "Hawk" emerges on the scene
Tony Hawk is perhaps the best-known name in skateboarding history, and his arrival on the scene helped make skateboarding what it is today. Since he started skating at the age of 14.
Skateboarding as an Olympic sport
Skateboarding is a very individual activity and it continues to evolve. Since the year 2000, due to attention in the media and products such as skateboarding video games, children's skateboards, and merchandising, skateboarding has become mainstream. As more interest and money has been invested in skateboarding, there are more skate parks and better skateboards available. Also, the continued interest has motivated skateboard companies to keep innovating and inventing new things. Skateboarding first appeared at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The parts of the skateboard
- Table: these can be made of different shapes and sizes, although the most common are maple wood.
- Lija: This is the part that is used to get well, they are usually black but there are different colors and even with color patterns.
- Axis: these are the ones holding the wheels; they can be of different sizes and materials, although the most common ones are of titanium.
- Base: these are the part that bind the axes with the table, they are usually titanium and the same color as the axes.
- Elevators: these go between the bases and the board so that you can throw more and not spend so much the board or the axes of the wheel pairs; they can be of different colors and different designs for your ability to support the table.
- Screws: these are the ones that hold the axes and can be of different materials.
- Bearings: these go between wheels and axes and serve to turn the wheels, they can be of different colors and different bearings, which depending on the brand and the number of bearings can affect the speed.
- Wheels: these can be of different materials, colors and measures to accommodate the use and modality of practice.
Table
The back of the board is called the tail, and the front is called the nose or tip. The boards have a specially designed shape for skateboarding. One aspect to take into account are the measurements, especially the width of the board, depending on the type of skateboard to practice.
The characteristics of a skateboard are varied and confer differences in stability, maneuverability and agility with which it can be controlled.
Materials
Currently most boards are made of seven plies of wood, usually Canadian maple, although some are made of oak that is specially treated to resist and not weigh excessively.
Maple wood decks, and to a lesser extent guatambú and hard maple boards, provide the best response, while wood is the most common board material. Plastic skateboards have great durability, but they don't respond as well as wooden ones. There are also tables made of aluminum and fiberglass. The most commonly used tables currently are those of Canadian maple, those of guatambú (more resistant wood) which are made up of seven layers, or those of oak, and other different types of wood.
You can find models of boards made of different materials such as maple wood, fiberglass and even carbon fiber, all materials that can be combined, to reinforce, above all, the area where the axles rest; This system is called an impact mount and can be found on boards from the American brand Almost. Currently, the layers of the board, which are usually seven or eight, are glued together with epoxy resin, which makes it possible to use less glue given its strength, resulting in the lower weight of the board. Different lengths, widths, as well as with different shapes at the tip, tail and edges are available.
Length
For traditional and street style skateboarding, boards less than 33 inches (84 cm) in length are preferred. For other uses, such as rides, skateboards of 35 inches in length (89 cm) are chosen. Smaller skaters should choose shorter boards to get better control.
There are boards that are longer in length, called longboards (longboard) or longskates (longskate). The most popular type of longboard is the one used for downhill skating. It is not suitable for the tricks of the other styles of skating, and is designed for control at high speed.
Width
The width of most skates is between 19 and 21 cm. Wider boards (greater than 8 inches) provide greater stability, balance, and control for transitional gait surfaces, which include ramps such as socks, pots, and bowls or pits.
Narrower skates (less than 20cm) offer more maneuverability for skate and flip tricks. You want a narrower board for practicing street style, or technical riding, including flips, tricks, slides, rails, bank turns and edges.
A board intended for tricks or street can be between 7.5 to 7.8 inches. Boards 7.5 and below are narrow, recommended for the little ones. Also, the narrower or smaller a board is, the easier it will be to do tricks, but the more difficult it will be to finish them and land correctly. The 7.75 are the most common and the most popular size.
For rink skating with large half tubes, a deck between 7.87 to 8.25 inches is usually adequate. These boards are so wide that they would not be recommended for people of rather small size and weight, people who measure approximately 1.50 m and weigh around 40 kg, as the tricks will be difficult to do.
A 20cm deck can be used as a mix of street and a more transitional skate, as a compromise between stability and maneuverability.
Despite what has been said, each skater has his preferences regarding the measurements of his board or skateboard.
