Skateboards, Longboards, & Cruisers

Choosing the right skateboard involves a few considerations. First, determine your riding style. Whether you’re cruising, carving, or pulling tricks will influence the type of board you need. Longboards are better for carving, hill bombing, and riding long distances, while traditional skateboards are better for pulling tricks. For casual riding short distances, like around a college campus, consider a mini-cruiser.

Next, consider your skill level and board size. A wider deck offers more stability for beginners, but is harder to get off the ground for aerial tricks. Experienced skaters may prefer a narrower board for better control. Finally, think about trucks and wheels. Softer, larger wheels provide a smoother ride, while smaller, harder wheels offer more speed and slide for tricks.

Many people say the longboard is the best skateboard style for beginners, because longboards are stable and easy to balance on. But it really depends on the type of skating you want to learn. If you want to learn to drop into bowls, grind rails, and hit aerial tricks like ollies, pop shuvits, and kickflips, then you should learn on a normal skateboard. If you want to bomb hills, reach high speeds, and powerslide, then a longboard is a good choice.

A longboard is the easiest skateboard to balance on. Longboard decks are longer and wider than those found on normal skateboards. Longboards also have wider trucks and larger, softer wheels. All these factors combine to make longboards significantly more stable and smoother to ride than smaller boards.

Yes, a longboard is a type of skateboard, but with some differences in shape, size, and functionality. Longboards are longer and wider than regular skateboards, usually measuring around 40” to 50” long (or even longer) and 9” to 10” wide. They lack the defined kicktail and nose of a skateboard. Longboards also have larger, softer wheels that offer a smoother ride and better grip on rough surfaces, making longboards great for high speeds and long rides.

When it comes to choosing a longboard or skateboard, it depends on your preferences and riding style. If you're into cruising, carving, hill bombing, and a smooth ride, a longboard is a good choice. If you want to learn aerial tricks like ollies and kickflips, hit vert ramps, or drop into bowls, then a skateboard is the way to go. You can’t do much at a skatepark with a longboard.

It depends. Longboards can reach higher speeds and are smoother and more stable, but they are significantly heavier and larger than skateboards and cruisers, making them hard to carry with you when not riding.

If you're looking at a long commute on a consistent surface (a bike path or greenway, for example), then a longboard may be a great choice. If you’re commuting in a hectic urban environment, combining your skateboard with bus or metro rides, or if you have to carry your board with you into class or work, then a lighter, more portable board like a mini cruiser is a better choice.

There are four main types of longboard decks: the pintail, kicktail, drop-through, and drop-down. The pintail (Zed Pintail 41”) features a leaflike shape, with a tapered nose and tail, offering stability and versatility. The pintail is generally considered the best board style for new riders. A kicktail longboard like Zed 44” is similar to a pintail, but with a slightly raised tail. This lets you “kick” your board up into your hand when you stop riding, without having to bend over and pick it up.

Drop-through and drop-down boards are similar. Both feature cutouts near the trucks, allowing for deeper carving with less risk of wheelbite (when you carve so hard that your deck hits your wheels). Drop-through boards have the trucks attached to the top of the deck, so the deck sits level with the wheels. Drop-down boards actually have a concave deck that sinks below the wheels, providing a lower center of gravity. Both these styles allow for increased carving and high speeds.

You can do tricks on a longboard, but longboarding tricks are primarily limited to slides. Due to the deck shape of most longboards (no kicktail), and their weight, length, and width, it’s quite difficult to get a longboard off the ground and into the air to perform tricks like an ollie, grind, or kickflip.

The two basic methods to slow down and stop on a longboard are foot dropping and sliding. Foot dropping is easy. It involves balancing on your lead foot and lowering your pushing foot off the board, keeping it flat and allowing the tread of your shoe to drag along the ground. Then, increase or decrease pressure as needed and let friction slow you down. Keep in mind that the idea is to apply pressure gently at first, and increase once you make contact.

You can also keep the heel of the pushing foot on the board and dip only your toe and forefoot off. (This move is generally considered in better style, but has less stopping power and is less secure.) To become comfortable foot dropping, first practice riding one-legged, with your push leg hovering in the air. Once you’ve mastered that, practice foot dropping at slow speeds and build up from there.

Sliding a longboard is much harder than foot dropping. It’s speed, surface, and board-dependent, and takes practice to dial. See the next question for a basic overview.

Sliding a longboard is a complex level skill that takes practice to master. There are many ways to slide—you can slide both front and heelside, some slides use your hands, others involve remaining standing, and so on—but the basic idea is to initiate a turn while shifting weight to your front foot, pushing your back foot out to break the traction of the back wheels, almost like “drifting” a car.

Practice on a semi-flat, open surface to start. You’ll need a certain amount of speed to initiate a slide, and a longboard with softer wheels and looser trucks will make sliding easier. Commit to the movement, keep your knees bent, and maintain a low center of gravity for control and stability. Be sure to wear a helmet and protective gear when practicing, because you will hit pavement at one point or another.

