Design Timeline


Skateboarder (USA) Vol2 No1 Summer 1975

1900-1949

The early antecedents of skateboarding are invented, including the box scooter. People tried “sidewalk surfing by attaching roller skate wheels to wooden planks. 1

Wheels are made of metal or clay with barely any traction.

1950-1959

1959-Roller Derby Skateboarding Company, the first company to mass-produce skateboards opens. 2

The shape of the skateboard begins to change from a rectangle to having a rounded top.

1960-1969

1960- NASH, another skateboard company designs their own skateboard that does not have straight edges.3

1964-G&S Fibreflex Pintail comes out, a skateboard company that designs their skateboard to look like a surfboard.

Clay wheels replace metal wheels.

1970-1979

Frank Nasworthy invents the polyurethane skateboard wheels. 4

The Banana Board comes out, which is a more flexible board because it’s made of polypropylene5

1975- The Road Rider Cruiser comes out with precision bearings 

1980-1989

Old School Fishtail was designed with soft wheels for vertical skateboarders who wanted to street skate and do tricks proficiently6

1990-1999

Pop Sickle board, the one of the most common models comes out. It normally is between 7 and 8 inches wide and 30-32 inches wide. It’s symmetrical and narrow.7

2000s and on

Electric skateboards controlled by remotes began to be popularized.

Different types of boards are utilized by different types of skating. Buyer guides sometimes have charts to guide people to decide which style of skating they would prefer.8


Dovas. “Skateboarding In 1970s California During The Golden Age Of Skate Culture.” Bored 
Panda. Bored Panda, September 9, 2015. https://www.boredpanda.com/1970-skateboarding-culture-skater-california-locals-only-hjjjjjjjjjjjugh-holland/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.

References


(note)

  1. Los Angeles: Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, pp.1-13. Available at: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/youth/surf.pdf [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019]. 
  2. Evolution of the Skateboard Deck.” https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com. Bio Medical Center (BMC), June 24, 2011.
  3. Evolution of the Skateboard Deck.” https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com. Bio Medical Center (BMC), June 24, 2011.
  4. Weiss, Eric M. “A Reinvention Of the Wheel Annandale Teen’s Idea Brought Skateboarding Back to Life.” The Washington Post. WP Company, August 17, 2004. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6502-2004Aug16.html.
  5. Evolution of the Skateboard Deck.” https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com. Bio Medical Center (BMC), June 24, 2011.
  6. Evolution of the Skateboard Deck.” https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com. Bio Medical Center (BMC), June 24, 2011.
  7. Evolution of the Skateboard Deck.” https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com. Bio Medical Center (BMC), June 24, 2011.
  8. “Board Shapes and It’s Uses.” n.d. Accessed September 24, 2019. https://longboardgirlscrew.com/2011/12/board_shapes_and_its_uses/.