Santa Cruz Cruiser Skateboards

Cruiser skateboards, or simply cruisers, are basically a mixture of a skateboard and a longboard. The wheels are usually slightly larger and softer than those of normal skateboards. The shape of many cruisers is reminiscent of old skateboards or surfboards, as the tail (the back part) is often flattened and the nose (the front part) tapers a little bit.

Frequently asked questions about skateboard cruisers:

• What is a cruiser skateboard?
• How can I turn my skateboard into a cruiser?
• Where can I find more information, help and recommendations?

Cruisers are best suited for skating longer distances as they have a similarly smooth ride as longboards. In contrast to longboards, however, skate cruisers are much shorter, lighter and more agile.

When you start skating, the question may arise: cruiser or skateboard? Thanks to the larger, soft wheels, a cruiseboard allows you to ride comfortably on almost any surface. Rolling on rough ground or even cobblestones is much more comfortable with a cruiser than with a normal skateboard. In addition, with a skateboard cruiser you will reach a higher top speed. This means that you have to push less and get from A to B in a more relaxed way.

As many skateboard cruisers have a tail, small tricks like ollies on a sidewalk can be done without any problems. Cruisers are rather unsuitable for real trick skating. For relaxed cruising to the bakery or through the nightly streets, skateboard cruisers are ideal. However, since tricks are not the main focus of cruisers, they are a little wider and therefore offer more stability, cruiser skateboards are also well suited for beginners.

Especially among filmers cruisers are very popular. Because of the bigger, softer wheels they are quite quiet and the sound of their own wheels is hardly audible on the recordings. Cruisers are often used as a second board, because they are very fast, light and suitable for everyday use. How to turn your skateboard into a cruiser is explained below.

Cruisers are a mixture of skateboards and longboards. The advantages of a cruiserboard are clearly in the comfortable skating. The larger and softer cruiser wheels allow you to cover longer distances without any problems.

Because a cruiser is shorter and lighter than a longboard, it is more suitable for everyday use and easier to store or transport. Smaller skateboard city cruisers with an average length of 70cm can be easily stowed away in a backpack, for example.

Top: Longboard, Middle: Skateboard, Bottom: Cruiser

Another difference to normal skateboards can be the trucks. There are trucks with a traditional kingpin (TKP) and trucks with a reversed kingpin (RKP). Traditional kingpin trucks are regular skateboard trucks. Reversed kingpin trucks have the kingpin facing outwards. This construction makes the Reversed Kingpin trucks more steerable. You can find more detailed information about this in our Longboard Wiki. Whether a Cruiser has TKP or RKP trucks, you can find out in the respective product description.

Cruisers of the brand YOW are another speciality, because the front truck has a special construction here. The YOW Surf System allows you to imitate surfing on the asphalt and enables particularly tight turns (curves). If you like surfing far away from the coast, you are at the right address with the YOW Surf Skate Cruisers!

Tip: The right cruiser wheels for your DIY-Cruiser

For your cruiser we recommend wheels with a diameter of at least 55mm or larger and a durometer of 85A or softer. The bigger the wheels, the higher the final speed - the softer the wheels, the more comfortable riding on rough ground.

As larger wheels often involve increased wheelbite (contact between the wheels and deck during the ride), you should check the height of your cruiser trucks. With high trucks you are usually on the safe side. With mid or low trucks you should increase the truck height with riserpads. In this case you might need slightly longer bolts. You can find more information about truck height and wheel size in the Skateboard Wheels Wiki and in the Skateboard Wheels Shop.

Tip: Cruiser decks for your skateboard Cruiser

In general, switching is more suitable for wide skateboards, but it also works with narrower decks. We recommend using skateboard decks of 8.5″ or wider for a cruiser with a relaxed ride. Shaped skateboard decks are also popular for filmer and cruiser boards. If you are a beginner, a deck width that suits you plays a bigger role.