Some longboarders wear slide gloves on their hands. These gloves have built-in “pucks” or sliders on the palms that let you use your hands to control a slide. You don’t have to have slide gloves to slide a longboard, but for high-speed downhill slides, gloves let you use your hands to manipulate the slide, balance better at low angles, and add friction points to brake faster. Longboarders also wear additional protective gear like elbow guards and kneepads.

Longboarders avoid speed wobbles—oscillations that can occur at high speeds and cause a fall—through a combination of technique and preparation. A stable, balanced stance is key. Keep your knees slightly bent, weight centered over the board, and core engaged to prevent wobbles in the first place. Also, always look ahead, rather than down at your feet. Board setup also plays a role. Looser trucks wobble easier, so find the right balance of tightness. Using wheels with good grip and a board with a long wheelbase and mild concave (drop-down boards) will lower your center of gravity and provide additional stability.

If wobbles do occur, shifting your weight forward will help, by stabilizing the front wheelbase. Above all, don’t panic. Tensing up will only make wobbles worse. Stay loose, lean forward, and gently carve out of the wobble, or powerslide if possible.

A cruiser skateboard is a board designed for comfortable cruising and transportation, as opposed to tricks or speed. They typically feature large, soft wheels, wide trucks, and shorter, but wider (9” to 10”) decks than traditional skateboards. Some have a kicktail to make it easier to pop the board up, but in general cruisers aren’t designed for tricks..

Not all cruisers fit the same mold, however. There are also ultra-portable boards known as “mini cruisers” or penny boards. Our Quip Mini Cruiser is one example. While they still have soft, large, shock-absorbing wheels, these boards are shorter (22.5”) and narrower (6”) than even traditional skateboards. Extremely lightweight and compact, a mini cruiser is small enough to carry in one hand, and even slip into a backpack when not in use!

A skate tool is a small, multi-functional tool for skateboard maintenance. Most skate tools are tri-pointed, with three different socket sizes: 3/8” for mounting hardware, 1/2” for wheels, and 9/16” for trucks. Some, like our Upkeep All-in-One Skate Tool, also have a slot that holds Phillips and Allen wrench heads. Skate tools are versatile and compact, and allow you to make on-the-go adjustments and repairs to your board. They’re particularly useful for loosening and tightening your trucks as you ride.

Skateboard safely by following these tips:

• Always wear a helmet and consider additional protective gear like wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads.
• Skate in designated areas like skateparks, or areas free from traffic and pedestrians.
• Learn proper technique and practice falling safely to minimize injuries.
• Regularly inspect your skateboard for loose or damaged parts and ensure it's in good working condition.

There's no strict age limit for skateboarding. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says children under five years should not skateboard. Children between 6 and 10 can start skateboarding, but should be closely supervised by an adult and wear appropriate protective gear. (The same AAP report notes that ⅓ of all skateboarding injuries occur within the first week of learning the sport.) Older children and teenagers can skateboard independently, but should still prioritize safety.

Skateboards have two primary dimensions, width and length. Length is less of a concern when sizing a skateboard, but most boards come between 28 and 33 inches long. Slightly shorter boards are usually better for younger skaters, but it’s not extremely important. (Our Alameda sits right in the middle, at 31”).

Width is more important. Wider decks provide better stability (think pool skating or ramps) while narrower decks are better for pulling tricks and controlling the board. For a traditional starting skateboard for kids, look for a deck width between 7 and 8 inches. Over 8 inches is great for a cruiser, pool, ramp, or transition board. If you’re looking for an extremely portable board for your child to simply ride around town—and tricks aren’t a consideration—consider a mini cruiser like Quip. This board is a mere 6 inches wide and 22.5 inches long but supports up to 220 pounds, making it a stellar rider for all ages, heights, and weights.

Kids’ skateboard pads should be snug but comfortable. The pads should not restrict movement, but should stay firmly in place when the child moves around, and not slide down the forearms or shin, with the EVA foam padding positioned directly over the joints (knee, elbow, wrist). Remember to purchase the proper pads for your child’s age—our pads come in three sizes, for kids aged 3-9, 10-14, and 14+.

Yes, kids can use most bike helmets for skating. Bike helmets are designed to protect the head from impact, which is the primary concern both for cycling and skateboarding. While there are specific helmets designed for skateboarding, and some of our helmet models—like Dakota—are designed with a “skater” style in mind, most high-quality bicycle helmets will provide reliable protection for skateboarding.

One consideration, however, is protection at the base and rear of the head. Skate-focused helmets (and bike helmets made for mountain biking like Rowan) have extensive rear coverage, but some road cycling helmets don’t. Check your child’s helmet to ensure it has full coverage.