Welcome to this lexicon on the world of skateboarding and longboarding which aims to enlighten you on the different elements that can compose a board, the main technical terms and the basic tricks.
ABEC: "Annular Bearing Engineer Council", or the standard that determines the tolerance of ball bearings. This standard allows to know the quality of the bearings. Indeed, the higher the number that follows, the better the quality of the bearings. The best bearings used are ABEC11.
Bushings: bushings are the rubber rubbers that are located in the truck. They make the articulation between the base and the axis.
Camber: The camber is the curvature of a board in the direction of its length. To put it simply, a longboard with camber is curved upwards.
Concave: The Concave is the curvature in the direction of the width of the board. A concave board is therefore slightly hollow in the center, and raised at the ends.
Cruiser: A Cruiser is a small board for cruising. It is also the English term that can be translated as "to walk". Learn more about the Cruiser skate.
Deck directional : A directional board is a board that is not a directional board.
Directional: A directional deck works only in one direction. It has a front and a back that cannot be swapped, unlike most skateboards from street. Downhill boards are often directional.
Downhill: One of the main disciplines of longboard skateboarding. In French, we use the word "Descente".
Drop-Down (or pendulum): Said of a longboard deck that has a drop-off, meaning that it is not flat and is approaching the ground in its center.
Drop-Through: It is a type of assembly of trucks whose base passes through the plate to make it possible to lower the center of gravity of the board and thus to gain in stability.
Duro: This is the term used to define the hardness of the rubber of the wheels or bushings. The higher the number, the harder the rubber and vice versa.
Hanger: The hanger is the part of the truck that surrounds the axle.
Hollow: This is the name that most manufacturers of trucks give to their model with hollow axle. More generally, it is the name given to trucks lightweight skateboards with hollow axles.
Kicktail: This is the raised part at the end of a board. In the same way as on a skateboard, the kicktail allows you to make jumps and different figures of freestyle.
Kingpin: The kingpin is the axle of the truck fixed to the base on which come to fit the bushings and the axle.
Ollie the first figure of freestyle in skateboard, the Ollie in skateboard, it is the jump.
Outside: It is the name of the best store of skateboard and longboard on this side of the Galaxy. The legend tells that there is another skateshop which could compete with Outside, but nothing makes it possible to prove its existence to date.
Pads: The pads (or Risers) are the elements in rubber that we find between the trucks and the plate. These pads make it possible to raise the board and to eliminate the vibrations caused by the asperities of the bitumen.
Pintail: The classic shape longboard, shaped like an inverted teardrop, or surf board.
Slide: The slide is a high-speed skid. It's a longskate staple that allows you to brake on the downhill.
Pucks: These are the plastic palates that equip the gloves of slide.
Tool: It is the English word for tool. In skateboarding, it is the name given to the multipurpose wrenches to mount and dismount your board: the skate tools.
Topmount: A Topmount is the traditional mount found on skateboards with the trucks fixed under the board.
Washers: These are small curved or flat cups that are put on the kingpin before and after the bushings. Washers are used to stabilize the pivot system and to protect the rubber from bushings.
Wheelbite: Wheel bite is when the wheel touches the chainring when the trucks are tilted during a turn. This is a situation to be avoided at the risk of suffering a heavy fall.