As my mid life crisis gathers pace I've decided it's time I learnt to olie
I used to mess around a bit as a kid and I've dug out my 20 year old skateboard to mess around on at the mini bowl while me & my kids wait for my daughters dance class on Saturday mornings
But I definitely need a new skateboard, what width should i go for any hints and tips, enjoi boards any good?
Cheers
I could write some stuff but you might be better reading something like: https://autonomyskateboards.com/pages/board-size-finder
Enjoi are great.
Good luck!
Isn't there already a thread for this?
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/so-what-stupid-thing-have-you-done-today/
if you think mtb'ing is good for injuries...
Ankles are overrated anyway
Ankles, wrists and possibly head and knees will not put up with the same level of abuse they used to plus you won’t bounce.
I find I still bounce at 51 but there is usually a crack or snap and lots of pain that quickly follows.
8 inches that looks nice, dont skimp on bearings and wear your pads. And helmet if riding any ramp or curb over 6 inches high.
Mini logo complete 8". Nothing else comes close. the trucks really are WAY better than anything else for comparable money. Properly good trucks until you get to independant/ace, but there a different kind of cost.
Also, padding. Lots of padding. Hips, knees, elbows, ankles, wrists, Melon.
Most boards nowadays tend to be much of similarity. Decent trucks and bearings i found to be the most important factor, then find a deck you like the picture on. If your mainly going to be messing in a bowl, a wider deck is probably the way forward
I still skate at 45 and have done on and off since I was a teen.
Contrary to the comments above i'd buy a wider board. I ride 8.5 to 8.75. At 45 your not likely to be learning anything overly technical and you'll appreciate the stability of a wider board.
I've never ridden completes but mini-logo would be ok.
Brands of decks that I like are Polar, Welcome and Creature.
For wheels, Spitfire every time
For trucks which aren't mad money, Venture are decent. Mini-logo bearings are cheap and decent.
I got an Arbor axis 37 on the weekend. Nice board for cruising along on. Not at all what you asked for, but recommend it as n+1.
My other board is an 8.75 Polar, with 58mm spitfire wheels and royal Alvarez trucks.
Arbor do some "hybrid" boards. See the pilsner and axel serrat pro boards. Could be worth a look at.
Depending on what you're hoping to do, I'd go with FutureBoy's advice.
I've recently gone for 9" wide in more of a pool shape and found it's better for stability and foot placement on transitions/bowls etc. Previous skinnier board was better for ollies though.
Couldn't stop watching hallofmeat! Guy loses all his teeth!
There must be a mash article for this scenario?
Previous skinnier board was better for ollies though
Board width has little effect on the ability to ollie. I learned on a 9.9" board. The stability of a wide board makes it easier. Kickflips and shove its etc. get more difficult with a wider board.
Also, its ollie.
8" is good for flips but not so much for cruising. 8.5 Is a nice all round. I like a pool bomber as much as a lollipop.
Wheels are the most important aspect though, get the right size and hardness for your desired use.
Oh, and when you buy trucks, expect to swap the bushings straight away... They're not designed to hold the weight of a 45 yo dad bod.
I'm exactly the same but with BMX.
Bought one two years ago rode once a week before first lockdown.
Drive past asylum skatepark every day as well.
I've done something similar OP. With my small kids at the skatepark, the choice is either join in, or stand there scrolling your phone (going by the other parents - I'm still new to this).
Learning to ollie sounds like a good objective, but I quite like riding around the ramps and pool generally. I ended up adding a surfskate to my small collection a little while ago - as long as you aren't looking for lots of tricks, surfskates seem a very accessible way of enjoying that stuff for less experienced skaters. And yeah, pads!
There must be a mash article for this scenario?
or more positively...
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/07/skateboarding-in-middle-age-it-helps-me-switch-off
I'm similar tbh. Kids like mucking around at the skatepark. I get bored. What's the least embarrassing option? A small dirt jump bike?
Oh, and when you buy trucks, expect to swap the bushings straight away… They’re not designed to hold the weight of a 45 yo dad bod.
😀
I’m similar tbh. Kids like mucking around at the skatepark. I get bored. What’s the least embarrassing option? A small dirt jump bike?
