beginner boards?

[Call me jack]

about how long should a beginner board be?

[teach]

I'm sure you'll get lots of answers, but you can start on anything, really. My two cents: Bigger is often more confidence-inspiring. When I have friends who have never skated but want to try, I bring out a bunch of boards and they usually gravitate to the longest one (after starting on shorter ones that look more friendly). It's 9.5" wide with a 36" wheelbase, with Tracker 184s. Lots of room to experiment with stances, even room for a beverage... Other suggestions: Use soft bushings in the trucks so you can really get the feel for turning deeply, and wheels that aren't really small (say, bigger than 55mm at least, 65-70mm is nice to roll over bad pavement) and have some grip. Khiro and a few other companies make a range of bushings; for wheels, 98a Rainskates are about as hard as I like unless I'm in a skatepark. To start you might like some really soft wheels, like 75a - 80a. The quiet, smooth ride and good grip gives confidence. One less thing to worry about or discourage you.

If you want to skate parks, a shorter wheelbase is nice, I think. I like 20"-22" but most park boards are more like 14" (popsicle sticks more meant for street skating) or 16"-17" ("old school") or 18" (big boards specifically for parks).

Hope there's something helpful there!

[Call me jack]

thanks man!

i'll start looking tomorrow!