FactUp(EmpTech): Skateboards Are Cool!

Skateboarding, activity that involves riding on a specially designed four-wheeled wooden board. People ride skateboards on pavement or any other surface that gives a relatively smooth ride. Skateboarding first emerged in the 1950s as an offshoot of the sport of surfing. It was originally known as sidewalk surfing but soon established its own identity.

History

The earliest skateboards first appeared in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of the early boards were toy scooters whose handlebars had been removed. Other homemade skateboards were steel-wheeled roller skates nailed onto a piece of wood. The first commercially produced skateboards appeared in the early 1960s, when Makaha Skateboards established a successful business. The Makaha company later developed the tail.

By the 1970s, skateboard design had advanced, and the models produced were much safer than those of earlier years. This was because companies were making wheels, trucks, and other parts specially designed for skateboards. For many years skateboard construction varied among manufacturers, as plastic, fiberglass, metal, and wood were tested as deck materials, but by the late 1970s wood had won out as the optimum material. Decks constructed of seven-ply laminated wood tended to be lighter and stronger than those made of other materials.

The first skateboards started with wooden boxes, or boards, with roller skate wheels attached to the bottom. Crate scooters preceded skateboards, having a wooden crate attached to the nose (front of the board), which formed rudimentary handlebars. The boxes turned into planks, similar to the skateboard decks of today.An American WAC, Betty Magnuson, reported seeing French children in the Montmartre section of Paris riding on boards with roller skate wheels attached to them in late 1944.

SKATEBOARD DECKS

Skateboard decks are the top board part of the skateboard. They are the most important piece of the skateboard. The feel and type of board depends on the type of deck you ride.

Most skateboard decks are made out of hard rock maple. Using 7 layers of wood pressed together with glue. Maple is hard wood and allows the deck to be strong. Bamboo is a material that makes high quality skateboard desks. Bamboo is not a popular material used by most skateboard companies. It is a good material.

Properties of a Skateboard Deck

Decks are shaped a certain way for a reason. They are the lightest, strongest and most responsive shape that skaters use. Most decks are 32” long x 7½"-8½” wide x ½” thick.

Length - The right length to allow most people to stand on and reach the nose and tail with their feet.
Width - The right width to allow most people to stand on and manipulate the board to do tricks.
Kicks - The nose and tail are the right length to allow you to do stalls and slides. The nose is longer for nose tricks and to let you get used to riding it the same way. The raised angle helps you to pop and scoop tricks.

Concave - The concave curve that starts at the nose and continues through the of the middle of the deck to the tail provides strength and allows you to grip the board better for many maneuvers.
Pop - Pop is an often misused term. Pop is how a fresh skateboard deck is much more responsive with new edges and griptape. The shape of the nose and tail allow you to pop an ollie higher and with less effort than an older deck. Not to mention new grippy grip tape. A board with good pop has a feel that makes skating so much easier.

Shapes of Skateboard Decks

There are different shapes of skateboards depending on the type of skateboarding you like to do.

Modern or New School

The almost symmetrical double kick or new school deck is by far the most common. It is the most versatile shape. You can do any type of skateboarding with one.

Old school
This style of skateboard became popular in the late seventies when skaters invented the ollie. The kick on the tail allowed you to pop the board and enter the air. Deck like this are wider so that they are more stable.

Once people realized that you can do tricks on the nose too, the board shapes got closer and closer to what you see today. The holes patterns for the trucks also changed because skaters were grinding through the bolts with the new nose and tail tricks.

The oldschool shape appeals to older and bowl skaters that don't do ollies much and prefer to carve and go fast.

Freestyle
Freestyle boards were used back in the early eighties to do a different type of skateboarding.

The tricks involved flips and poses done on flatland. The boards were more symmetrical and square to allow for these types of tricks.It was this type of skating combining with the old school street skating that made the modern skateboard shape.

Longboard
For those who like to cruise roll stable on a skateboard there are longboards. These boards come in many different shapes and are much longer that the modern deck. They are more stable at high speeds.The longboard culture is different from skateboarding culture. It is often confused by outsiders but we are very different.