Could be ok, I will say though that a dirt jumper is harder to use I'm a skatepark than a bmx because the transitions are usually quite small (I am talking council skateparks)
Decent wheels are a must, Ricta were always one of the best for speed and grip.
Given that you are 45 I’m gonna assume you have a tiny bit of disposable income to spend......
Don’t buy a pre made complete, build one up. Ideally go to your local skate shop ( they will probably be stoked to help you set up a board - skating is far less judgemental than it was 20 years ago )
Popsicle decks are all fairly similar, width counts but wheelbase does too. Personally I would suggest something 8.75 ish. Wheelbase of 14.5 is a good medium staring point. That kinda size gives you a bit of real estate for sketchy landings.
Trucks wise it’s a bit personal preference so just buy some! Mini logo are a good budget choice, film are good and cheaper than the “ big 4 “ brands.
Indy, ace, thunder & venture all feel different but you may not notice to start with anyway.
Hardware ( truck bolts ) just buy the cheapest and for bearings, mini logo are excellent value
Wheels wise, spitfire F4 are the industry leader but OJ, bones or slime balls are all good too and a little cheaper. 54mm and 99a ( or 97a maybe ) are a good starting point.
Wear pads, join middle aged shred on Facebook and check out some old man skateboarding tags on Instagram.
Also, wax a curb near your house, it’s hella funa and you don’t even need to be able to Ollie!......
F@@@@in love skateboarding......
My cousin (late 40s) thought he’d show his daughter’s boyfriend how to skateboard as he did a fair bit of riding in his teens. Cue a trip to hospital and a broken hip!
Not skateboarding as I was useless as a teen and probably still useless now at 36.
Have started ice skating and in-line skating again.
Protection protection. Wrist guards, elbow, knee pads and helmet are a must.
Roads aren’t forgiving and neither are skate parks.
Missus has already fractured her Scaphoid back in October from a simple trip on her quads at a indoor rink.
She carried on skating though even with the pot on 😆
Well Ben's comments about my dadbod aside...
I've ordered an enjoi deck with trucks and wheels from route1
Went for 8.25 after bouncing on some in decathlon, even 8.25 seemed wide compared to my current one
I'm excited now, cheers for all the tips
Surfskate is a lot more fun. We have a dozen boards, but none are as much fun as the surfskate (and the ripstik).
Order some wrist guards too. Probably a gumshield to go with it!
For a beginner, I’d fit the biggest wheels you can get your hands on.
They may be slower to get going (bonus!), but your less likely to stop suddenly when you run over a pebble.
To fit really big wheels, you’re probably looking at something like the Landyachtz ‘drop-cat’.
i have little to add to this, other than go for it and enjoy.
I had a skateboard period in my late teens, before i moved to BMX.
I loved the skate culture of back in the day and the things people can do on a board is insane.
Alien Workshop were my go to back in the day.... not sure if they still exist?!
Yes, Alien Workshop are still going, based in Ohio, sold back to the something like the original owners I think.
Surfskate is a lot more fun.
What's that then? I did watch a video quickly and it looked like a cruiser board with insanely loose trucks, but I suspect there's slightly more going on.
Alien Workshop were my go to back in the day
As a mid-90s skater, the Alien Workshop Spectrum is definitely on my top five list of best deck art of all time:
[img] 
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I'm now pondering what else would be on there. Toy Machine 'Fists', anything by Hook Ups, will have to think harder about the others.
@finbar, surely the blind skull deck arts have to be up there among some of the best
What’s that then?
Surfskate seems to have two answers:
1. The surf purist. Uses a surfskate as a surfboard simulator on 'flat days' to work on 'good form', which to be fair was the initial concept. The fully swivelling front truck allows for much tighter carves, maneuverability and pumping for speed. Lots of arm waving from this crowd, maybe fits in more in stylish sunny locations than a grey UK skatepark.
2. The non-surfer, likes skateboards and probably comes from longboards, cruisers or pool skateboards out of curiosity. Drawn in by the ease of riding ramps and bowls (once you get over the thought of dropping in on a wobbly front truck...) and especially the ridiculous way you can pump them around without having to push with your foot, which on fairness is pretty fun. If you want to start small in bowls and mini ramps and don't want to do the usual learning dropping in, rock-to-fakie, rock and roll, bigger kickturns etc, surfskates can let you do some of that at lower speed, lower commitment and lower risk. But you won't be kickflipping.
