Learning to skate is a tricky task at the beginning as you need to balance yourself! The first stage is mastering skating techniques and learning how to balance the board when practicing or riding it. After that, the turning round comes!
Hey, you might be learning to skateboard, but the board is not turning! What should we do? Why Won’t My Skateboard Turn? A lot of skaters have asked how to solve the turning issues, as it might happen that the skateboard is not turning. We feel frustrated due to the situation!
Most of the time, we accomplish this by bending our bodies or, perhaps, by turning our legs. During skateboarding time, it genuinely occurs when there is either too much grip or insufficient grip. However, this article will let you know the best and most effective ways to try the skateboard for pro-style riding! Keep reading the article to learn more about the sport.
What to do When the Skateboard Won’t Turn? – 10 Possible Reasons
Skateboarding is a fun game. Basically, the skateboard turns because of a set of trucks at each end that is positioned underneath the deck. The skate spins when you try to perform a turn because the wheels attached to each axle similarly turn at a specified angle.
To make a good turn, you will need coordination of your feet, wheels, and trucks. When you enjoy skating, sometimes you fail to turn the board. But why does it happen? We have listed the possible reasons. So let’s have a look at this.
- Balancing is the first reason that the skateboard does not turn
- Wrong foot positioning
- Dirt on the wheels
- Old damaged wheels
- Adjust your weight distribution
- Ground situations like smooth or flat surfaces matter
- The tightness of the trucks
- Faulty Bearings
- Bent Truck Axles
- Lean your body or make a kick turn.
However, if you cannot turn the board properly, fix our given issues and ride like a pro!
How to Turn on a Skateboard by Bending?
A skater needs to be capable of bending and balancing. Check the tightness and how loose the trucks are before attempting to turn. Tighten or loosen your board’s kingpin nut to pressure or release the polyurethane bushings in the skate trucks.
If your deck slightly leans, you have tight trucks, which makes the turning skills tricky. A board that rotates effortlessly signals that the trucks are loose, while looser trucks simplify spinning.
Simply put, you can turn by leaning or by using your tail to kick turn. Push off and continue riding when using the leaning technique. To spin, position your feet close to the centerline of the board, keep the balance, make necessary adjustments, and lean your weight in an intended way.
How to Make a Kickturn on a Skateboard?
Kick-turning is a pro-style of skill where you have to balance the back wheel for a few seconds before swinging the front in a different direction. Ensure that all four wheels are in contact with the ground by lowering yourself to the ground and attempting to maintain your weight on the back end.
You have to learn how to wind and unwind. When making a kick turn, use your hips, get ready to rotate, then relax before swinging your arms and shoulders in the proper direction. It’s time to kick turn on the quarter-pipes and banks. But never push yourself too hard. And when it’s about front side kick turns, it’s about counterclockwise rotation.
When you try the skill, maintain the weight that you push over the board. We suggest never giving much pressure on your rear foot. Point the body in the right direction by using your head and shoulders Therefore, before moving on to kick turns, you can practice with a motionless 360-degree spin.
As you continuously turn your shoulders and hips in the correct direction, use your front foot to control the skateboard. Look for places with the flat, smooth ground, such as a parking lot or garage.
See more: Which side of the skateboard is the front?
Proper Positioning is Important
A poor foot and body position might reduce the probability of making great flips. As you need to balance to skate, good positioning should come first when skating. You might make a mistake as a newbie! You’ll soon master the art of foot placement during skate sports! Keep working on it!
When using a skateboard, if your feet are not properly placed, your body will naturally tilt to one side of the board. Start by placing your dominant leg across or perpendicular to the deck, on top of the front bolts. Put your back foot on the deck’s edge and follow with your front foot.
Do Not Make Too Tight Trucks
Truck tightness may interfere with a skateboarder’s ability to make a smooth spin. The bolts on both trucks must be released with an Allen key or wrench, and then securely tightened.
The gear that links the wheel to the deck is called the truck. Your skateboard will be extremely strict and challenging for you to turn if the truck is too tight. So should we fix it by loosening it? No! You need to adjust it in a proper manner.
