Skateboarding has never had more good options than it does right now. The problem is the sheer volume of brands, shapes and specs makes it hard to know what's actually good versus what just has good marketing. We've been selling skateboards since we opened and riding them the whole time. Here's what we'd actually buy in 2026.
Best Street Skateboard Setup
Street skating puts the most demands on your setup — technical tricks, hard landings, rough surfaces, rails and ledges that wear through gear fast. What you want: a deck in the 8.0–8.25 range depending on shoe size, hard wheels (99a–101a) in the 52–54mm range, and trucks that match your deck width precisely.
Deck: Anti-Hero and Baker are the two brands our street-focused riders come back to consistently. Anti-Hero's construction is tank-like — the decks hold pop longer than most. Baker has the graphics and the team that still makes the brand feel legitimate in street skating.
Wheels: Spitfire Formula Four in 52–54mm, 99a or 101a. The Formula Four urethane holds its shape and hardness longer than almost everything else on the market. OJ wheels are a solid alternative if you want something slightly different.
Trucks: Independent Stage 11 matched to your deck width. The 139 for 7.75–8.0 decks, the 149 for 8.0–8.5. Thunder is a legitimate alternative — lighter, slightly different geometry, strong following among technical skaters.
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Best Park and Transition Setup
Bowl, mini ramp and skatepark transition skating suits a wider deck — more platform underfoot, more stability at speed, better for the kind of foot positioning that transition skating requires. Think 8.25–8.5 and above, softer wheels than street (87a–95a for outdoor concrete, harder for smooth indoor parks), and trucks that are slightly looser than you'd run for street.
Deck: Welcome, Girl and Santa Cruz all make shapes that work well for transition. Welcome in particular has brought genuine shape experimentation back to skateboarding — their wider shapes in the 8.5–9.0 range suit bowl and pool skating well.
Wheels: OJ Hot Juice in 60mm for outdoor concrete. Hard enough to hold speed, soft enough to absorb the rough surfaces of most Australian outdoor skateparks. Spitfire Classic in 56–58mm for smooth indoor park surfaces.
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Best Beginner Setup
The most important thing for a beginner setup is not to cheap out. A department store board feels dead, turns badly and makes learning harder than it needs to be. A quality complete from Globe, Santa Cruz or Element costs more but rides like an actual skateboard — responsive, consistent, holds up to the falls that are inevitable when you're learning.
Globe Goodstock complete is our most consistent recommendation for adult beginners — 8.0 wide, quality trucks and wheels, ready to ride, and at a price point that makes sense for someone who isn't sure yet how committed they are. For kids, Globe and Santa Cruz both make solid complete setups in smaller sizes starting from 7.0.
Size guide for beginners: match deck width to shoe size roughly. US shoe size 7–9 suits a 7.75–8.0 deck. US size 9–11 suits an 8.0–8.25. Over size 11 go 8.25 or wider.
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Best Cruiser Skateboard Setup
If you want to skate around Melbourne rather than learn tricks, a cruiser is the right call. Smaller than a longboard, more portable, still capable of covering ground efficiently on softer wheels. Landyachtz makes the best cruisers in this space — the Dinghy is the benchmark compact cruiser, the Tugboat for a slightly more stable platform. Both use soft wheels that roll over Melbourne's rough concrete without jarring.
For a cruiser setup, soft wheels (78a–87a) in the 56–62mm range make the biggest difference to how the board rides. You can put cruiser wheels on any deck, or buy a complete cruiser that comes ready to roll.
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Which Setup Is Right for You?
Want to learn tricks and skate street or parks: standard complete from Globe or Santa Cruz, build up from there.
Already skating and want to upgrade: custom build — deck, trucks and wheels chosen separately for your specific riding.
Just want to cruise around: Landyachtz Dinghy or Tugboat complete.
Transition and bowl focused: wider deck, Santa Cruz or Welcome, OJ Hot Juice wheels.
Still unsure? Come in. We're at 435A Bridge Road, Richmond. It takes five minutes to point you at the right setup.
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