1. Hardware. Shorty's bolts are made of the strongest high-grade steel with reduced, rounded heads for less weight and less board stress. The top portion (inside the wood and truck holes) is not threaded, so the bolt fits snugly and produces less vibration. This keeps the nuts from loosening and makes the bolts and the board last longer. GUARANTEED FOR LIFE!
2.
3. The original colored Monkey Nuts Phillips hardware since 1996. Grade 8 hardened steel. Proper coating that holds up in any condition, heads are only coated to insure correct tightening.
4.
5. Definition: The screws and nuts that are used to connect the trucks and the deck.
6. There is a crazy variety in skateboard hardware. The screws can have Philips heads, hex heads, square heads, or even nothing at all, just small bumps so you can use only your thumb. Skateboard hardware screws come in different lengths, and are often colored so that the skateboarder can put a different color of screw in the front. This is so the skateboarder can tell easily which end is the nose and which is the tail. This is only a small part of the variety of skateboarding hardware out there - for example, Sk8nuts skateboarding hardware is extremely unique - take a look at this review.
7. The truth is, however, that locknuts and screws can be bought at any hardware store and will likely work just fine. I used cheap hardware for my skateboard for a long time. But then, of course, I wanted something just a little cooler...
8. Also Known As: nuts, screws, locknuts
9. Examples: "Dino has hexnut hardware on his skateboard, and the front two screws are colored red."
10.
11. Trucks are mounted to the skateboard deck with eight nuts and bolts called skateboard hardware. Hardware comes in a variety of colors and two sizes 7/8" hardware and 1" hardware. 7/8" hardware is used when the trucks are mounted to the skateboard deck without risers. 1" hardware is used when the skateboard trucks are mounted to the skateboard deck with risers. Keep in mind that old school skateboards require the use of even longer hardware.
mounting hardware that required only one tool. I figured something must be missing or I'm on some new skateboarding, Punk'd type show. But to my surprise all that I needed was sitting there before me. Four bolts and two aluminum bars that attach at the front and rear bolts on each side of the base plate. All you need is a screwdriver or an Allen, which is provided for the latter, and you're ready to roll. And roll you will quicker than with standard hardware. I cut down my set up time in half. It's a great concept if you're out skating and you need to change out your board for whatever reason. You'll be up and running before your beer gets warm. And another plus is that the bolts have a strip of VRTL material (whatever that is, it sounds scientific) that acts as a thread lock, so your bolts won't come all loose on you. Seems to work, but as always, try them for yourself. Find these bolts as well as the standard hardware they make at www.sk8nuts.com . Oh yeah, Lee informed me that he will be manufacturing longer bolts with the sk8 nuts bar system for you cats that roll risers. Go skate.
Skateboarding was first started in the 1950s, when all across California surfers got the idea of trying to surf the streets. No one really knows who made the first board -- instead, it seems that several people came up with similar ideas at the same time. They started with wooden boxes or boards with roller skate wheels slapped on the bottom, and like you might imagine, a lot of people got hurt in skateboarding's early years! It was a sport just being born and discovered, so anything went. The boxes turned into planks, and eventually companies were producing decks of pressed layers of wood -- similar to the skateboard decks of today. During this time, skateboarding was seen as something to do for fun after surfing.
In 1963, skateboarding was at a peak of popularity, and companies like Jack's, Hobie and Makaha started holding skateboarding competitions.
At this time, skateboarding was mostly either downhill slalom or freestyle. Torger Johnson, Woody Woodward and Danny Berer were some well known skateboarders at this time, but what they did looked almost completely different from what skateboarding looks like today! Their style of skateboarding, called "freestyle", is more like dancing ballet or ice skating with a skateboard.
Then, in 1965, skateboarding's popularity suddenly crashed. Most people assumed that skateboarding was a fad that had died out, like the hoola hoop. Skateboard companies died out, and people who wanted to skate had to make their own skateboards again from scratch.
But people still skated, even though parts were hard to find and boards were home made. Skaters were also using clay wheels for their boards, which was extremely dangerous and hard to control. But then in 1972, Frank Maceworthy invented urethane skateboard wheels, which is similar to what most skaters use today. His company was called Cadillac Wheels, and the invention sparked new interest in skateboarding among surfers and other young people.
In the spring of 1975, skateboarding took an evolutionary boost toward the sport that we see today. In Del Mar, California a slalom and freestyle contest was held at the Ocean Festival. That day, the Zephyr team showed the world what skateboarding could be. They rode their boards like no one had in the public eye, low and smooth, and skateboarding was taken from being a hobby to a serious, exciting sport. Click here to read more about the history of Dogtown and the Zephyr team.
