What Size Skateboard Should YOU Ride? 

I use 8.0” boards because I have small feet

@@K0RnEnjoyer That should feel perfect then 👌🏼

I am 6'3 with a shoe size of 47 (Europe) and also ride a 8.75

I have a 8.5 for tricks and a shaped board for crusing, i went up from 8.0 to 8.5 because 8 made me constantly feel like i was gonna roll my ankle because of how small the board is to land on my shaped board is 10.5 ish at the widest, and at the trucks it narrows to 9.0 (santa cruz winkowski), its actually a lot less heavy than i thought it would be, even with 60mm cruiser wheels, i can still pop ollies on it and thats all i really need to ask from it. the only issue i have is that the tail is so wide that (as a beginner) i cant tell if my foot is centered on it correctly for popping, but thats not really an issue with the width of the board, its moreso the fact the tail is square and not popsicle shaped

​@@K0RnEnjoyerwhats ur shoe size?

Thanks my man! All the hard work is slowly paying off lol

Definitely agree dude! But this video is more directed to beginners trying to figure out which size is best for them as they are getting started. I didn't want to overwhelm them with too many variables like length, wheel base & concave at the same time lol I might cover all of those extra points you listed in a seperate video though 🤔

And I won't go into what the industry did to make sk8 the way it is now....

Yeah and also when you are tall with long legs, a longer wb does help alot in general. When I was riding an 8" with a 14.125 wb, it felt like I was always on the nose with my front foot, because it was just too short. Now my sweet spot seems to be around 14.5 to 14.75 Although your trucks also matter. I once had an 8.5 with a 15" wb and with thunder trucks it was unskateable. But with ace af1 the shortened wb made it great. I think wb to overall length ratio is important too.

Thanks heaps man! Yeah dude, 7.75" would have been waaaay to small and dangerous for you lol Some of my homies jump on my board and say the same thing, that it's like riding a boat and they wonder how I even get it off the ground 😂 That's a good idea man, I'd suggest about an 8.38"-8.5" for you just based off of your shoe size and your personal preference 👌🏼

@@LeonPaxton thanks for the recommendation bruv 👍

Thank you 🙏🏽

That's sick man! Welcome back 🥳 A lot of people that started skating in the 90's still prefer a smaller board like that since that is what they learnt on and was the style back then so it makes sense that that's the size you still feel comfortable on 👌🏼 Are your trucks loose on the 8.5" board? That could be why you feel a bit more unstable when you start going faster on that set up 🤔 That's so good to hear man! 🙌🏼

@@LeonPaxton the bigger board i have the trucks actually a bit tighter than the ones on my zero deck. Meh ill just have to alternate lol. Skate or die mang!

Yeah dude, wheel base and length is definitely important too. Especially different branded trucks having a different truck geometry that could change the wheelbase as well! But for the sake of this video I kept it strictly about picking the right width board for you as a beginner since I didn't want to overwhelm them with the different intricacies of a skateboard set up and also as a beginner learning how to push, roll and balance, wheel base, deck and wheel shape isn't as crucial at this point so I will be working on videos addressing all of these points directly. Very good points though 👌🏼

Welcome back dude 🥳 Yeah man, I used to ride an 8.25" as a teen and everyone thought that was massive 😂

Definitely agree dude! But this video is more directed to beginners trying to figure out which size is best for them as they are getting started. I didn't want to overwhelm them with too many variables like length, wheel base & concave at the same time lol I might cover all of those extra points you listed in a seperate video though 🤔

If you want something lighter you can also look at getting hollow truck, although they are more expensive, that way you still have a lot of board coverage and don't have to sacrifice going down a board size

That definitely sounds like a good setup for your shoe size man 👌🏼 That's sick though! It sounds like you're picking it up fast dude 🥳

True!

I’m like the exact stats as you and been thinking of going up aswell maybe 8.38 8.5 looks massive 😅

Yeah dude, 8.5" sounds perfect for you then! Even stepping it up to an 8.38" might be a bit more comfortable and won't be to hard to adjust your flip tricks 👌🏼

Oh dude that's sick, you're coming back strong! Not really dude, the board would obviously flip slower if it's bigger but having a size 13 foot, a bigger board would be a lot easier to land on for sure. It's definitely all rider specific though and it will take years to find what your perfect set up is for your body and style of skating

Bigger is usually more stable and comfortable too 👌🏼

That's very true man and no one really talks about that either. Ben Degros is the only one that has explained the fingers of flat but definitely makes a difference!

