Protecting Your Skateboard

Your skateboard may seem pretty resilient, but it's really just a piece of wood. Like a table or tree or any other piece of wood, your skateboard is susceptible to the elements. Especially if you skate a lot.

When you skate, the board tends to scrape against the ground. Every time the board scrapes the ground, small particles of wood are sanded away. The asphalt or concrete that you skate on is like a giant piece of sandpaper.

Your board will eventually grind itself down to a sharp point. This is dangerous for your legs, and also the legs of other skateboarders. There isn't much you can do to prevent your skateboard from scraping the ground, but there is something you can do to prevent the ground from wreaking too much havoc.

The best way to prevent the ground from seriously damaging your skateboard is to invest in some urethane nose and tail guards. These were really popular back in the eighties and nineties, and are resurging in modern skateboarding.

These guards come at a price, though. Since they're made of the same material as a skateboard wheel, they can get a little heavy. This doesn't affect most people. However, these little guards also change the angle of pop. People who have been skating for a while may need to adjust to the new angle of pop that the urethane guards will give them.

Installing the tail and nose guards is as easy as screwing them in to the deck. Sometimes, they need to be cut with a pair of scissors so that they fit properly, but the often fit just fine the first time.

Another thing you can do to keep your skateboard protected is to install urethane rail guards. These rail guards were also quite popular in the early eighties to mid nineties. The rail guards are similar to the nose/tail guards, but screw in to the sides of the deck instead of the front or back.

These guards also help protect the graphic. Since the board never actually touches whatever you're sliding on, the graphic stays in tact for a longer period of time. The rail protectors do add a tiny amount of weight to the board, but it's usually insignificant.

The cool thing about these protectors is that, since they are made out of urethane, they come in many different colors. You can go with an awesome neon, 80s pink, or a more modern day black or white.

If you don't like the thought of adding some protectors to your board, then you'll need to avoid skating in areas that will hurt your board. If you skate on the hard asphalt for an extended period of time, your board will wear out very quickly.

Try to skate on smooth concrete. Since it's not as rough as asphalt, your board doesn't get destroyed as quickly. Smooth concrete also hurts less when you bail! If you can't find any smooth spots to skate, then your best bet is to not do as many tricks involving ollies.

A lot of boards get destroyed when the run into a wall. If you want to protect your deck, then make sure that it doesn't get away from you and smash into a curb or fence or other hard object. When your deck hits a wall, the glue that holds the veneer comes undone. After this happens a lot, the board splinters, and eventually falls apart.

If you are sure to follow these steps, your deck should last you for a good amount of time. You will also be a safer skater, because there won't be sharp edges that could hurt you or another skater. The most important thing though is that your deck won't be as dangerous to yourself.

Lazar Rodriguez has been a skater for quite a long period of time. He enjoys longboarding, trickboarding, and everything in the middle. If you're looking for an online skateboard shop after reading this article, feel free to check out http://www.the-skateboard-shop.com/