Then, in 1978, a skater named Alan "Ollie" Gelfand invented a maneuver that gave skateboarding another revolutionary jump. He would slam his back foot down on the tail of his board and jump, thereby popping himself and the board into the air. The ollie was born, a trick that completely revolutionized skateboarding -- most tricks today are based in performing an ollie. The trick still bears his name, and Alan Gelfand was inducted into the skateboard hall of fame in 2002.
By far the most well known name in Skateboarding, Tony Hawk is responsible for a great deal of how skateboarding looks today. By age fourteen, Tony Hawk became a pro skateboarder, and by sixteen Tony Hawk had become the worlds best skateboarder. Hawk has entered about 103 pro contests -- he won 73, and placed second in 19.
This is skateboardings best record by far. Tony Hawk rode through the early rise in skating popularity, through its decline in the early 1990s, and now back to the top to become the most successful skateboarder in history.
Skateboards themselves have also had an interesting evolution -- the boards went from first being wooden boxes or planks to mass produced decks, with shaped edges and a large tail. Boards have evolved since to not having such a clear nose and tail, so that skaters can ride switch (backwards) more easily. Wheels went from metal roller skate wheels, to rubber, to now being made of urethane, so they`re cheaper and lighter.
Skateboarding still hasn`t stopped evolving, and skaters are coming up with new tricks all the time. Boards are also continuing to evolve, as companies try to make them lighter and stronger, or try to improve on their performance. Skateboarding has always been about personal discovery and pushing oneself to the limit. So, where will skateboarding go from here? Wherever skaters continue to take it.
Have Board, Will Travel: The Definitive History of Surf, Skate, and Snow
by Jamie Brisick
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ISBN: 0060563591
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Publisher Comments:
Whether on water, pavement, or fluffy white powder, the history of surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding is a landscape filled with rugged personalities, exotic locales, wild innovation, and most of all the united dream of becoming one with the oceans, streets, and mountains.
Have Board, Will Travel shows the intricate connection between all three sports. Their histories act as the grand foundation, the images serve as divine inspiration, and each page is filled with enough side-stanced glory to summon even the laziest couch potato to pick up a board and ride.
Synopsis:
Have Board, Will Travel is the most definitive surf/skate/snow book ever published. It‛ s perfect for all boarders, with colour-coded storylines, iconic graphics, and an innovative design for the most interactive read ever.
The book covers everything from the best places to ride to brief histories of each sport to lifestyles, personalities, performance, designs, and insider tips. It begins with surfing (half of the content), moves to skateboarding (about a third of the content), then it hits snowboarding (one-fifth of the content), to give the reader an insightful perspective on all of these things to inform, entertain, and make them want to go out and ride.
With a great design, the book is clean, hip and reader-friendly, so you can flip to any page and learn something cool about a sport.
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About the Author
Jamie Brisick surfs, skates, snowboards, and ping-pongs back and forth between Southern California and São Paulo, Brazil. He has written for boardsporting magazines for more than ten years, surfed on the ASP world tour for five, and recently wrote and photographed a book about the wanderlust lifestyle entitled We Approach Our Martinis With Such High Expectations.
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Product Details
ISBN:
0060563591
Subtitle:
The Definitive History of Surf, Skate, and Snow
Author:
Brisick, Jamie
Author:
Brisick, Jamie
Publisher:
HarperEntertainment
Location:
New York
Subject:
Popular Culture - General
Subject:
History
Subject:
Surfing
Subject:
Skateboarding
Subject:
Snowboarding
Copyright:
2004
Edition Number:
1st ed.
Publication Date:
August 2004
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
195
Dimensions:
10.94x9.78x.43 in. 1.95 lbs.
A skateboard is a narrow wheeled platform used for the activity of skateboarding. Though the exact date of invention of skateboards is unknown, it was in the 1940s and 1950s that children participated in soap box derbys where they would race soap-boxes attached to wooden planks on rollerskate wheels. During events like this, some of the soap-boxes became detached from the planks, leaving the rider with what was a skateboard.
The first skateboards were made by taking a roller skate apart and attaching it to a two-by-four. These early skateboards were often used by surfers as a substitute when the waves were low.
The skateboard has evolved a lot since the first mass produced models in the 1960s. Boards in the past were often in the shape of a surfboard, with no concavity and constructed of solid wood or plastic. The wheels were usually made of a 'clay' composite or steel and the trucks (axles) were less sturdy and initially of a 'single action' design compared to today's 'double action'.
Skateboards are composed of several key elements.
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Deck
The deck forms the body of the skateboard and provides a place to stand. It is covered with grip tape (silicon carbide grit on a self adhesive backing), which provides traction for the skateboarder's feet. The first decks were usually made from solid oak or ash, and hand-shaped by their owners. Shelves, drawers and table-tops were often used by the first teenage skaters to build their decks.
Most decks are constructed with a seven ply, cross-laminated layup of North American maple. Sometimes other, more exotic materials, such as fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber are incorporated into deck construction, usually to lighten the board or increase its strength or rigidity.
