How to assemble a longboard

Buying your first longboard can be a daunting task - especially if you have never stepped foot on a longboard before. If you really have an interest in the sport, keep reading. This guide will help you get started by teaching you what makes a good longboard.You will want to think about the type of longboarding you're going to be doing before you just go out and buy a longboard. If you want to go downhill as fast as possible, you'll need a high tech board, like something from sector nine or loaded longboards. If you just want to cruise the streets and do things at low speeds, then most any other board will work just fine.You may just want to go out and buy a longboard that's already setup for you. This is called a complete longboard. The best advice that this guide can give you if you take the route of buying a complete longboard is this: don't waste your money on a cheap board. Your experience will be infinitely better if you spend a good chunk of money on a good longboard. If you'd rather put a deck together, you will need to buy all the parts. We'll explain wheels first.The first thing you'll need to buy if you're putting a longboard together is a good pair of wheels. Longboard wheels are usually soft. A regular skateboarder would use hard wheels, but longboarders want to feel as little of the road as possible. Soft wheels absorb a lot of the road and give the rider a nice smooth ride. Soft wheels also help the longboarder brake when they're sliding - hard wheels will just slide, while soft wheels grip the road and slow the board down.You will also need a longboard deck. The only company that really makes these is loaded longboards. Fortunately, loaded longboards are great decks. You can also buy a loaded complete, but some people like to put their own together. Be sure to read about the different types of flex that loaded longboards offer, as it will affect your riding experience.The last thing to pick is a good set of trucks. There are different sets of trucks out there and the best way to find out which ones work well for you is to try them. Most stores should have the trucks you're looking at setup on another board and should be happy to let you try them out. If you can't test them, though, just make sure that you buy yourself some wide trucks. They can always be replaced later.That's about it for putting together a longboard. You'll find as you go through everything that the best way to piece a skateboard together is to go to a shop and look at all the components. Find parts that suit you and your riding style, then put everything together. You shouldn't be too disappointed if you've taken the time to find quality parts.

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