Extreme Sports

Cheap skateboards aren’t a bargain when you consider the possibility for injury. A skateboard that is not well made could fall apart and leave you and the pieces of your cheap skateboard on the ground. That would terrible and very dangerous. A cheap skateboard could be made with inferior parts which could lead to it falling apart and causing injury to you. However, you need to look at more than a skateboards price when trying to buy a safe skateboard.

The price of a skateboard may not reflect quality since manufacturers increase the price of a cheaper skateboard to make it seem like a better product than it is. They know that a lot of consumers equate price with quality. Make sure you aren’t buying a cheaply made skateboard with a marked up price or you won’t get a good quality product. Also, just because a professional skateboarder endorses a certain brand of boards does not mean that those boards are necessarily the best quality for the price. Educate yourself about how to tell a quality skateboard from a dangerous, cheaply made one.

A good quality deck is the key to a safe skateboard. The skateboard deck holds your weight and allows you to maneuver and steer. Good quality wood must be used on a skateboard deck for it to be safe. The wood should be firmly secured and the edges should be adequately sealed. The best test for a deck is to stand on it and jump slightly to see if you hear a cracking noise. A good quality deck should be flexible to be safe.  Read more...

Every year bicycle manufacturers make better, lighter and cheaper mountain bikes which make them more attractive to consumers. Do you want to buy a full suspension mountain bike? If you do below is a list of items that you might want to considered before buying a new mountain bike.

One of the most important questions to ask yourself is what type of terrain will you be riding on? If you are going to be riding cross country maybe a full suspension mountain bike is not warranted and a hardtail will better suit your needs. However if you are going to be riding downhill or on rough terrain a full suspension bike might be right up your alley.

Determine your budget and stick to it. Consider buying the best bike you can afford within your budget. Many riders suggest that if you have less then $700 to spend on a bike you might want to consider a hardtail because full suspension bikes are more costly. However you could consider buying a used full suspension bike at a good price on a mountain bike classifieds site.

If you determine that a full suspension mountain bike is what you need and want then consider the different frame designs. Single-pivot, sweet-spot and horst-link are a few popular designs and each has their advantages and disadvantages. The best way to truly understand the difference is to go to a few bike stores and test ride the different designs. The bike store guy will be more then happy to explain and point out the pros and cons of each design.

Remember that full suspension bikes are heavier then hardtail bikes. Full suspension frames are a little heavier and they carry more parts then hardtails so be prepared to pedal around a little more weight on the trail.  Read more...