Speedwobble occurs at high speeds when your trucks are too loose. The board will begin to shake violently and often times will result in the rider being thrown from the board. This can be prevented by simply tightening your trucks whenever you plan on bombing a hill.

If you look down the length of your board you will notice that the long section between the nose and tail is not perfectly flat. Most boards will curve up a little towards the edges creating a bowed shape. Concave gives the board additional strength and the rider additional control.

If you look on the side of the board you will notice thin layers of wood that are often times multi-colored, those are the plies. Most boards use seven plies of maple with a cross grain pattern. The ply design gives a deck more strength than a solid piece of wood.

The wheelbase of a board is measured from one inner pair of mounting holes to the other. Most skaters with longer legs prefer a longer wheels base. Average wheelbases can be anywhere from 13”-15”, choosing a wheelbase is mostly about comfort and personal preference.

Wheelbite will usually occur during a turn, the wheel will occasionally rub against the board, causing sudden and unwanted braking. To prevent it you can simply tighten your trucks, ride smaller wheels, or use risers.

Risers do two things. They help relieve stress from the trucks, which helps keep the deck from cracking (also called pressure cracks, which are produced by over tightening of the hardware and general wear and tear). More importantly, risers help keep the wheels from biting into the board on a hard turn, causing the board to suddenly stop, also known as wheel bite. It's a bad thing to have happen. Most risers are about 1/8" high. If you have extra large wheels, you'll want higher risers. On the other hand, if your wheels are small (52mm), then you might not need risers at all. Most people who ride street style boards with smaller wheels do not use risers. Most people use risers for longboards or cruisers because they ride fairly loose trucks with those types of set ups. It all depends on your personal preference and trial and error is the name of the game.

Riser pads are thin pieces of material, usually made of hard plastic, that are placed underneath the baseplate to prevent wheelbite. Basically, they are used to elevate the trucks and wheels away from you board. However, if you use wheels that are 54mm and smaller, risers are rarely needed.

There are a lot of factors that can contribute to the feel of a skateboard. The size and shape of the board are going to make the biggest and most noticeable difference. The larger the board, the easier it will be to ride and the more concave a board has the easier it will be to do tricks. How tight you ride your trucks will have a big affect on the feel of your board. Looser trucks are easier to turn but can be wobbly or squirrelly for a beginner, especially at higher speeds. The bearings used will affect how fast your board can go, and also how smooth ride is. Newer bearings or bearings with a higher abec rating will give the smoothest ride. Your wheels will also affect the feel of a board, softer wheels will give you a smoother ride that's good for cruising and harder wheels give a rougher ride but will be better for skate parks or street skating.

When choosing a skateboard, consider your weight and height before deciding what size board to go for. The heavier and/or taller you are the better off you'll be on a larger, wider board, however you may prefer to start off on a larger board anyway to provide you with stability until you decide what style of riding you are going to adopt. Decks are usually made from layers of laminated wood plys (usually 7) and vary in length and size. Most deck widths range between 7.5 and 8.5 inches, and lengths, from around 31 to 33 inches. Your choice will depend on the type of riding you want to do. The smaller, lighter decks are usually easier to control and flip. Whereas the larger, heavier decks are more stable and are good for riding transitions or doing stairs and gaps. The rest is down to personal preference in terms of wheel base, nose, and tail length. Most decks (except for some longboards) have a raised nose, tail, and sides. This is called the concave. The depth and overall shape of the concave has a dramatic effect on the response of the skateboard. The deeper the concave, the more aggressive the skater can be with their tricks. The shallower the concave, the more forgiving the deck is for newer skaters. Grip Tape is applied to the top of the deck and provides you with traction. There are loads of different colors & graphics available but they all do the same basic job.