I think both approaches are valid, although it seems people do row about them on YouTube 🙂 I think I look a bit odd sometimes on the surfskate in a local park, but the problem is that it is proper fun to ride, so...it's staying.
Sounds like I want a go on one!
We were all over 45 when we made this.... we had previous though
Surfskates and castor boards (Ripstik) allow forward propulsion by basically carving, none of that serious, wrist-breaking, tooth loosening, stuff in a bowl, just fun to ride. Surfskates are for those who can't ride Ripstiks but still want to carve 😉
I taught my son's to ride a Ripstik after I mastered them myself, aged 45. Scary fast downhill but great fun.
All built up and ready to injure myself tomorrow morning
My eldest now wants a new skateboard, those Element Star wars ones are epic!
I'm 57 and still skate every now and then. I have nieces who skate, and they occasionally come to me for some old-school wisdom.
These days I can ollie about 2cm, and when I tried to do a board grab the other day I couldn't compress fast enough ... that was a bit embarrassing.
I can still do a 1080º spin though (on the ground you understand, not in the air) and manual for 30m or so.
The best deck I ever had was a Schmitt Stix John Lucero Street Thing:
https://skateboardlongboarddeck.info/vintage_schmitt_stix_skateboard_lucero_street_thing.htm
I don't suppose anyone has one laying around do they?
If you need some inspiration, check out the Tired videos
Nowt wrong with a 45 year old skater and anyone that says different are just jealous they're not that cool
Skating in your 50’s, a victor meldrew sticker on the underside of your board is obligatory😊
I'd like to reiterate the previous shout from someone about wrist guards... Currently sat with a fractured wrist after falling about a foot off a nose slide that got away from me last night 😂 no regrets, heaps of fun, but easily overlooked!
just bought myself a carver surfskate for my 46th birthday...
I am 44 and just learning to Surfskate, I love it. I have surfed for a good while but it has made my surfing better. Did half an hour at lunch time, wear full pads and a helmet so far have avoided injury but fired the board off a good few times.
i refurbed my old flexdex last week and had a couple of sessions on a recently re-tarmaced road near me.
started looking for new trucks and it was as cost effective to buy another whole setup.
so, fairly mint, 30" carver proteus with cx trucks on its way from ebay. £140.
and currently looking for some decent elbow pads.
lots of good concrete skateparks around here...
This thread has a lot to answer for!
Bought an Arbor Crosscut hybrid in a half price sale, arrived last week. Had to upgrade the truck bushings already as the stock ones seem to be the same consistency as marshmallows.
And a tool to fit them as I can’t find my imperial socket set.
And wrist guards after I found out I’ve no muscle memory for it after 35 years and I was never very good even as a teenager.
A snapped Achilles Tendon stopped me going skateboarding on my 50th Birthday in March, which was something I was determined to do. Still not recovered enough to consider getting back on the plank yet 🙁
surfskate? carver? hybrids?...!!
This thread could get interesting - it'll be like an ebike thread!
Careful, the whole surfskate thing alone is a YouTube rabbit hole. Still not ruled one out either.
Kimbers, it may be the angle of the photo but your trucks look a tad narrow for the board you have? Stability is your friend....
Only really interesting in carving good tarmac and bowls, so surfskate was natural choice.
I'm surfskate curious - can anyone say how it compares to a wide board with wide loose trucks? I guess it's more turny, but can you grind them etc?
I think it’s a different pivot location rather than just a soft bushing.
carver do three different styles of truck, I’ve gone for the CX’s
@jimfrandisco there’s a range of different things that are sold as “surfskates”
At one end you have what is basically a shaped deck with soft bushings in normal skateboard trucks and soft wheels. Basically what is sometimes termed a cruiser skateboard. These roll well and carve around like a normal skateboard. Exactly how depends on length and wheelbase but the “feel” of turns is the same. Anything from a 70s reissue 29” slalom board up to a 4 foot longboard you can cross step and “dance” on.
In the middle you have more specialist trucks. Still with a single pivot point but often different geometry. You often see the pivot point being in front of the truck hanger with a more horizontal kingpin rather than behind the hanger with a vertical kingpin like a “normal” truck. These boards still feel like a (very turney) normal skateboard. So less stable, more carvey but normal feel.