Modern decks are 7½ to 8½ inches wide . The width of a deck depends on the personal preference of the person who uses it. Most people use 7.5-8 inch wide decks for street, and wider for vert. Skateboard decks are usually between 28 and 32.5 inches long. The longboard, a common variant of the skateboard, has a longer deck. "Old school" boards (those made in the 1970s-80s or modern boards that mimic their shape) are generally wider and often have only one tail. 1970s variants often have little or no concave, whereas 1980s models have deeper concaves and steeper tails.
Most decks are pressed with concave in the body, i.e. the area of the board between the nose and the tail kicks. A concave is where the deck dips inward on the top side (where the skater stands), to cup the foot for more control, and to add strength by stiffening the flex.
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Wheels
The wheels, usually made of polyurethane, come in many different sizes and shapes to suit different types of skating. Larger sizes like 65-90 mm roll faster, and also move more easily over small cracks in pavement. Smaller sizes like 48-54 mm keep the board closer to the ground and require less force to accelerate but also make for a slower top speed.
Wheels also are available in a variety of hardnesses usually measured on the durometer 'A' scale. Wheels range from the very soft (about 75a) to the very hard (about 99a). As the scale stops at 100a, any wheels labeled 101a or higher are harder, but do not use the appropriate durometer scale. Some wheel manufacturers now use the 'B' or 'D' scale, which has a larger and more accurate range of hardnesses.
Modern street skating requires small wheels (usually 48-55mm), as small wheels make tricks like kickflips and ollies easier. Street wheels also need to be quite hard, as small soft wheels absorb too much energy to even roll along.
Vert skating requires larger wheels (usually 55-65mm) as vert skating involves high speeds that smaller wheels are unable to sustain. Vert wheels are usually very hard, so they can roll faster. As they are only used on ramps and parks that are smooth they never need be soft.
Slalom skating requires even larger wheels (60-75mm)to sustain the highest speeds possible. They also need to be soft and grippy to make the tight and frequent turns in slalom racing.
Even larger wheels are used in longboarding and downhill skateboarding. Sizes range from 65mm right up to 100mm. These extreme sizes of wheels almost always have cores of hard plastic that can be made thinner and lighter than a solid urethane wheel.
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Trucks
Attached to the deck are two metal (usually aluminum alloy) trucks, which connect to the wheels. The trucks are further composed of two parts. The top part of the truck is screwed to the deck and is called the baseplate, and beneath it is the hanger. Between the baseplate and the hanger are bushings, also rubbers or grommets, that provide the cushion mechanism for turning the skateboard. The bushings cushion the truck when it turns. The stiffer the bushings, the more stable the skateboard. The softer the bushings, the easier it is to turn. A bolt called a kingpin holds these parts together and fits inside the bushings. Thus by tightening or loosening the kingpin nut, the trucks can be adjusted for steer.
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Bearings
A skateboard wheel uses two precision ball bearing enclosures of the type '608' (8 mm internal bore). Many skateboard bearings are graded according to the ABEC scale, which goes from 1-9, in odd numbers. It is a common misconception that higher numbers are better for skateboarding. The ABEC rating only measures tolerances which does not necessarily apply to bearings used for skateboarding. The ABEC rating does not determine how fast or how durable a bearing used for skateboarding will be.
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Mounting Hardware
Mounting hardware is a set of eight 10-32 bolts, usually a truss head, and matching self-lock nylock nuts. They are used to attach the trucks to the board.
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Optional components
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Rails
Narrow plastic strips that are fastened under the deck along the edges. Used for additional grip for airs and to enhance sliding while protecting the deck's graphics at the same time.
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Copers
Copers are plastic guards that fit over the top of the truck hanger. they serve to protect the truck during grinds, as they can be easily and cheaply replaced when worn through. They also give a much smoother grinding surface than the hanger itself, allowing for grinds to be longer and cleaner.
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Lappers
A lapper is a plastic cover that is fastened to the inside of the rear truck that protects the kingpin when grinding, and prevents hang-ups by providing a smoother transition for the truck when it hits an obstacle.
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Nose guard
A plastic "bumper" fastened to the nose of a skateboard to protect it from impact.
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Tail guard
A tail guard is a plastic skid plate used to prevent wearing of tail, and as a means to stop the board.
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Risers
Riser or riser pads are made of plastic and go between the truck and the board to provide additional clearance for the wheels to prevent wheel-bite (when the truck turns to a degree where the wheel will contact with the deck and stop spinning). They usually range in height from ⅛″ to ½″. Shock pads are a variation of risers that are usually made of rubber or neoprene. They absorb impact and reduce vibration, which in turn helps prevent hardware from loosening and they can also prevent pressure cracks from forming.