Help Guide
For those of you that want to learn about the longboard and skateboard shapes that are out there, we have put together something we feel will help you get an idea about them. If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot us an email.
Mini Skateboards: Mini skateboard decks are very popular with the younger generation, especially the kids that need them for school. They are extremelyportable and skaters can easily strap the mini skateboard to a backpack, take it to class or even throw it under their desk. There are several mini deck shapes out there. To name a few, we have kicktails, fishtails, oldschools, pros and more. They come in all sizes. Starting from 22” (the size of a penny board) to about 34” (which is around the maximum length limit). Mini skateboard completes are usually made from wood but can be made from pressed bamboo or any other material a manufacturer may want. From our years of experience at Skateshred, we have learned that most “newbies” tend to stay away from the mini decks because of their lack of experience. Picture an elephant on roller skates, now picture a poodle on a longboard surfboard catching some waves. Who would you rather be? The poodle is going to be a lot safer as you can imagine; the bigger the board, the easier it will be to ride. Not to take anything away from how awesome the mini boards are, we just recommend them for more experienced skaters.
Pintail Longboards: Pintail longboard skateboards are the most recognized shape in the longboard industry.They date back to the 60s and take after the longboard surfboard. Shaped like a tear drop, it has been the staple shape for many years and we think it will probably be around forever. A traditional size pintail can be in the range of 36” all the way up to 55”. Typically,we see most of these boards at about 40” from nose to tail. It is important to note that not all pintails are made from the same materials. There are a handful of different woods and bamboos plies that manufactures can use depending on what they want to achieve and how they want the deck to feel for the rider. For example, if a manufacturer wanted to create a more standard board for the everyday skater, they would want to make the board sturdy and strong, for extra support, by using thicker plies with Canadian Maple wood. If you wanted a flexy pintail (a pintail with more bounce in it),then you would want to use different flex materials like a bamboo pintail and fiberglass plies.
We find that most pintail longboard riders are new or are just looking for a nice comfortable cruiser to skate down the street with. This board is perfect for the inexperienced skateboarder or someone who is just looking to get some sun on their face.
Dancer Longboards: Dancer longboard skateboard decks are getting more and more popular every day. The Dancer deck is a very unique shape and is in its own longboard category because of the type of tricks that are being done on it. These decksare built with a larger than average nose and tails that aretypically symmetrical in shape. Most of the trick names only refer to Dancer tricks; For example, the G-Turn and Cross Stepping are popular tricks for this board. This board is named the Dancer mainly because of the cross stepping maneuvers that skaters can do on them. Cross stepping is done when your feet move up and down the board in a dance like, artsy style. Dancer decks are commonly flexier than the average deck because of the type of tricks skaters do on them. Skaters thatlike to do these type of tricks tend to prefer more bounce like a trampoline or diving board on their board. These boards though, can also be used as a cruiser if you prefer.We have sold many of these boards to skaters that just want a long cruiser- it works out perfectly for them!
Drop Through Longboards: Is it drop through or drop thru? Nobody really knows!These boards get their names from their trucks that drop through the board. The drop part of the name can also be attributed to the fact that the board is dropped lower to ground like a low rider car. Drop through boards were invented for multiple reasons. The main reason is that the board sits lower to the ground when pushing. Having a lower center of gravity helps take weight off of the knees when pushing around. The straighter the leg is without bending, the less it has to work hard to hold you up. Picture yourself skating on a high board and now imagine how much you will need to bend your knee when skating – most likely, you will be gassed out before you are even warmed up. The other reason for making this board lower to the ground is that there is less of a chance of speed wobbles. Going super-fast and bombing down hills with a lower board helps prevent the wobbles. We find though, that the top reason for skating a drop through longboard is that it is so much easier to slide with than with a top mount. Pushing into slides are much easier when the board is lower to ground.
Drop Down Longboards:Drop down decks are very similar to the drop throughs as far as being low to the ground. The only real difference is how the board feels when skating them. The drop down board feels more like a hammock swaying side to side and the drop through feels more like its teetering on a teeter totter. Drop downs tend to be a little stronger and hold more weight because there aren’t any drop holes on the neck part of the deck next to the hardware mounts. Drop down boards need to be made a little stronger because of how low they sit. For example, it wouldn’t be a good thing if you bottomed out going 40mph down a hill - once that bottom hits you’ll be hitting the pavement pretty hard! You also might feel a little more spring in the flex because of the design of the decks. It has that drop bend which creates a kind of a bounce.
Thanks for the read; I’ll be putting more shapes up soon.