Why Buy A Complete Skateboard?
Josh Stanley ⌝ BS Flip – Photo: Albert Soesastro
It’s an age old question but the answer is always changing so we’re here to help you wade through the dimensions to help you get what you need. Even the pros had to start somewhere!
When most skaters think about completes, they think about cheap Kmart boards, and rightly so. For decades these were the only completes you could buy, with all actual skateboards being built from a selection of components. It’s not until recently that decent quality pre-built completes have become available and the savings are real. Folklore completes stand out because they’re assembled from quality components and aren’t prebuilt as to cut quality corners like so many other completes out there.
This article will help you choose the best option for you, by covering the following points.
our completes are Built up to a Quality, Not Down to a Price.
Deck and Deck Width
Folklore 8.25″ Deck ⌝
The deck and its width are typically the jump-off point in choosing components for your complete skateboard, because the width defines the size and style of the components you choose. Both the wood type and glue play a huge role in deck quality which is why we use strictly Canadian Maple and US adhesives. Decks typically range from 7.25″ (mini) up to 8.75″. Deck width can be considered as a 2 ended spectrum, skinny to wide. Skinnier decks are lighter, making them easier to ollie etc, and the thinner width is better for flip tricks/tech stuff because you need less air/pop to flip the board without contacting the ground. Wider decks are more stable and forgiving with their larger standing platform. Given that there’s more room to stand, wider decks are more forgiving when you don’t plant your foot in the right spot and is in part why wider boards are better for transition and bowl skating.
Choosing a Width
This is a rough guide, please reach out on our contact form if you’re unsure!
Mini / 7.25″
For the minis!
Height range: up to 140cm
Shoe Size Range: up to 5
Suited for kids up to age ~10.
~7.75″
For the grombats!
Height Range: 140-160cm
Shoe Size: 5-8
Ages between 10 – 14.
8″ and up
Everyone else, personal preference.
Height Range: 160-195cm
Shoe Size: 9+
Truck and Truck Width
Paramount 130mm Trucks ⌝
Trucks are basically the steering wheel of your skateboard. Every Folklore complete is paired with correctly sized Paramount trucks to ensure no overhangs, iffy leverage and to help mitigate wheel-bite. When you lean on the rail of your deck the force is transferred into the truck, through the bushing and into the axle – this causes the axle to twist which creates the turn. A good truck is one that combines time-tested geometry and high-quality aluminium. We choose Paramount trucks for our completes because the geometry is proven and the A356 Aluminium with T6 treatment is durable, even against the most haggard pool coping – the real test – and use only virgin Aluminum because recycled trucks are prone to bending and cracking. We are constantly endeavouring to lessen our impact but we quickly realised that recycled T6 isn’t a great option, not only are the trucks prone to bending (meaning you have to buy a second pair of trucks….) but the energy cost of recycling these alloys is immense, waaay more than a coke can, that’s for sure.
Wheels
Folklore 54mm 83B Wheels ⌝
For over a decade we’ve been designing and pouring Folklore wheels, based on the feedback of our team. If you wanna do it right, do it yourself! For our completes we took our much-loved Classic shape and tested out some uniquely ideal formulas to create a do-it-all wheel that’ll sort you out for any of your park endeavours, with top tier virgin USA produced urethane. You may have noticed that these wheels are ‘B’ scale hardness, not the ‘A’ scale you typically see. Engineering mumbo-jumbo aside, the B scale can be related back to the A scale by adding 20 units, so an 83B is the practically the same as 103A, but the A scaled ends at 100, 101A being 81B. In short, these wheels are durable, hard and perfect for learning on as they’re fast on the smooth stuff (skateparks, basketball courts etc) but don’t get away from you on the coarser stuff, like bitumen.
Bearings
Paramount ABEC 7 Certified Bearings.
Bearings are pretty crucial to your general skating experience, assuming you want to roll on your skateboard! You’ve probably seen the ABEC rating, but what most people don’t know is that there is an actual certification process, something none of the cheap brands out there undergo, they claim a rating, but never get it tested. Paramount bearings are 100% certified so that we can meet a quality standard that most bearing’s don’t, especially the bearings that come on most completes. The ABEC certification positions bearings as either ABEC 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9. Higher numbers are more precise, suggesting better rolling speed, but at a cost to durability. Over the years we’ve found that ABEC 7 is the sweet spot of roll speed and durability. Paramount bearings perform great and maintenance is a breeze too.
Hardware
Each complete is set up with the appropriately sized Paramount hardware, with allen-key bolts and nyloc nuts to help you keep it together.
Grip
We use VICE Grip on all of our completes because it lasts… a very long time. There are few things worse than having to replace old grip!