However you roll-on sidewalks, in the urban jungle gym, at giant vert parks, on a longboard or a compact street model-you are in all likelihood rolling on four rubber wheels just like Tony Hawk.

The skateboard deck gets a lot of attention, but the foundation of the skater’s world rests on those tiny little wheels. Many board-hoppers hardly ever think about it, but those wheels have become a highly engineered piece of technology, durable enough to absorb the astonishing punishment a skateboard receives during its lifetime, yet pliant and smooth enough to convey delicate human cargo across the most improbable and perilous of landscapes.

Virtually every major skateboard company offers a unique take on the skateboard wheel. Hundreds of varieties exist, each capturing the flavor of a different ride and crammed with some of the most expressive logo art in the industry.

Skateboard wheels are gauged by two primary key factors: “durometer” (how hard the material is) and diameter (how wide the wheel is). The greater the diameter, the faster the board, as larger wheels will more rapidly cover ground with each revolution. Phatty wheels are favored by vert skaters for the zippy ride over ramps, whereas more compact wheels are conducive to tricks, being both lighter and more proximate to the terrain.

Boards which are used primarily for getting around generally are outfitted with wider, softer wheels, usually from semi-hard rubber, that move fast and forgive high-speed surface variations.

Other critical stats which help classify the mountain of different options are the wheel profile, an indicator of the ratio between height and width, and the rebound factor, which deals with the elasticity of the material.

The choice of skateboard wheel confronts the skater with a values decision; when favoring a harder wheel, a certain amount of control is sacrificed, whereas softer wheels gain manageability at the expense of speed. New dual-element technology attempts to integrate the best of both worlds by containing a soft inward-facing surface complimented by harder urethane on the outer face of the wheel. Such wheels make grinding and sliding easier, because although the purpose of the grind is ride the truck along rail, the inner wheel surface will frequently drag along the grind surface.

Regardless of what kind of skateboard wheels you have, your safety may depend on proper maintenance and cleaning. Care should be taken to ensure that all bolts and bearings are optimally tightened and lubricated. Skateboard wheels, just like automotive varieties, should be regularly rotated to mitigate uneven wear.

It’s easy to forget that early skaters had to make do with recycled roller skate wheels, with literally hundreds of varieties now available. But it wasn’t always that way.

The first urethane wheels were patented by Frank Nasworthy in 1972, bringing with them the first huge boom in popular skateboarding. Along with the concave deck design that also appeared around that time, this invention made trick skating as it is known today a reality.

Skateboard wheels are like clocks-when they’re working right, you don’t even notice they’re there. But after riding a half-pipe at warp speed, you’ll be glad that your four little friends are there to keep you rolling on.

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Your shoes are an important tool in skating. They need to have the proper traction, shape, and provide the adequate balance, so that the skater has control over their position and board at all times. You’ll want to avoid shoes designed for other sports, such as basketball or running, because every aspect skate shoe design is critical to the functionality you need.

The top manufacturers of skateboarding shoes are: Adio, Circa, DC Shoes, Duffs, DVS, Emerica, etnies, Fallen Footwear, Globe, Osiris, Supra, Vans, Vox, and Zoo York. Buy from a skate specialty store and not from some mall shoe shop. These are your feet we’re talking about.

The first thing to look for in skateboard shoes is that it have a completely flat bottom with at least ½ inch heel pads to absorb some of the shock when landing. Many high-end skate shoes even feature an air pocket in the heel for this very reason.

Also check that the sole be wide, so that you have maximum possible contact with the board. Look for vulcanized rubber soles, this will provide enough flexibility for you to move your foot to guide and feel your board, while giving enough cushioning to prevent heel bruises and other common foot injuries suffered by skaters.

It’s a good idea to look for a little extra padding when trying to find the right skate shoe, especially large puffy tongue and sides for maximum foot comfort and support. A high-top style ankle collar will provide a lot of added support to your feet when doing intricate flips and lands. High speed jumps put a lot of impact on your joints, and you’ll appreciate any shock absorption you can get, after an afternoon of hard landings.

High quality skateboard shoes include a reinforced outer lower lace area with bolstered shoelace eyelets, and often feature full lace guards. This is important so that you don’t hurt your foot or tear your lace when you’re sliding your foot along the side of the board- a necessary move in a lot of tricks. In fact, you should look for double or triple stitching all around when trying to find the proper skate shoe, as a skater’s shoe get a lot of rough, stressful treatment.

Remember that many skate tricks demand that you drag your toes across the board’s rough grip tape. This will put a hole through your old school sneakers in a heartbeat. The proper skate shoes will have a plastic or rubber toe cap to keep your shoe strong and protect your toes.

Before you try out your new skateboard shoes, make sure that there are deep patterns on the sole. These grooves necessary to maintain traction- and therefore contact- with your board. The more intricate the pattern on the sole of the shoe, the more flexible it will be.

Even though all eyes-except of course your own-will be focused on your feet, never sacrifice comfort for style. Remember, the right skateboard shoe will be designed to let your feet keep pace with the board…and nothing looks better than that.

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Unless you’re lucky enough to live in a large city with a well-maintained public skate park, the quest for the landscape contours you need might take you all over town-and have you skating away from security at every mall and university commons. As fun as zipping away from donut-eaters might be, at some point you’ll be wanting your own backyard set-up, so that you can take your slams in private and forget about your pride.

The main elements to building your home skate park are launch ramps, wedge ramps, quarter pipes and grind rails. You can add even more architecture with decks and flyboxes. There’s really no limit to the Lego-like mixing and matching you can do to create skate heaven at home. With these components, you are on your way to designing your personal skateboarding kingdom.

As always with the equipment you plan on entrusting your safety to, never skate by with cheap plastic goods. Modern skateboard ramps are generally made of steel and coated with synthetic anti-skid materials. Avoid cheap plastic toys from department stores like the plague.

A launch skate ramp is shaped like an arc, to give maximum lift. This kind of ramp is optimal for achieving atmospheric heights, whereas a wedge-style skate ramp with a flat, angled surface will jet you like a line drive.

A ramp deck is a box that can be added to a skateboard ramp on any or all of its four sides. This is different than the deck on your skateboard. This versatile component can be used to enhance your ramp system. Combining a deck with a single ramp will add distance to your launch pad. With a ramp on either side, you have a three-piece flybox. Adding ramps to the remaining sides gives you a pyramid for multi-skater tricks.

Unlike launch and wedge ramps, quarter-pipe and half-pipe ramps usually include a ledge or grind rail and are meant for flips, turnarounds, grinds and pivots. As you may have learned while sleeping in math class, two quarters equal one half, and you’ll be happy to find that this applies to skateboarding ramps as well. Just join two quarter pipe ramps at the base to simulate the rolling loop that you’d find at the bottom of drained pool or park bowl.

You can further customize by adding a grinding rail, either round or square, or a flat skate bench, for advanced flip tricks, ollies, slides and of course grinds. Beginners will probably want to stick to the square grinding rails, which are easier to grab your wheels on, while the advanced skater will want to whip around on a round bar.

Of course, many skaters will skip the custom architecture, preferring to stake out an obstacle course among the iron works of city parks, stairs and garages. But for those who like to take their dives in the comfort of home, cobbling together the perfect practice run can be a fun project all its own-and make you the envy of the poor noobs stuck nursing their wounds in front of the jungle gym and swing set.

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