Shape
Most skateboards are concave, meaning they have a raised nose or tip, tail, and edges. The more concave a skateboard is, the more aggressive moves and tricks can be done.
There are also skateboards designed for off-road terrain (mountain board), such as cattle tracks, meadows, rocky soils, and other natural terrain where you can ride. They are large and stable and the wheels can exceed a span in diameter, even being of the pneumatic type with an air chamber. And it's very good for exercise
Axes
There are several types of wheels and axles for all types of terrain and different kinds of riding or styles. Magnesium is the most widely used material. The axles are chrome.
There are two axes and they are coupled to the sides, without reaching the ends. They are usually made of calamine (which is an aluminum alloy, only less heavy).
The skateboard trucks hold the wheels to the board and are used to make turns, since they have a pair of flexible rubber bands that allow them to be made. The assembly of the axles with the table requires various components, which can be changed and purchased separately, such as the main screw, rubbers or sheets, etc.
They have the main screw inside, which is a 1/2 iron "stud" (US measurement that is equivalent to 12.5 mm), where the two rubbers are attached, and it goes through a hole in the shaft to be able to tighten it with the nuts.
Most skateboard trucks are in the range of 4.75 to 5.5 inches (12-14 cm) and weigh between 10 and 13 ounces (310-400 g). The measurement of the main screw is 14 mm.
A larger axle provides greater stability; however, the larger the axles, the heavier they will be. Some manufacturers have found ways to lighten the shaft while maintaining stability with lightweight alloys such as titanium.
There is also a category that assimilates suspension technology and incorporates it into a stable design. The rigid base plates allow for compression prior to throwing tricks, once the 'pop' is off. and the preloaded compression is released, energy is ejected into the shell.
Wheels
There are four of them attached to both ends of the axles, and they are made of a material called urethane.
When choosing a set of skateboard wheels, size and hardness should be considered. Most wheels are “durometer” but you can buy “dual durometer” wheels, which have a harder center, or core, surrounded by a softer contact surface area. There are also urethane wheels, special wheels for street style.
Size
- Street: If you want to practice the alley, make curbs, sidewalks and look for points while riding through the streets, the wheels that best fit are between 48 mm and 54 mm. 48 mm are chosen if it is low height (less than 1.65m) and thin. If medium height is recommended, the wheels are 50 mm or 52 mm. If it's high, better 54 mm.
- Skating tracks: If you want to go to a skating track and spend hours there with ramps and other modules, ideal wheels are between 52 mm and 54 mm.
- Feature (bowl): if you choose the pits then the wheels should be between 56 mm and 60 mm.
- Long table: if you are looking for wheels for a long table, to be searched from 60 mm.
Hardness
Normally, the bigger the wheel, the harder it is, and the smaller it is, the softer it is. The hard wheels are used on smooth surfaces such as skate parks, and the soft wheels are used for street on rough surfaces such as the street.
- 87A skate wheels: they are a good choice for long skates, walks, earrings. Very good for irregular surfaces.
- 95A skate wheels: ideal for a street style in which not to lose control in potholes.
- 97A skate wheels: good performances on all types of smooth surfaces, such as parks, ramps and pots.
- 100A skate wheels: used by experts. They are very hard wheels with little special traction for rocky places.
Sandpaper
It's glued right on top of the board. The sandpaper serves to provide the "grip" which is required to perform the tricks. When you say "grip" It refers to the traction between the shoe and the board, in order to control the skateboard.
Screws
For the skateboard you need four screws for each axle with their respective nuts to keep the trucks and the deck together (these screws are usually made of "steel iron" which is a material between iron and steel), two nuts on each axle so that the wheels do not come off. These nuts are screwed on the same axis, and finally the screw with its main screw nut (one on each axis).
Types of tables
Downhill boards or long boards
They are the most suitable for descending paved slopes. From this type of boards the asphalt sled was born when the skaters began to lie down on the boards to achieve greater speed.
Street tables
They are prepared with more sheets of wood than the normal ones to avoid imminent breakage of the board and have more metal-coated shafts to facilitate sliding over rough surfaces.
These need a special hardness in their axles because in the falls they require more support, and if they do not have it, it is necessary to increase the hardness of such 'wheel supports' to avoid their deformation through abrupt blows to their sides, or in maneuvers such as changing the rail with turning and a half turn, which when landed can deform them a lot, or when stopping on a handrail with your hand and pushing from the side that their particular position it can deform them very significantly.