Hello,

I'm interested in fingerboarding. I have a few questions for you veterans --

1. What should I be looking for when choosing a fingerboard?
-I know that Tech Decks were extremely popular years ago, and I still see them in stores. Would Tech Decks be a good place to start on a budget, or should I be looking for completes from a different manufacturer?
-Would I be better off going for a complete, or choosing parts separately and then assembling them?

2. What sorts of equipment should I be considering for things like rails, ramps, etc?
-What are good for beginners?
-What are the most popular?

3. Are there any good videos for beginners, or places to go for introductions to various techniques that I should be aware of?

Thank you very much, and have a nice day.

1: Tech Decks are a perfect beginning fingerboard. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we all began fingerboarding using Tech Decks. Eventually you will want to upgrade to things like, wooden fingerboards, professional tuning, professional trucks, professional wheels, if your heart desires.  

2: School books are a perfect learning obstacle. They are a manual pad, grind ledge, whatever you want it to be. And it's free! You can look into Blackriver-Ramps, they are professional ramps straight from Germany, but they are on the expensive side.

3: "FingerTips with Taylor Rosenbauer" are probably the best tutorials on how to fingerboard. He has 30 episodes teaching you the dynamics of every trick.

This thread can be locked, because Trevor literally just covered everything lol

Twest wrote:

1: Tech Decks are a perfect beginning fingerboard. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we all began fingerboarding using Tech Decks. Eventually you will want to upgrade to things like, wooden fingerboards, professional tuning, professional trucks, professional wheels, if your heart desires.  

2: School books are a perfect learning obstacle. They are a manual pad, grind ledge, whatever you want it to be. And it's free! You can look into Blackriver-Ramps, they are professional ramps straight from Germany, but they are on the expensive side.

3: "FingerTips with Taylor Rosenbauer" are probably the best tutorials on how to fingerboard. He has 30 episodes teaching you the dynamics of every trick.

Thank you very much, this was informative. I will head to Walmart tomorrow to pick up a pack of Tech Decks and get going.

This is my advice.

If you are really serious about fingerboarding do the following.

Spend a decent amount of money on a nice set up. It doesn't have to cost a fortune, but get something that's high quality. Techdecks aren't going to cut it. There are many companies in the banner above that will do just fine. There are also cheap china decks that you can get as well as a prowood deck.

You don't have to get professional wheels that cost $50 dollars either, however you do want to at least have china bearing wheels. China products usually aren't advertized on sites as being china, but once you get to know fingerboarding better you can tell if its china or not. I would suggest peoples republic for cheap china wheels for around $5-$6.

For trucks you don't have to spend $60 on blackriver trucks or Y-trucks. Depending on your size of your deck preference you can use techdeck trucks! Techdeck wide decks have nice trucks for 29- 32 mm size if you need a skinner size then go with a regular techdeck truck 26mm size. You do want to get rid of the stock bushings and tune it out with better bushings and washers. You can get cheap tuning at www.teaktuning.com.

For nuts and screws....... that's where techdecks come into play. Get a techdeck and use the screws and nuts off that and put them onto your setup.

Now that's just for the setup the rest is up to your abilities and your passion.

Fingerboarding is an art and a skill. It can take years to finally master a trick and to become an expert.

If you want to get good you will have to practice and push yourself. It may take weeks to just learn how to ollie, but once you get down the basics then it can be tons of fun.

Also try and go to events and be in on the online scene as you will learn a lot from other fingerboarders.

Don't immediately go out and buy a legit setup if you don't know if you will get into it. I used tech decks for like a year before I got a wood board. You don't have to wait that long, but getting into fingerboarding is an investment that I wouldn't jump right into. If you start learning how to ollie and kickflip and you realize you want to keep with it, then I would buy a wood board with some foam tape and bushings.

Fingerboarding isn't about all the fancy setups and ramps. You have to actually enjoy it. Sure, those expensive things can add to the fun, it won't make you like fingerboarding anymore than you do with a tech deck.

I learned almost all of my tricks by watching Gary Chin's tutorials on Youtube. He does a great job of explaining everything you need to know about each trick.

Thank you all for your input. I will be heading to Walmart later this evening to grab a Tech Deck and get started. If I enjoy it enough after some time, I will begin to research more involved setups, and ramp/rail/bench/etc. accessories.

EDIT: Dang, Walmart did not have any Tech Decks. Guess I will order one online.

if possible when shopping for your tech deck, look for the wider ones in the packets (these can sometimes be harder to notice at a glance but look closely and you can see the width difference ) take a 26mm tech deck in one hand and compare it with all of the tech decks in the store untill you find a wide one. Not finding a wide one and going for a regular tech deck is totally fine, its just that the wide ones will prepare you better for when you move onto a wooden board good luck

Try wallgreens, target, toys r us, try toy stores and such.

hey! glad you want to join the community! i cant wait to see you start shredding!! If you want a really really good complete, and i knew a good complete when i see one! i have a bunch of entre nos boards, and i think they would be perfect for your budget! they will last you as long as you ride em! they never lose there pop! great boards i really recommend! my pro models coming out soon to from them!
here there webshop! http://entrenos.weebly.com/

I started of with a Techdeck but honestly buy a legit setup....Techdecks are difficult to learn tricks on

Tech decks are fine to learn basic tricks like ollies kickflips etc. There's no reason to buy a legit setup if you don't even know if you like fingerboarding. (this has to be my first serious reply since like december of 2013 wtf)