Finally you have the “true” surfskates. These have a normal rear truck but the front truck has a double pivot point. Yow make some nice ones, Carver, Penny do one and you can turn a normal cruiser into one with a “waterborne” adapter. These boards feel quite weird to begin with & mimic surfing body movements much more closely. The double pivot front truck means you can “pump” them with body movements very close to pumping along a wave and they allow you to practise the body movements for surfing snaps and cutbacks. They are easy to generate speed with and you barely need to push at all. They are hard to ride at any speed and you have to ride them “actively” - you can’t really just stand there and cruise along. People do ride them in bowls but believe me it’s hard!
Thanks for the breakdown @ceepers
So another sport with a definite N+1 angle...
https://www.boards360.com/ also stock the Charger range - a cheaper way of getting to try out a surfskate before going all in on a carver.
Although, as with longboards, not sure how suitable any surfskate is for the rough streets of the UK!
with big soft (78 a) wheels, you'll be pleasantly surprised what you can roll over!
eg....
I’ve just brought myself my first skateboard in 12 years think it’s an early midlife crisis as I’ve recently turned 31 still seem to be able to ollie.
On the subject of old people not bouncing like they used to...are pro-tec still the go to knee/elbow pad or have things moved on?
I believe so.
I've just spent 2 hours at the local park had the place to myself. 48 3/4 years young
Killer 187 pads are good
I still have my old red kryps, but they're pretty worn down these days. I can find them on eBay, but only for laughable prices.
What would be the nearest current day equivalent for sticking on an original fibre-flex? Doesn't matter much what they look like, more about the feel.
They seem hood, and I like the colour. Nice find, thanks.
@scruff Healing vibes mate, bitch of an injury did mine a few years back…
Andykirk
8.25 deck with 5.375 trucks as recommended on the route one builder thingy!
Feels pretty stableim still at the bowl most Saturday mornings, getting schooled by the little kids!
8.25 deck with 5.375 trucks as recommended on the route one builder thingy!
Maybe the picture is off, but they do look well narrow. I'd be riding 5.5 trucks on a deck that size (or 144 in Independent speak).
@Haze
Thanks Daz, its a PITA for sure, did the same ankle ligaments twice before on the plank, was clearing a tree off a trail this time.
Carver proteus showed up. Different for sure, generating speed by pumping on the flat is hard but sure I’ll get the hang of it. Moved to a car park with a slight slope on it and had a fun half hour carving turns.
Suffered the humiliation of a pity clap from the teen girls hanging around the skate park tonight, when I finally managed the roll in without falling off. Caught them filming me as well for their future amusement. At least no one I know has kids that age it will get shared with. This was a lot easier 30 years ago.
Was just wondering if any of you lot are based in the north east of England? Would be good to have some moral support when heading to the skatepark and falling off in front of teenagers much more talented than me.
I'm in Milton Keynes, So likewise
Update: still can't olie
so I'm getting there with regards to a consistent ollie but I was trying out some bigger softer wheels off my cruisier and I found them much harder, is this a thing or is it just changing wheel size and I'll get used to it?
Harder as in more difficult? A bigger wheel will put the board at a steeper angle when the tail hits the floor, which will make it more difficult until your used to it.
Softer wheels are generally slower on smooth surfaces up to a point, all other things being equal.
Yes as in more difficult, was trying to work out whether I should go back to the more normal wheels or not, the surfaces round here are so rough it's nice having the softer bigger wheels to roll around on.
A lot of laptops that need to be checked on this thread. WOW.
what for? ^^
braved the skatepark for the first time in 25yrs this morning. 6.30am to avoid the little people pointing and laughing...
only ended up on my arse a couple of times, and managed to get a bit of flow by the end. need some harder faster wheels I think.
braved the skatepark for the first time in 25yrs this morning. 6.30am to avoid the little people pointing and laughing…
Awesome. The flow will come back. I'm not a skater but went through similar when I got back in to BMX. Loads of older skaters. Keep at it..
A lot of laptops that need to be checked on this thread. WOW.
another ??? here
I think that post is implying some sort of child/peado take.
Joke in bad taste I assume.
Could be wrong.
