Skateboard assembly VS assembling a set of parts

You are a beginner rider. More precisely, you want to become one. You were faced with the question of buying equipment for skateboarding, i.e. the skateboard itself. It seems to be nothing complicated – I went and bought it. But at this stage, you can go in 2 radically different ways:

• buy a skateboard assembly, the so-called complet from the manufacturer;
• build a skateboard from individual components.

In this article, we want to help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of the skateboard assembly methods, as well as make the right choice.

P.S. the article will focus exclusively on high-quality branded goods and components, and not assemblies from multidisciplinary sports stores. Such products can hardly be called skateboards.

Buying a skateboard assembly

This is the easiest way to join the ranks of skateboarders. If you still do not have sufficient experience in choosing components, and you do not want to bother with this at this stage, then welcome – this method will be the best solution to the problem.

Skate assembly is a complete set, where all of the following components are already assembled into a finished skateboard:

• wheels with bearings already inserted;
• suspensions;
• deck with glued skin (grip tape);
• screws.

Those, you buy a sports equipment that is already ready for battle. On a skateboard assembly, you can go to the spot or to the park right from the store.

What are the benefits of buying a complete skate board?

1. Low cost. This is the main advantage of this method. It is no wonder that when you buy the entire set of assembled components, the manufacturer is ready to give you a discount on his product. After all, you kind of buy in small wholesale, for which you are encouraged. Let’s look at a specific example.

Skate assembly ELEMENT LIGHT UP IN THE DARK consists of the following components (prices for individual components are approximate, but correlated with the retail price of components from this manufacturer):

• deck ELEMENT LIGHT UP IN THE DARK;
• suspensions Element;
• wheels Element All-Terrain;
• Element ABEC-5 bearings;
• griptape;
• hardware.

The total cost of individual components is 12080 rubles. In the collection, this skateboard costs 7990 rubles. A discount of ≈ 4000 rubles is a good gift from the manufacturer.

2. Everything has already been collected for you. Not a single beginner knows all the intricacies of assembling a skateboard, so a ready-made version saves you from unnecessary manipulations at the start. They pasted emery for you, pressed the bearings into the wheels and twisted it all with screws – riders do not learn to do this correctly the first time.

Of course, many will be able to say that they could figure it out themselves. But you definitely won’t be able to do it all the first time correctly and efficiently. It is better to learn from a ready-made compliment, where everything is done according to GOST.

3. There is no need to fit everything to size. It seems to be an ordinary piece of wood with 4 wheels. But no, and it has its own subtleties of comparing the sizes of components. For you, we have already selected the optimal suspension width for the current deck. Wheels have been chosen for you, which will be a good option for these suspensions, so as not to catch constant wheelbytes. The screws of the optimal size have been selected for you. Well, and an important fact – the complement is often assembled completely balanced in color. Aesthetes or girls will be very happy about it. Indeed, most often, when choosing the first skateboards, a beginner looks at the graphics of the deck and the colors of the rest of the components.

3. All these points are significant advantages of this method of buying a skateboard. And if we go to the minuses, then, as such, they are not. Is that – when buying a complete deck, you limit yourself to the set of components that the manufacturer offers. For example, you seem to be satisfied with the colors of the tracks and wheels, but the deck is not with the right graphics – there is nothing you can do to take it or not take it at all. And then in the same spirit – if some components are not satisfied, then there is nothing you can do about it. Unfortunately, in modern skateboards there are still no proposals for replacing some components from the set, according to your taste and color.

Assembling a skateboard from separate components

In general, this method of buying a skateboard with a stretch is suitable for completely “green” beginners. It will be good for those who have already tried the complete set, but want something of their own, or for those who previously rode on Chinese assemblies and now wants to switch to normal components.

All of the listed advantages for a skateboard assembly for this method fall into disadvantages:

• In general, custom assembly is always more expensive;
• you need to collect and stick everything yourself;
• the question arises of comparing the sizes of all components

If this does not scare you, and you want to collect your own version, then let’s isolate the advantages of this method.

Benefits of building a custom skateboard

1. Not like everyone else. It is very difficult to find 2 custom skateboards where the components are identical to each other. In compliments, this all the time.
2. Variety of options for modifying the deck. For example, you want to buy skate tracks for a skateboard of non-standard height, then no one limits you in the custom assembly. Either you need wheels with a larger diameter than the proposals in the cathedrals – please choose. Any options, any bundles – here the choice is limited only by the dimensional compliance of the purchased components.
3. Learning to assemble the deck in battle. It doesn’t matter when you need to learn the skills of gluing emery or pressing in bearings. A great way to get / pump skills is to assemble a custom skate.

It is worth noting that all missile defense riders collect exclusively custom kits. They customize the assembly to suit their riding style. That is why, in most cases, assembling a riding deck from individual components is a more difficult task for a beginner than buying a ready-made complete set.

Enjoy the shopping!