Skateboard Maintenance
How to buy, maintain and store your skateboards.
If you’ve been skating for years, chances are you own more than one skateboard. You might even own two, three, or over five skateboards. Whether you buy skateboards to ride, or to add to a growing collection, you need to know how to: find the hottest skateboards for sale online, maintain and repair your skateboards after extensive use, and how to store your skateboards properly to keep yourself and others from tripping over the boards you’re probably keeping on the floor.
How to find skateboards for sale online.
Finding skateboards to buy online is easy. You can use a search engine like Google or Yahoo to search for specific brands such as Birdhouse, Element, Flip, Gravity, Powell, Bullet, Speed Demons, Sector 9, Toy Machine and more. You can also specifically search for different types of skateboards like longboards or special shorter skateboards made for tricks.
You can usually buy skateboards directly from the manufacturer’s website, but do shop around since prices are likely lower at a “mom and pop” online shop. Don’t forget to check auction sites like eBay and classifieds sites like Craigslist for used and hard to find skateboards.
If you’re wondering what the “in” skateboard is, search for forums and blogs where people gather online to discuss skateboarding. You could always ask your skating buddies about the latest skateboards too.
How to maintain and repair your skateboards.
The most important part of your skateboard is the wheels. Without the wheels, you would be stuck with nothing more than a fancy piece of wood! When your wheels start to slow you down, it’s usually a ball-bearing problem. To make sure you keep your wheels in top rolling order, keep your bearings lubricated. You can use regular cooking oil (vegetable, corn, etc) every time you skate. Use oil sparingly though because excess oil will attract a lot of dirt. You should only use cooking oil if the bearings make any kind of noise when you spin them. If the bearings are quiet, you’ll need to lubricate them with bicycle grease instead of cooking oil.
If you happen to lose any of your bearings, you’ll have to buy replacements at your local or online skate shop. Never mix old bearings with new. If you have to replace one, it’s probably a good idea to replace them all (usually 16 bearings for each wheel). Bearings for your skateboard or not too expensive, so don’t hesitate to replace all of them.
How to store your skateboards.
Sure. You could toss your skateboards in your closet or leave them out on the floor, but why? A much better idea would be to buy a skateboard rack. Skateboard racks can easily be mounted on your wall, and can hold all of your boards safely. Skateboard racks are perfect for simple storage, or to display some of the more expensive, limited edition, or collectable skateboards you may have. What better way to show off your hobby than to put it on your walls?