by John Cane

Created on: August 05, 2009   Last Updated: August 09, 2009

Skateboards in many respects are very simple machines, but despite appearances there is quite a bit of engineering that goes into making skateboards. So while the uninitiated might have trouble telling the difference between a $20 complete that you get at a big box store and a $150 Pro skateboard that you might buy at a skate shop, there are huge differences in how the skateboard works and feels. To understand why this is we need to look at each component, how it is made and what it does.

A complete skateboard usually refered to as "a complete" is made up of a deck (the wooden part), Trucks (the part that attaches the wheels to the deck), Wheels, Bearings, Hardware, and Grip tape. Each of these components serves a specific purpose and can be made of either high quality or low quality. So lets go through them.

The Deck: The deck is usually made out of a number of layers of wood that are glued and pressed into a form. There are also a lot of companies who are inserting layers of other materials like Carbon Fiber into the decks to increase durabilty. The characteristics of the deck are determined by the type of wood, the quality of wood, the way the direction of the grain of the wood and the shape into which the deck is pressed. Typically decks are made out of either Birch or Maple (most bill it as Canadian maple, but it is just maple) Birch is a softer wood that tends to give the board a flat feel and break easily. Because of this you will usually see Birch only in less expensive decks and you will notice that the deck is much thicker than a maple. The wood is layered in either 5 or 7 layers (7 is better) with the grain of the wood each layer in opposing directions to the layers around it. The deck is usually curved up at the tip and tail, and along the sides. The about of curve up on the sides is referred to a "concave". A deck with a lot of concave is usually easier to do tricks on, but is less stable when landing those tricks. The effect of this is also controlled by the width of the deck. So a wider deck may feel much more stable than a narrow deck even if they have the same amount of concave. The other term you will hear thrown around a lot is "pop". Pop is derived from the quality and layering of the wood from which a board is made, and is basically the amount of recoil in the deck when the deck is flexed. A deck with a lot of pop will be easier to get off the ground to do tricks on.

The Trucks: In addition to holding the wheels to the deck, the trucks

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