Set Ups For Young Riders

Marcos Soulsby-Monroy · Post by **Marcos Soulsby-Monroy** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:52 am

My daughter has just started to ride a skateboard. she seems to really like but is having a hard time getting it to turn (she weighs all of 40 pounds) I was wondering if there is any tips you slalom parents or uncles or Aunts ect, might have to offer.

Joe Iacovelli · Post by **Joe Iacovelli** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:03 am

Small board, short wheel base, rubber lab stoppers

Kevin Dunne · Post by **Kevin Dunne** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 6:12 am

My son weighs slightly over 40 pounds and the best thing I did for his skating was to replace the rock-hard bushings in his trucks with some white Khiros. The difference is unbelievable...before, the trucks were so loose they wobbled but he still could not turn the board. With the new bushings, the trucks can be tightened perfectly and he learned to turn the same day...

Marcos Soulsby-Monroy · Post by **Marcos Soulsby-Monroy** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:14 pm

Joe I and David thanks for the info. I have white Khiros and will be putting them on today will let you know.

William Tway · Post by **William Tway** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 8:13 pm

Marcos,

I highly recommend ACS 430's for 2-5 year old kids who are just learning. I tricked my kids out with old TK101 cushions and soft Cambria wheels. My 30lb son has no problem turning them. You will have to drill new holes as the pattern is much smaller (narrower) than today’s patterns. They are very stable on this old oak narrow deck...

Not pictured but works great to teach them how to push is a 3' pipe with a "T" handle (attached on the nose). It can be removed (unscrewed) when they are ready to push w/o holding on. A great teaching aid.

A quick search on the net yielded....

http://www.rawk-mailorder.co.uk/product ... 70027e39e1

T Whalen · Post by **T Whalen** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:27 am

Tway,

Any idea if the 430 hanger fits other baseplates (i.e., Trackers)?

Terry

William Tway · Post by **William Tway** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:39 pm

Terry,

I'm not sure. The base plates are super small and I'm pretty sure the hanger will not work with an old tracker or a larger ACS. If you have trouble finding a 430 plate, I would think a set of old Half Tracks would work just fine. Once the kids grow a bit more, I plan on switching out the 430's for Halfers. I scored my 430's on ebay about 5 years ago for less than $30. I'm sure a pair will surface soon.

Take Care and hope to see you soon.

Marcos Soulsby-Monroy · Post by **Marcos Soulsby-Monroy** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:56 pm

I have dug up some of my old midtracks and will be trying those. Keep you posted on how they work but I think they will be ok.

Tod Oles · Post by **Tod Oles** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 4:57 pm

Tway,

How's it going??

I was wondering if you had any issues with baseplate wheel bite with that narrow of a hanger?

Marcos, I found the "beaker stoppers" at Ace hardware in the area where all the nuts and bolts
are, They carried two types, black rubber which is a bit harder, and green neoprene ones, which are really soft...

I think another name for them or something similar is a "hull plug" as in boat hull.......

these all shaped up to fit in some old small pivot Midtracks work good for the 60-80 pound
street stylist I've shown how to carve/ slalom......I've come to find out that loose trucks
combined with no kicktail will keep the ollie habit in check......somewhat....

Tod

Eric Brammer · Post by **Eric Brammer** » Mon May 01, 2006 7:39 pm

ACS 430's WILL fit bases from ACS 651/580, not from the 650. Lites, I dunno, maybe not. Meanwhile, Bennett is back[?] with the 'Pro' and Vector. Tracker's of old (yes ,another re-issue) in Mid-Tracs are great. Even GF Hurley has a 'retro' truck (very Asian in quality; no, not Japanese Asian) on their 'Pug' that's tall, tippy, narrow. Khiro's white bushings are great! Only the the powder-blue Tracker bushings compare in soft flexiness, which is key to getting low weight skaters into turning/carving/pumping. Rollerrinks will still have neat Rubber bushings for sale. Use the 'pinch test', and see how flat you can make the inner hole! I can squish white barrel Khiros to touch the inner sides with just a pinch between thumb and middle finger. That's NICE and soft! Wedging still is effective, and in cruising/carving/slalom, should be be used. The taller old narrow trucks will need to be stabilized at the rear, but not much steering increase is needed up front. Old RAD-PADs had the smaller (and Free-Former!) hole patterns in them, so they're an obvious choice for trucks like the 430. Rubber block (I like the 'spring lifts' from car/truck stores) put on a bandsaw, then drilled to suit, are a great way to make angled risers for the youngins. The wood 'breaker wedges' found at rural hardware store for wood-splitting are good too. They're about 7-8 degrees, hard maple, about 8" long (saw 'em down, then drill 'em) and2-1/2" wide, costing a whopping $.78 here in Vermont.
Last thought: Even old plastic boards from the mid-70's TURNED, even if they didn't really Roll. Yard sales abound. All you want are the trucks, so be sure there's a baseplate. Old Free-Formers and Makahas are still cheap. Get that type of board, soft Cambria/Stinger/Stradas, and a deck that's under 30' (Bahne Blackhill comes to mind), and you've got a cool kid's starter setup.

P.S. Schwippy, the current 'Junior World Champ' whom I coach, started on my ol' HobieFlex,Trackers, and Kryptos. Retro stuff works, I KNOW...

Gary Fluitt · Post by **Gary Fluitt** » Tue May 02, 2006 8:04 pm

Marcus,
I don't want to repeat the above, but I've found that for my 60lb. daughter, I had to make the board SUPER turny, to the point it would buck me off.

I took an old Comet Don O'Shei, and cut it down about to about 24". I then flipped it over, so now, instead of Camber, it's got rocker. I then mounted a couple of splitfire 90mm with a 15" wheel base. For wheels, almost anything will work on slight inclines. Red Cambrias work well. Here is a trick that Marion turned me on to. Put a 3" kingpin on the front truck and use 2 bushings on top. Makes for a suppppppppeerrrrrr soft front truck.

Here is a movie of Mariah on that deck. http://www.asphaltplayground.com/movies ... linic1.mov it takes a while to download. It is a quicktime movie. For scale, she's about as tall as the start ramp, and weighs 60 lbs dripping wet.

More important than the deck is how you start skating. Kids who don't skate all the time, don't naturally know how to turn, even those who do can't turn. Have her follow you around a very very shallow slope. Don't even introduce cones.

Once Mariah could follow me around the neighborhood on her board I set up some cones on our street with huge distances. Like 10-12' straight. More important to build confidence. Find a place where they don't have to foot drag. I know a lot of adults that can't foot drag. Don't expect the kids to figure it out if Henry Hester can't.

Good Luck! For me it's more gratifying to see my kid doing well than it is for me to race at the top of my game.

Chris Favero · Post by **Chris Favero** » Wed May 03, 2006 3:01 pm

gary,whatta ripper.look out.cf

Boyd de visser · Post by **Boyd de visser** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 4:03 pm

maybe young whit 15years old but hey 76KG and 1meter78long aint bad i think :P
could some 1 advise an board for my licht weight small body?:P

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Set Ups For Young Riders

Set Ups For Young Riders

Base Plates

Kid's trucks