Are you thinking of getting a ride back home on your skateboard instead of walking? Then you must be questioning what would be the average speed of a skateboard. Indeed, you came to the right place.
On average, a skateboard may have a speed of 9mph, though including every type of skill. But that also may depend on how much skills or practice a person has. As for the stance, a beginner skateboarder may not be as good as an experienced skateboarder.
Accordingly, from many findings, we can conclude that a skateboarder at a beginner level may have speed ranging from 5 to 10 mph. In contrast, an experienced skateboarder with much more skills can have an average speed of 7-8 mph.
Factors Involved In Skateboard Speed
Generally, many factors can affect the speed of your skateboard. Some elements may be related to the skateboard structure, whereas some may be related to a skateboarder’s skills. Moreover, surface texture also plays an essential part in directing the speed of your skateboard.
1) Structure Of The Skateboard
The structure of the skateboard is somehow an important feature that can readily affect your speed. The structure is the shape of the skateboard. Every skateboard has a different design. The structure of the base or deck is different from other skateboards. Based on shape, skateboards are of the following 3 types;
- Regular: occasionally, regular-shaped skateboards are those which are usually on the streets and in parks. Their width may vary, but most of the time, they are 8 inches wide.
- Longboards: Such type of skateboards are usually long and are distinct from other regular skateboards. Because of their bigger sizes, people prefer longboards for riding downhills. As they are long, for this reason, they are much more stable.
- Penny boards: you can call them cruise skateboards as well. Luckily penny boards are compact and light in weight. Moreover, they are not compatible with tricks, and you may use them like a carriage. One thing about these boards is that they are easy to carry.
Related Article: Best Skateboard Decks for Street
2) Skateboard Bearings
Another thing that can affect the speed of your skateboard is the bearings your skateboard has. Bearings are usually present in different kind of ratings like; ABEC. The ratings are available so that the higher the ratings, the more speed your skateboard will have.
Moreover, if you are thinking to upgrade your skateboard speed, you can choose ABEC with a rating of 5. But you have to keep one thing in mind. The higher the speed, the greater the momentum and the more challenging it will be to control the skateboard.
3) Skateboard Wheels
Another essential object that can affect your skateboard is the wheels you are having for your skateboard. Occasionally wheels are of different textures; some may be soft while some may be hard. At the same time, you can define the softness or hardness of wheels with the durometer scale. On the scale, if the ratings are low, that means the wheels are soft.
If you are thinking to ride fast, you must have hard wheels, whereas, for road skating, you can choose soft wheels, as they absorb any impact and provide stability.
How Can Riding Skills Affect Average Skateboard Speed?
Riding skills and your average skateboard speed have a direct relationship with one another. As for the beginner level, when you start to learn, you may not be faster than the speed of walking. But as you practice and learn it properly, you may develop a high acceleration speed.
Moreover, in a crowded area, a practicing skateboarder may not overcome all the hurdles. But an experienced skateboarder may be able to swoosh away with high acceleration.
Furthermore, your average speed may also be the result of the pushing skills you have. That is how effectively you push and balance your skateboard. Mastering the pushing skills can boost up your average speed.
Impact Of Terrain On Average Skateboard Speed
There are some actual chances that the surface or environment you are skateboarding in can affect your average speed. As for a while skateboarding over sidewalks, your average speed may decrease. Many cracks are there, and you need to overcome them or jump over them only if you are a skilled skateboarder.
Moreover, some other factors may be like traffic problems, and the direction of the road can also impact your average speed. As because of the texture among the surface, the rate may increase at one place while decreasing.
How To Increase The Average Skateboard Speed?
1) For More Speed, Have Bigger Wheels
If you are thinking to increase your skateboard’s average speed, then one thing you can fix are the wheels. Biggers wheels can roll faster as compared to softer wheels. The reason is that soft wheels tend to absorb shock from the ground as they are nearest to the ground.
2) For Higher Speed, Longboards Are Good To Go
Longboards are usually much faster than normal skateboards. They require less pressure and eases all the obstacles easily as well. At the same time, the average speed of a longboard is 9mph. But because of their size, they are not portable and are not suitable for tricking purposes as well.
Also Read: Difference Between Skateboards vs Longboards
3) Good Bearings
Another thing you can enhance in order to improve your average speed is the use of better bearings. Bearings have their ranks according to their qualities. The higher the rank higher will be the speed. An average fastest bearing is of rank 5.
4) Other Considerations:
If you want to increase the speed of your skateboard, try to clean it thoroughly. Most importantly, try to clean the bearings to have it running fast and not lose momentum. Moreover, try to have hard wheels as they will be of some rigid material so you cannot lose the momentum, and your skateboard will run with the speed of a rocket.
FAQs about Skateboard Speed
How long does it take to skateboard 1 mile?
If the surface is flat, then you may probably take 3 minutes to cover 1 mile. If you are not skateboarding over a smooth surface, you may take 5-6 minutes to complete 1 mile while skateboarding.
Moreover, your experience level may count, as well. If you are a beginner, you may take up 10-15 minutes; otherwise, someone with skills can be much faster.
Is skateboarding faster than running?
Usually, the average skateboard speed is about nine mph whereas, the running speed is 4-6 mph. As you will use a lot of pushing energy to attain speed, skateboarding is much faster than running.
But all of this speed depends on how much skilled you are. If you are an expert at it, you are ready to go, but it may seem a little hard for you if you are a beginner.
Are skateboards faster than bikes?
A skateboard usually has an average speed of 9mph whereas, a bike has an average speed of 11mph. This clarifies that bikes are faster than skateboards.
But there is an exception to that. A skilled skateboard rider having some solid pushing abilities can ride faster than a bike. But that also maybe not equal to the average speed of the bike alone.
What is the fastest type of skateboard?
Longboards are one of the kinds of skateboards that are the fastest because they have softer wheels for having a smooth ride. Moreover, the bearings they use are of higher quality as well. Apart from their hardware, their shapes are in such a way to enable stability.
While having stability, you can easily overcome gravels or cracks in the surfaces.
Do bigger skateboard wheels go faster?
Additionally, wheel diameters determine how good your board will accelerate. Accordingly, large wheels are responsible for high speed as they give you a fast ride, whereas small wheels are suitable for low-speed rides.
Consequently, small wheels are easier to control as they are nearest to the ground. Moreover, bigger wheels may be faster, but smaller wheels give you a smooth and impact-free ride.
Are longboards faster than skateboards?
Yes, longboards are occasionally faster than skateboards. It is because of the hardware these longboards have. Longboards have much softer wheels and high-quality bearings. Softer wheels give stability to pass over every unusual crack, and bearings help to increase your speed.
If you are thinking of going downhill, then longboards are the best as they will provide a stable and smoother ride.
Final Words
Finally, after going through many findings, we were able to find that the average speed of a skateboard 9-12 mph. Moreover, this speed also increases with the skills you acquire. Additionally, some factors can impact the average speed of the skateboard. But if you are thinking to increase your average speed, do not forget to master the art of skateboarding first.
Luckily you can also increase your average speed of skateboard by using some of the useful techniques. But remember, high speed will require higher control. Have a safe ride!
