The easy part is that you’re fine with a deck between 8.0″ and 8.5″. You want a single pressed deck that’s made by a quality woodshop. First, you want a quality deck, not all brands give you the quality you need. This is pretty easy and complex at the same time. You’re looking for a skateboard deck that’s suitable for transition skateboarding. Stability is really important and you also want to ride 58mm wheels and high trucks. 8.5″ would be the minimum width but 9.0″ isn’t unheard of.

If we also take vert skating into consideration you’ll need a wide setup. This requires a wider board around 8.25″ / 8.5″, wheels around 56mm and 58mm, and high trucks. Second would be flowy riders (for the lack of a better word) that like to ride parks and do an occasional ollie, transfers, and shred mini ramps and pools.

This requires a more agile setup like a deck around 8.0″, wheels around 54mm and medium-high trucks. Technical skateboarders that grind rails, ledges and perform lots of flips but also enjoy ramps and bowls. I’d say there are two (maybe three) camps here. It’s about flow and finding the right line to perform tricks. The rock to fakie is basically an extension of rolling back and forth, where your board goes beyond the coping.Transition skateboarding involves flat ground, ramps, bowls. Lift your front truck slightly to avoid getting stuck on the coping. To get back into the miniramp, shift your weight back onto your tail. For extra style, you can hold the trick in this position for a bit and try to lift the rear truck. As soon as the center of your board is on the coping, your body weight should be slightly shifted over the coping. The sound is a very characteristic one that will always accompany you when riding the miniramp. Once you reach the top of the quarter pipe, lift your front truck slightly as soon as you feel or hear your wheels roll over the coping. Make sure that you drop as cleanly as possible into the miniramp and stay straight. For the rock to fakie you skate straight towards one of the two quarter pipes, bring your front truck over the coping and roll back fakie into the miniramp. The Rock to Fakie is a great trick to begin with. If the drop-ins work safely and you already make it to the opposite coping, you should try your first real trick in the miniramp. Don't think about it too much and don't hesitate too long before the drop-in! Time for tricks: The Rock to Fakie This way you will learn the drop-in cleanly and avoid falls.Ī little fear at the beginning is quite normal. Don't forget to shift your whole body forward so the board doesn't slip away underneath you causing you to fall backwards. Press the front truck down really hard with your front foot onto the miniramp. Let's go! It is very important to shift your entire weight to your front truck when you drop in. Position your front foot as centrally and straight over the front screws as possible, where you would also position it in the flat. Stay relaxed and put your weight on your tail. Step with your back foot on the tail in your usual foot position. It is important to master the drop-in correctly.įor the drop-in, you stand at the top of the miniramp and put your tail on the coping, so that your nose is pointing in the direction of the other side of the miniramp. Without it, you won't get much speed for your tricks. Once you get used to the miniramp, it's time for a drop-in! The drop-in should definitely be your first step in a miniramp.

Airs are, as the name suggests, tricks where you jump out of the miniramp.

Slides are basically the same, but with nose, tail or the middle of your skateboard.

Grinds are tricks where one or both of your trucks move over the coping and grind on it.

Stalls are tricks where you hold a certain position on the coping for a moment without making a lateral movement.

The tricks in the miniramp can be divided into different categories: Stalls, grinds, slides, airs, and more. That way you'll get the right feeling quickly. It can feel a bit unfamiliar to skate a miniramp, so it is recommended to try rolling back and forth between the two quarterpipes.

You know where to find a miniramp? Then let's go!

Of course, all the tricks and tips mentioned here are ultimately applicable everywhere, whether it’s in a miniramp, halfpipe, quarterpipes or in pools/bowls.įor your first steps in a miniramp, we recommend starting in less steep and rather low miniramps, because they are easier to ride. A miniramp is like a halfpipe, only smaller. Miniramps differ in how steep and high the transition of the quarterpipes is and how far away they are from each other. At the top end of the quarterpipe is the 'coping', usually a metal bar on which you can do tricks. So two quarters of a cross-cut tube, between which you roll back and forth again and again. The classic miniramp consists of two quarterpipes.

Beginner mini ramp tricks