Yeah dude, that set up sounds perfect for you! I usually encourage beginners to go bigger so they have more surface to stand on and feel more comfortable and it sounds like you e already nailed that 👌🏽

Oh dude, that's good to hear! Yeah 8.5" will be a lot more comfortable for you for sure 👌🏼 They should be perfect for indoor skateparks, depending on how slippery the ramps and surface are. It's not until you ride a 101a that you will start to have problems with slipping out more on slippery surfaces

​@@LeonPaxton Thanks so much! I love your content mate, huge compliments, exactly the kind of videos and reviews I am looking for. Keep it up and I am sure your channel will grow a lot. Cheers

@@hjoore No problem man! Thanks dude, appreciate that so much 🙏🏼

I'm 6'1" dude and if I was strictly only skating flat ground and doin flip tricks then I would probably stick with a 9.1"-9.25" board 👌🏼

Damn where did you get a 6” board from!?

Yeah dude that sounds like the perfect middle ground for you 👌🏼 Would you prefer a 14" or lower wheelbase? They're always so hard to come by lol

Yeah dude, the trucks will just slightly sit in from the board but will be barely noticeable 👌🏼

@@LeonPaxton thank you so much man I appreciate it I am watching all of your videos and I find them very helpful and informative man I am glad i found your RU-vid channel

All good dude! I'm glad you are enjoying them 🙏🏼

Yeah I needed to find someone with the tiniest board 😂 Thanks so much man 🙏🏼

Is 14" wheelbase too short for you? I've got a homie that loves to ride 14" and below lol

That’s sick, welcome to the skateboarding world 🥳 I’d say a wider board will be more comfortable for you man if you’re just cruising around and flowing. Having a wider base to stand on with definitely help with your stability and control 👌🏽

@@LeonPaxton thanks for the input my friend. I appreciate it bro

No worries dude, always happy to help!

Nah dude, those measurements don't make sense at all. It's definitely personal preference and what feel most comfortable to you! There is no equation that helps determine what size board you should be riding. You might just have to hop on a few different sizes to feel what is best for you but it might take some time

Try and setup up to an 8.5”-8.75” dude, your feet will feel a lot more comfortable on a bigger board 👌🏽

Sometimes personal preference is the most important factor 👌🏼

That's interesting that you say that Usually a longer wheel base helps taller guys like us feel more comfortable 🤔

@@LeonPaxton don’t get me wrong, I do feel more comfortable on longer wheel bases but I picked up a lot of boards with 14.25” wheel bases and have grown accustomed to skating them and when I step on a 14.5” wheel base I’m not as immediately comfy and my pop just feels sluggish. Currently it’s all wet all of the time and my rain/wet board is 14.25 and like 31.75 in length and I’m stuck riding that for a bit since it’ll most likely be like this for another month and a half at least. If it breaks though I have a 14.5” wheel base deck that I have ridden a bit that can take it’s place but there’s no point in ruining perfectly good decks unless I have to. But the plan is to get more accustomed to 14.5” and see if I can’t make that my new thing. I do like a longer board. These sub 32” decks just feel a little short at times. I can’t wait for more dry months to roll on so I can finally start to experiment a little again. I’ve had 10 sessions in the last 16 days and all of them have been wet ones. Going out later today when it’s hopefully not raining but it’ll still be wet.

@@RikRiorik Oh true, that makes sense! That sucks man, is there any undercover spots you can skate while it's rainy and miserable?

@@LeonPaxton I have an underpass close by but there’s bikes and electric kick bikes zooming about so it gets stressful to constantly be on the look out not to mention the noise when landing 😂!

Damn that actually sucks so much!

Yeah dude, so true! I'm trying to work on a video about the importance of deck length and wheelbase too but the truck geometry of each brand definitely makes a difference to over all wheel base of the deck and how your deck is actually going to 'feel' as you're skating certain ways 👍🏽

@@LeonPaxton In case you should try Ace Classics, just to warn you, bushing are too soft and even Ace Hard bushings are too soft (I'm just 73kg) and blew them by overtightening. So I had to but 100 hard Minilogo top bushings to find my tightness work for these trucks. + these trucks make crooked grinds a bit harder to achive due to that massive lean back of hanger. But I don't know any other truck that give that much leverage, because making wheelbase the most short (of any trucks I know.)

