Types Of Skateboarding
Posted July 1, 2021 in Skateboards by Salena Retsos
Skateboarding has come a long way over the years, and has evolved into two mainstays: Skateboards and Longboards. Skateboarding is at the heart of skate culture. It’s about progression and pushing the creative limits of skating your environment. Longboarding was born from the roots of skateboarding in surf culture. Whether you’re carving through the streets or bombing hills, longboards are a smoother, faster ride.
Types of Skateboarding:
The traditional popsicle shaped skateboards can be broken down into 5 main styles of skating: Freestyle, Street, Park, Pool and Vert.
Freestyle Skateboarding is the oldest style of technical skating. Rodney Mullen, the king of freestyle, pioneered its progression in skateboarding. The style of freestyle skating is centered around super technical flip tricks and your relationship with the board. The footwork is meant to be fluid with a focus on aesthetic tricks.
Freestyle Skateboard Features:
- Technical flat ground tricks
- Fluid style and aesthetics
- Bigger wheels (53-55mm)
- Looser trucks
- Wider Boards
Street Skateboarding is born and raised in the streets. It takes the technical flip tricks of Freestyle skating and throws them down stair sets. Street skating is about progression and technical creativity in an urban environment like ledges, handrails, gaps, drainage ditches, and anything you can think of skating.
Street Skateboard Features:
- Technical tricks and progressive skating on architectural features not made for skateboarding
- More narrow boards for maneuverability
- Wheels under 55mm for more response
- Tighter trucks for more stability
Park Skateboarding was developed to give skateboarders a home. With most cities and towns not cool with street skating, skate parks are meant to provide skate-able features for local skateboarders to progress and learn on. Skate parks are a hub of skate culture.
Park Skateboard Features:
- Technical tricks in an environment designed for skateboarding
- A cultural hub for skateboarding
- Wider decks for ramps
- Wheels under 55mm for more response
- Tighter trucks for more stability
Pool Skateboarding is the original backyard skate style. Pool or bowl skating is about transition, skating from flat to vertical. Skating pool is about ripping as fast as you can around an in-ground cement pool or bowl and airing out on your board.
Pool Skateboard Features:
- Transition skating at higher speeds
- Typically skate in-ground pools or cement bowls
- Boards are wider for surface area, grip, and stability
- Wheels 55mm or larger and softer for more grip
- Trucks are looser for carving
Vert Skateboarding is another form of transition skating that incorporates more technical tricks and big air maneuvers. Unlike pool skating where there’s a focus on carving cement walls, in vert you skate ramps. Vert skating is is about performing technical aerial flip tricks and rotations at high speeds.
Vert Skateboard Features:
- Aerial technical tricks at high speeds
- Ramps and big air
- Boards are wider for more stability
- Wheels 54mm or larger and softer
- Trucks are tighter for more stability at higher speeds
Types of Longboarding:
Evolving out of surf culture, Longboards offer skaters a smoother, faster ride. The three main types available on Shred are: Cruiser, Carving/Commuter, and Freeride/Downhill.
Cruiser Longboards are the most versatile longboard style. With short stable shapes that you can skate in the park or in the streets. This beginner friendly board is a perfect starter. Cruiser longboards are unique because they feature a kicktail and a slight nose kick to give you the maneuverability of a skateboard, but the feel and ride of a longboard in a compact setup.
Cruiser Longboard Features:
- Cruise the skatepark or the streets
- Old school shape with a wide stable deck
- Wide, soft, rounded wheels
- Top mounted Standard skateboard trucks
Carving/Commuter Longboarding are the surfboards of the road. Carve your way around town on a stable, user friendly longboard. These boards are the quintessential style when you think of longboards. With a convex shape and more flex in the deck you have a forgiving and responsive longboard.
Carving/Commuter Longboard Features:
- Long wide deck in a variety of shapes
- More flex in the board to pump through turns
- Wide, soft, rounded wheels
- Top mounted Reversed Kingpin skateboard trucks
Freeride/Downhill Longboarding is the most advanced and dangerous form of longboarding. It’s all about tearing down hills and around turns as fast as you can. These boards are designed with dropped or drop through decks and deeper concacve to hold your feet and keep you stable at high speeds.
Freeride/Downhill Longboard Features:
- Long deck with wheel cut outs
- Stiff wide boards with deep concave and dropped decks
- Wheels are squared and soft for extra grip on turns
- Drop through Reversed Kingpin skateboard trucks
Shop Shred For Skateboards and Longboards
Grab a skateboard or longboard that fits your riding style. Check out our huge selection of Skateboard decks, Completes, and Parts to put together the ultimate trick board. Or shop our Longboards and Longboard Parts to cruise your streets. Then sign up to ride for Shred and enjoy the benefits of our Team Rider discount program for BMX, Skateboarding, and Snowboarding.