Too Loose Skateboard is Not Good
Too loose trucks and running at a constant speed might tilt if the trucks are too loose for you. Grab a board, turn it over, then tilt the trucks back and test the trucks. By attaching the nut to the bolt, try to tighten them down.
Occasionally, you may notice that the skateboard wiggles, in which case the pivot cup needs to be replaced, or the trucks may need to be somewhat adjusted, but only momentarily. We suggest using tight trucks and flexible bushings.
Change your Bushings
The plastic pieces in the center of your trucks are called bushings. Bushings and pivot cups ultimately become less flexible due to steering, conditions, and collisions. Bushings should also be changed. Remove the kingpin to see if your pivot cup is damaged.
The majority of the trucks contain “medium” bushings with a durometer of about 90a. If you find the hangar and half of your board truck contain axles moving freely and the truck is loose enough, you must change the bushings.
Fix the Skateboard Wheels
The wheel’s inside edge requires more room than its outside edge. Routine wheel cleaning is a good idea for making a good turn and maintaining performance. The wheels become difficult to turn if they have dirt and debris inside. Use cleaning bearings solvents. Also, routine lubrication can fix it because lubrication is necessary for the wheel to turn.
Additionally, faulty bearings can cause wheels to sway, which will ultimately cause a collision. Because properly maintained bearings will last longer and help you retain stability, you must fix and clean them to function effectively.
Check Warped Skateboard Deck
Check to ensure that all four wheels are on the ground by placing your deck on the floor. Remove your trucks if one or two of the wheels are off the ground. Trucks that are out of alignment or even your wheels could be the cause of not turning properly.
Check for twists or distortions by setting your deck. Check for internal inconsistencies while stepping on your deck or with your hand. You have a warped board if you can check everything.
FAQ
How do you make your skateboard turn better?
So if you want to make a pro-like turn on your skateboard you have to follow our given tricks.
1. Check your truck’s tightness
2. If you find it too tight, loosen the kingpin
3. Look for a place with the flat, smooth ground.
4. Put on your standard riding position and start skating
5. Keep your balance and make a kick turn
6. Put the weight on your heel
7. Turning requires a matched lean from your body
8. Your skateboard’s ride height can be improved by inserting a riser pad under each truck.
Why is my skateboard not rolling straight?
Cracked or dried-out bushings are one of the most common issues. Your trucks will turn smoothly and straightly based on how hard your bushings are. The bushings in your trucks or hardware issues are most likely to respond when the skateboard is continuously rolling or leaning to the left or right. So, either repair it or replace the bushings.
Should skateboard wheels be tight or loose?
It is a sign that your skateboard wheel is excessively tight if it cannot rotate smoothly for ten seconds or more. The tightness of your skateboard is therefore necessary to prevent wheel bite and speed wobbles.
Moderate tightness is ideal for enjoying a smooth and secure ride with flexible skills. The nuts should also be tightened as much as possible without preventing the wheel from spinning.
Can you skate with a broken bushing?
Bushings that are cracked or damaged can still be used for skating, but the performance and smoothness won’t be the same. For the best ride, it is better to clean or replace the bushings.
Conclusion
Anyway, we have discussed for a long period of time to know Why Won’t My Skateboard Turn. Now you have the answer and you can make a good turn by following our given solutions.
We have mentioned all the possible causes that won’t make a turn on your board, and you have the info about how to fix it! If the article helped you out with turning the board, leave a positive comment in the comment box. Your precious comments push us to generate more informative content related to skateboarding. Till then, enjoy skating time with good flip skills!
Hi, my name is Gabriel. I am completed my MBA from private university and my subject was IT (Information Technology) and also I complete my graduation form South East University and Department from CSE (Computer Science & Engineering). I am author and blogger of this website who loves to write about different topics that are related to the board sport. From beginner tips to intermediate advice, I want to offer you quality content that will help improve your skill set and make you a better rider. Thanks for checking out my site!
