Recent times have seen a considerable surge in the popularity of fingerboarding. It has developed from being just a hobby to a professional fingerboard sport inspired by renowned skateboarders. The budding riders create a customized interpretation of skateboarding tricks to perform on miniature sidewalks.
Fingerboarding offers a safer alternative to the thrill and exhilaration felt during conventional skateboarding, as it does not require you to step out and take physical risks. Despite that, the sport is quite challenging and exciting in itself. Create your own custom fingerboard and enter the world of electrifying energy within your home.
What is a Fingerboard?
As the name suggests, the fingerboard is a working replica of a traditional skateboard. You can ride the board using your index and middle finger instead of your feet and imitate skateboarding maneuvers. It is a scaled-down skateboard with moving wheels, fingerboard decks, trucks, graphics, and everything else.
Usually, the fingerboard is 10 cm long and varies in width from 26 to 55 mm. You can get your custom-prepared fingerboard with premium-quality, handmade pro fingerboard wheels for enhanced performance.
Components of a Fingerboard
Being a skateboard replica, the fingerboard also consists of several parts and components. These basic parts have evolved over time to amplify its performance. The components include:
Decks: Decks are usually made of plastic or wood with varying shapes, such as old-school decks, cruiser decks, and popsicle decks. With time, decks have been widened for efficiency, and you can even make your own custom fingerboard decks. Earlier decks were 29 mm wide, while the modern decks range from 32 mm – 34 mm. The present-day superior decks come with a defined nose and tail resembling the actual skateboard.
Wheels:
The wheels are made from plastic, metal, or resin. Polyurethane, used in skateboard wheels, is the most common raw material used as it provides a firm grip. Some wheels are furnished with bearings for higher-quality equipment. These are either 3D printed, cast, or machined on a lathe.
Trucks:
Fingerboard trucks are made from metals and produced in bulk for the toy industry. However, with the growing popularity of the sport, many manufacturers have started producing special trucks, particularly for this sport. Thus, targeted production has increased its standards by creating quality items in lower quantities.
Bushings:
Bushings are also identical in fingerboard trucks as in skateboards, with two bushings for a smooth ride. However, cheaper quality plastic boards sometimes have hard plastic bushings. These are feeble and can break easily, making it difficult to perform certain tricks.
Bearings:
Fingerboard wheels are equipped with similar bearings as the skateboard wheels. These bearings are made of the finest steel for a smoother spinning wheel, just like the skateboards.
Tape, Screws, and Nuts:
These are small but essential components of a fingerboard. A grip tape is affixed to the fingerboard decks for better adhesion. Screws attach the truck to the deck. And nuts ensure that the wheel stays connected to the trucks. Locknuts are the most popular ones as they don’t loosen easily.
Ramps and Obstacles:
In addition, different styles of obstacles and ramps are a major part of fingerboarding. Earlier, these were made of wood, concrete, metal, or household items such as cardboard. However, these have also been commercialized and are produced by various companies with different qualities. While cheaper obstacles are made from plastic, premium ramps constitute molded concrete, metal, wood, etc. These are imitated and aim to create the same impact as real-life obstacles.
The best feature of fingerboards is that they do not come in standard shapes and sizes. You can make your own self-designed customize fingerboard by adding custom parts and components that reflect your creativity and passion.
To Conclude
Fingerboards have grown as a well-admired sport among children these days. Even though you’re riding through your fingers, you can mimic the same tricks, flips, and glides performed on a real skateboard. It is a great way to have fun without any physical threat.
Moreover, the advanced public interest has led to the creation of a large variety of fingerboard brands, colors, and accessories. You can choose from an array of fingerboard trucks, decks, and other components to build a customized one as per your needs.
