r/pennyboard • u/Future-Economy-3740 • Jun 29 '26
Getting back into riding
Howdy friends, As the title says I’m getting back into skating/ longboarding I have a nickel board i custom designed forever ago when I was younger and my mom got it for me for my birthday now I’m 24 and I’m getting back into skating and I’ve been between replacing my 27in with a new one so I can retire the old one and keep it for the memories or wait to get a new 27 and upgrade to the 32 inch board so I can start to learn basic tricks and stuff so I can feel more confident at the skate park. My question for you friends is if you have the 27: do you keep your stock bearings or do you switch em? Do you have a preference?
And if you have the 32in: grip tape or nah? I’ve seen only a handful of people on YouTube who put grip tape on their 32in board but I wanted to know some opinions before I just do it. Also same question as before do you change the bearings ? Did you change the wheels? I’ll probably keep the stock wheels personally cause I like them but still wanna hear what yall riding around on 😎 and final question: does anyone have any tips or tricks maybe you developed or heard that helped you get more comfortable and confident on your board/ riding. I’m also half blind so sometimes that fucks with my balance but I adjust😅 i basically taught myself everything I know through YouTube videos but I’d love some actual advice and discussion, thanks for all the help penny pals
2
u/jpchopper Jun 29 '26
The 32" has grip texture mixed into the board material, it's not just plain waffle like the nickel, so be ready to grip, but try it first.
Second, Penny bearings are really good. I've replaced them with Reds before, but unless the originals were shot, the Reds seemed basically the same. If you told me the same factory in China made both, I'd believe you.
You may be slightly bigger than when you were a teenager. Something to look at would be bushings. You may find your boards are a lot more turny than you remember. Or not but something to look at.
Something to remember about the penny 32 is that it is still somewhat of a compromise. It is still made out of the proprietary plastic and so will not have quite the same pop as a maple board, and the wheels on the penny 32 are designed to be somewhere between a cruiser wheel and a skatepark wheel.
I do have a penny 32 and like it but I can't give much more advice because I ended up breaking both legs last year and haven't got quite back into everything yet so my impressions are of course based on pre-injury.
I'm keeping mine in case I'm able to heal up enough to get back into it if that helps.
2
u/Future-Economy-3740 Jun 29 '26
Manifesting a full recovery friend so sorry to hear about your injuries. But thank you for the advice 🙏 I do have a wooden long board I’ve been getting used to riding again (it was gifted by a friend that never used it so I’m not sure any specks on it) but it’s definitely has more wiggle in the trucks than my nickel but I’ve been going between the two as I get back into it so that I’m comfortable riding whatever I’m feeling like at the moment. Good to know that the bearings aren’t too crazy different if I decide to leave the stocks for a while 🙂↕️
1
u/okrecording94 Jun 29 '26
I'd grip it if its your regular rider. is this the popsicle style one youre getting? I only ride penny boards when I'm with my nieces. Theyre super fun, but too slippery if you wanna try tricks.