Physics of Skateboarding- knowing the parts of a skateboard

Before getting into details of how the physics of skateboarding works, we must know what causes the physics of skateboarding to happen. A skateboard has different components that does its own "thing". People may think that a skateboard is just a random mechanism for you to play and move about with. But, for those people who actually know what a skateboard is made out of may explain some simple physics behind why we can do many skills with just a moving plank.

A skateboard consists of:

Deck/Board/Plank

The deck is the "flat" surface of the skateboard. It is made out of wood because wood is hard enough to hold someone's weight and has the right elasticity to do any skills. 

Each deck will have a curved part at both ends which allows the rider to apply enough force to turn the board around or do a any skill. This curved shape is called the "nose" and "tail"  being the front or the back of the deck. When force is applied, the bottom part of the nose will touch the ground causing the board to do a small elastic movement.

The deck also has grip tape. Grip tapes are the "sand-paper-like-sticker" which we apply at the top of the board so the riders can have some grip on their shoes and control the board. With the gritty texture, the grip tape acts as friction part of the board.

Trucks

The trucks are the component that connects the deck to the wheels. Trucks are rigid but it hinged at it's joint with the deck. This allows the board to change course by simply adding left or right force at the edge of the board. 

By leaning the board to the direction you want, for example left, the left board dips down causing the front joint to pivot clockwise while the back pivots anti-clockwise. With both trucks pivoting the opposite direction, this makes the inside wheels closer and outer wheels further apart which makes the wheels to move in an arc.

The arc movement is caused by a rubber that surrounds the inside of the joint, called the rubber bush. The bush controls the stiffness of the joint. To be able to move further left or right is to apply more force.If you tighten the bolt that holds the trucks and the bush, the bush is compressed and the rubber becomes stiffer and the opposite if you loosen the bolt. By having a stiffer trucks will make the board more stable but it increases the force the amount of force needed to apply for the board to rotate.

Wheel

As straight forward as what wheels do, they give an opportunity for the board to move. The wheels are usually smaller because smaller wheels move faster on concrete and asphalt, but moves slowly if there is a gritty texture like pebbles. The wheels are the contact forces which keeps everything upright.

These are my references:

http://www.angelfire.com/ny/krumpet/skating.html

http://www.exploratorium.edu/skateboarding/skatedesign.html

http://skateboard.about.com/od/skateboardingdictionary/g/GlosGriptape.htm

http://www.quora.com/How-does-a-skateboard-turn-What-are-the-physics-or-mechanics-behind-it

http://www.otherplanetskate.com/t-tech-wheels.aspx

pictures are from google.

By A' ;)