Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Do skater trainers work? How can you tell?
Do skateboard trainers work? Even if they work, should you use them? Let's solve this mystery.
As more people get into skateboarding, more and more tricks, gimmicks, and gadgets have been invented to help beginners through the learning curve. That's pretty awesome, because skating is all about practice, and with only so many hours in the day, it helps to have everything possible on your side. One fairly new invention many beginners flock to is skater wheel trainers, or skateboard trainers, a set of guards for the wheels to help people learn how not to fall on their faces.
What Are Skateboard Trainers?
Imagine standing on a skateboard with square blocks for wheels. You would hardly slide at all, right? Skate trainers are essentially little plastic boxes that slip onto your wheels. They'll still spin, but far less, and they're easy to slip on and off. You could even add them to longboards.
No one will deny that skateboarding is associated with bumps and scrapes. When people are completely new to it, though, one of the biggest challenges is the psychological fear of taking a fall. Skateboard trainers reduce the board's tendency to roll with your body's movements while you practice standing up, or doing standing tricks.
Trainers are mainly for people who are worried about falling. They can be used as a learning tool for very young kids learning to skateboard or for anyone who wants to get over the initial hump of learning to stand on the deck. It's less about safety and more about feeling safe and knowing you have a reduced risk of the board slipping out from under you.
For some beginners, that confidence helps them embrace standing on a board, so they can take the trainers off and graduate to proper balancing and then forward and backward skating.
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Pros of Skater Trainers
There are some fair reasons to buy skater trainers:
- They reduce rolling, helping absolute beginners stand up on the deck.
- It's relaxing to know your chance of falling is much lower.
- If the board does slip away, it won't go nearly as far, so it can be easily retrieved.
- If you have a very small space to practice, you can be confident the board won't move too far if you slip.
- You can practice basic moves like an ollie before you learn to stay balanced and skate on the street.
In essence, trainers provide a greater feeling of safety, reduced movement for more convenient trick practice, and more time to focus specifically on performing tricks, before having to learn how to balance. This fast progress to learning tricks can make trainers appealing.
Cons of Skater Trainers
These little gizmos are not without their critiques:
- Skateboard wheels were made to spin. Overusing trainers could damage the bearings, and you may need a repair or replacement board sooner.
- Though often bought for safety, trainers are not safety equipment. They do not reduce the severity of falling the way a helmet and pads would.
- The feel of a board with and without trainers is very different, so what you gain in muscle memory may be lost when you take them off.
- Advanced skaters often shun trainers as a crutch, arguing that without learning to stabilize with unblocked wheels, you are actually in greater danger of falling later.
- If someone really wants reduced rolling, they can tighten their wheels (be careful not to go too far!) or practice on thick carpet.
Anyone can agree that skater trainers do what they're supposed to do. But they're called "trainers," so the question is if they actually help you learn to skate.
The main argument against using trainers is that they are a crutch and that anyone interested in skating will need to learn to stand on a board without assistance, getting over the fear of falling. Skateboarders fall — it happens! Many argue that catering to the fear of falling rather than overcoming it directly will hamper progress in the long run.
Do Trainers Help With Learning Tricks?
It depends on how you look at it. For some, being able to do their first manual is a big milestone that gets them committed to skating for life, and they'll take the trainers off soon to perfect their balance. For others, the shock of how hard balancing actually without the trainers reverses the confidence they built up and turns them off from skating, even if they learned a trick with the trainers on.
Only one thing is for sure: In a world where a blind man relearned to skate like a pro, you have it in you to learn and master this sport.
In general, it's best to see how you do without this type of assistance equipment. If you're having a lot of trouble, skateboard trainers might be worth using, but it's probably best not to rush into buying them. They might help, but they are not necessary to learn the basics.
