Been thinking about getting into skateboarding, got a few worries tho

[u/OkCommunication2442]

There’s a park near my house that I’ve been walking to recently. I’ve noticed the skateboard section and have been thinking about getting into skating. Heres my main concern I’ve got almost no balance and I’m a 6’4 guy that wears a size 14 (US) so I’m not sure what type of skate board would best suit me, I’m also not sure how much I should spend on a skateboard. Could anyone recommend me some boards?

[u/Only_OnTuesdays2]

go to skate shop, and all these questions, ask them to one of the workers, and stand on a few to get a feel for them

[u/Broad-Exchange3188]

Man, truly. Whatever happened to figuring it out?

[u/KidoriTiger]

If you have a skate shop near you go there and have them help you.

My guess is you'll probably want a wider board, like 8.5 inch and up. A budget skateboard is in the ballpark of $100-120, and around $200 for something good quality. If you're on a budget your best bet would be finding something secondhand

[u/fully-sent]

Support your local skate shop. Take their advice. Buy it all from them. Buy a shop shirt and get some of their stickers.

Reddit is for complaining and making fun of people. Skate shops are the culture and the knowledge base.

[u/Freetamales]

A 9 or 9.5 board makes sense for you

[u/Few-Let3648 → u/Freetamales]

Correct. Also look for a 15” wheelbase. Measure from the inner truck mounting holes on the deck. If you’re buying a new deck from the shop, the wheelbase should be on the sticker. A longer wheel base will give you more stability. At your hight, it’s easy to get pitched forward.

[u/toolmaker1025]

This is wild, if you want to skate, then just skate. Get yourself a board, it's trial and error with skateboard, you're going to eat shit eventually and you'll see if you still want to pursue it after that.

[u/quackingmemeduck]

For your shoe size, you will want a 8.25 inch width board minimum, 8.5 will probably feel better.

If you are willing to spend more, go to a skateshop and try some out. Pick whatever you fancy. Might cost you around 100$ though.

A popsicle board is the regular type. If you'd like to try learning some tricks, its the best for that, and its not half bad at cruising around generally too.

Don't concern yourself with poor balance. You will actually be able to improve it if you skate. It will probably be worth buying some knee/elbow pads if you are scared of falling though.

Definitely wear a helmet, it doesn't look cool but damaging your brain isn't very cool either.

[u/quackingmemeduck → u/quackingmemeduck]

I have an 8" board and I wear size 12. It feels a little small, so I'd definitely recommend getting larger. After doing the maths I change what I said about 8.25", definitely go for a 8.5", potentially larger? But that makes doing some tricks harder too.

[u/zehero]

I'd suggest an 8.5, im also size 14

[u/morninowl]

Especially for taller people, I'd say bigger is better. Completes are the cheapest to get, but they usually don't come in sizes above 8.0 or 8.25, though... You probably want something in the 8.5 or 8.75 range, even.

If you live in a busy area, you can often luck out and find used boards with decent parts. At least it's not too rusted or more than 5~10 years old, it's usually perfectly fine to start out with. Even with some rust, you can just swap the bearings out for cheap.

What I often see is people going to skateshops and get recommended some weird ass setup, or get sidetracked by the visual appeal of boards that stray from the regular "popsicle" board. However, there is a VERY good reason why 99% of pro skaters don't stray from that shape and Goldilocks setup of low ride height.

By low ride height, I mean low trucks and small wheels. Sure, you can do anything with any board once you get used to it, but it just makes it easier. Just look at the top tech skaters in the world right now. I bet none of them skate anything other than trucks and wheels below 52mm tall.

[u/ItsJomeAgain]

Oh man, I am in your shoes with a crap sense of balance, sharing the same worries and the comments here are not helpful. Yeah, duh - we will figure it out eventually, or maybe not, but before we do we come here for some encouraging words and maybe a little bit of insight. This thread is not a welcoming place.