Parent's Guide to Skate

General Information

If you're searching for a skateboard and you're not familiar with the equipment, it can be very overwhelming. We're here to help! Remember, you can always call us or email us for advice or information from real skaters! From the first-timer to the advanced rider's set-up, we know the equipment on market and we're ready to teach! Here is some basic info to chew on for now:

Here’s a rundown on the different types of Skateboards and what they’re for:

Short, narrow boards - "Popsicle Sticks" are for technical, trick skating. Skaters are able to jump up and down curbs, perform jumps (ollies), flip tricks (kickflips), and other tricks of that nature. (Boards are light, low and easy to manipulate and flip around under your feet.) These skateboards have low trucks and smaller, narrower wheels.
Longer, wider boards - Longboards offer better carving and street riding on rougher surfaces. These boards have trucks that are wider, and wheels that are larger. For some ramp and park skating, but mostly the skaters on longboards enjoy carving or downhill skating.

Complete (pre-assembled) Skateboards:

CaliforniaBoardLife.com offers complete skateboards that are built from the same quality parts offered al-la-carte on our shop. We do the brain work of deciding what works best with what and you get a skate-ready board and a nice little discount for buying all the parts at one time! This is great for parents wanting to make the right buying decision, the novice skater who is worried about choosing all the right parts, or the advanced rider who sees the value in the discounted equipment. All of our completes are built from our top selling components!

Warning: Toy Skateboards available at Wal-Mart, Target, etc:

Some skateboards, available at the large corporate retail stores, fall into what we call "toy" skateboards. These skateboards don't function properly, can't turn, have poorly made wheels that are prone to breaking, and numerous other safety issues. For this reason, we encourage you to learn about a skateboard's proper parts and design before you buy! This guide will show you what to look for in a proper skateboard. (which we consider "sporting equipment", you wouldn't use a Power Wheels toy car on the freeway, would you?) Regardless, you can rest assured that everything we sell is quality equipment! We're a real Skate Shop, with real skaters! Feel free to call us or email us for advice or information! (916) 984-0301

Click Here to check out the available completes currently 10% OFF!

How to Build a Custom Complete Skateboard:

Let's get started... first you'll need to pick out all the needed parts and accessories.

Below is a list of all needed and some optional parts for a custom complete skateboard/longboard from CaliforniaBoardLife.com.