Are you just stepping into the wonderful world of skateboarding? Or you have already mastered the tricks and flips but you are looking for a quicker, more fun way to get around the busy town streets? If you are just starting to learn how to balance on wheels and wonder what the different shapes of boards mean, then let’s try to make some things clearer.
Longboards, cruisers, and skateboards are not the same, and pulling off tricks or skating on the ramps can be a different experience depending on the board
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What Are Cruiser Skateboards?
Cruisers, as serious skateboarders insist we call them, are essentially skateboards that are shaped to create the surfiest feeling on land. They are usually around 30” to 37” long, which makes them small and light to carry around. The larger, soft wheels and curvy trucks allow beginners to roll and deal with rough surfaces. Some have kicktails (the upward bent tips) to enable easy manoeuvring like the traditional skateboard, others are flat and give you a surfy feeling without moving your feet a lot.
Apart from being an excellent choice for newbies, cruisers are great for commuting and cruising down streets in city environments, or basically on any level terrain. Mini-cruisers, which are smaller and extra light, are especially good for this purpose, and other varieties can also be used for light tricks, transitions or fun cruising on the boardwalk.
Complete Cruisers vs. Custom Skateboard
Once you know what you want out of your skateboard and learn more about the components, you might want to assemble your customised one. But when you are a beginner, complete cruiser boards are the better choice.
There are plenty of pros to buying complete cruiser skateboards. For starters, they are almost always cheaper. All you have to do is open the box and skate. You don’t have to go through the process of choosing the right wheels, trucks, and bearings, waiting for orders, and investing hours in learning how to put that all together.
If you are just starting this hobby, you will feel lost in all the parts and might decide it’s not for you at all. And it’s not likely that you will notice the difference unless you have been grinding rails or riding vertical ramps for some time.
You can always upgrade a complete board to a more custom one later when you learn the know-how.
Advanced skaters, on the other hand, like to tweak their skateboards to their liking. Since they know exactly what they want to use it for, they can pick the appropriate parts. This can be a bit more expensive but you will get to customise your deck, choose the quality of all components and make your design.
Cruisers, Longboards and Skateboards
Cruisers are generally not bigger than regular skateboards and their look is inspired by the retro designs of the 1970s. However, unlike the old-school boards, their decks have a directional shape and feature either a kicktail or double-kicktail. They also have bigger and higher trucks. Compared to skateboards, they are easier to manoeuvre and are more agile and responsive, which makes them ideal for riding in tight city areas.
Longboards are great for distance travel, open road commutes, and riding down bigger hills. A full-size one turns on a wider radius but is more stable at high speed. They are longer than skateboards and have a bigger deck size making them more comfortable and stable to ride, but they are also heavier and bulkier.
Skateboards have more rigid trucks, which makes them perfect for grinds and performing tricks is easier. Their smaller wheels allow for keeping balance but can easily be thrown off by rod obstacles. Traditional boards are great for ramps and tight turns, leaps, and flips. However, the same features make them less stable and not as comfortable as the longboards.
Where Can You Use Cruiser Skateboards?
With the nose truncated, the cruiser boards are more aerodynamic and suitable for navigating the streets, but it is possible to ride them at skateparks too. Some movements and tricks might be difficult to perform, but since they essentially resemble the standard shape you should be able to perform grinds on ledges and rails.
Because they are lightweight, you can also do ollies, no-complies, flip tricks, and more. With some practice, you can also use them for riding mini ramps and most skateboard obstacles. Put on your helmet and pads and start experimenting.
True skaters always find a way to make the boards do whatever they want them to, so try and see if you can make it work.
Cruisers are fun and versatile with an old-school vibe that skaters love.
Takeaway
To know if a complete cruiser is right for you, consider what you need it for and whether you want to progress at skateboarding. It’s the perfect board to start until you hone your skills.
It is also ideal if you just want to ride to and from your local places, run some errands, get the groceries or cruise to the beach. It is portable if you need to store or carry your board in between trips and extremely versatile.
There’s plenty left to learn from the skaters’ urban cool world, but now at least you know where to start.