Going off of that I would say an 8.25" would be perfect for you! But saying that, you would need to ride a few different boards to see which one actually felt most comfortable to you and the way you want to skate since personal preference is sometimes more important.

@@LeonPaxton Tyty 🙏

That is true, you will start to figure out what you like and what suits you the best the more you advance in skateboarding 👌🏼

Either one will be fine dude! I would personally go the 8.75" though, You will have more stability and control with a bigger board 👌🏼

@@LeonPaxton Thanks for an answer mate, now i am happy, i'll take anti-hero 8.75)

No problem dude 🙏🏼

Hahaha yeah it's funny how things change over time. 8.5" is considered average these days! I'd even go up to a 9" deck if you're a size 14 🤷🏽‍♂️

It's hard to do that if you don't have access to every board size prior to buying it lol

I’d say an 8.25” would be a safe bet man! Lots of room to stand on and be comfortable with but not too heavy 👌🏽

Yeah dude, that board size will be good for your shoe size 👌🏽 What type of skating do you do?

Just started get back into it as i rider a cruiser, I like to do olie and kick flip and grinding rails and ramps just getting use riding a half pipe slowly working my up to get better

Oh sick, 8.5" is a good size for all of that skating style

It will be big but shouldn’t feel too big. If anything you will be more stable and in control having a wider surface to stand on 👌🏽

@@LeonPaxton ahh thank you so much 😄

I actually have no knowledge of freestyle skateboarding or what would be best for that, sorry man.

freestyle skating has it's own boards entirely. look it up. or just get something on the smaller wnd like 8ish. unless you have big t/ are very tall then you just need a bigger board

I’ve been hearing a lot of people skating bigger trucks than their board lately! It would definitely make your set up feel more stable right?

@@LeonPaxton It's just that the next size down on trucks from 8in axle is 7.6 and that's just not enough truck for me. I would rather have the trucks slightly smaller than the board but an 8in deck causes me to lose a lot of tricks so I've always just settled for my usual set up. The wheels don't usually reach the very end of any size axle so the wheels are pretty much flush with deck only the axle protrudes .125 - .2 if that makes sense. Basically if you measure from outside of wheel to outside of wheel instead of end of 8in axle the wheel to wheel it's about 7.8 - 7.875 or even 7.91

Yeah that’s true! That’s how a lot of people look at it too, they like to have their wheels flush with the outside of the board rather than their axle nut

Hahaha yeah dude I'd recommend at least an 8.5" board minimum but the rest is none of my business 😂

@@LeonPaxton 😂 thanks, man.

Nah dude, 8.25” won’t be too hard to learn flip tricks at all! Especially for your shoe size you might feel more comfortable on an 8.5” even

@@LeonPaxton Thanks! After some other research too, I've already picked out my 8.25. Now the trucks-wheels ratio is the thing to figure out

Getting trucks that match your deck width usual helps or even a size that sits slightly under. And then I would say anywhere from a 52mm to 54mm wheel 👌🏼

@@LeonPaxton Yea im aiming for 53-54. The independents are confusing bc theres the 39 which is 8.25 and 49 which is 8.5 and then two others in the middle. But yea how much would it affect my ride if I got the 8.5 ones? I mean, I want it to be a bit more stable and easy to lock into grinds an shit

Either way will be fine man, trucks a little bit bigger than your board will definitely create more stability but staying within a quarter inch bigger or smaller than your deck will be fine 👌🏼

wait now i realise why i suck a stair sets maybe a should go to a 8.75

@@smhwill4937 Haha you don't suck! But yeah for a size 14 I would definitely recommend an 8.75" for sure dude

Riding 8.38" wont feel much bigger than 8.25" at all dude 👌🏼

@@LeonPaxton should I try 8.5?

Yeah dude, I would just jump straight up to 8.5"!

What's up man! Thanks for commenting 🙌🏼

Do you do a lot of flip tricks?

Does that board feel too small for you?

If your just skate street no one should be skating anything higher than 8.25.

I used to skate 8.5 - 9 then tired a 8.1 no different. It’s a skateboard we all can adjust to different size boards. Skating completely different sizes is fun .