Best Cruiser Skateboard for Beginners: Our Top 5 Picks 2022

Skateboarding is awesome. It’s a simple statement, but it’s 100 percent true.

You don’t have to be a daredevil trick master to enjoy it either.

Simply getting out on your board and cruising around is liberating, and cruising is well within your grasp as a beginner skater.

It’s the best way to master the fundamentals of skating and a ton of fun in its own right.

The thing is, there’s a wild multiplicity of cruiser skateboards out in the market.

If you’re new to skating, there is also a bunch of technical jargon to learn and figure out.

If you don’t know your trucks from your tail, it’s a real head spinner trying to unpick what will work best for you.

If only there was a clear, informative guide to help you pick your board!

Look no further, because that is exactly what we have put together for you here.

We’ll take you through some of our favorite beginner cruiser skateboards, looking at what makes each one a great choice for you.

After you’ve had a chance to peruse the boards that we love, take a look at the handy buyer’s guide we’ve assembled to inform your choice even further.

We’ve also included some of the most frequently asked questions about cruiser skateboards for beginners.

Best Cruiser Skateboard for Beginners

The Landyachtz Dinghy is a classic cruiser skateboard and an awesome choice for a beginner. Landyachtz is a trusted name in skateboarding so right from the off you know you’re getting a board that’s going to stand you in good stead.

With a comfortable and sturdy 28.5” deck made from 7-ply maple plus great hardware and a fantastic choice of graphics, you can’t go wrong with a board from Landyachtz.

This board is perfect for cruising. It’s built like a longboard but in a little portable package that makes it easy to take to work or classes.

However, that 7-ply maple deck has a ton of pop and flex, and the nose and tail both have kicks, so while it looks like a board that wants to be ground-bound it actually opens up possibilities for flip-tricks and manuals.

While this might not be your first priority as a beginner (in fact, it probably shouldn’t be!) you don’t need to change your board or buy another if you want to branch out when you’re getting a bit more confident.

The kick-tail is also super-useful for navigating obstacles like curbs or bits of debris in your path.

To further assist you with your smooth cruising, the Landyachtz Dinghy comes complete with Landyachtz’ own Polar Bear 105 trucks, specifically designed for cruising.

Landyachtz also designed what they consider the perfect wheel for cruising; the 63mm Fatty Hawg.

The Dinghy comes with these as standard and they are a phenomenal choice delivering perfect grip, slide, and comfort. You’ll be cruising with confidence in no time!

Pros

• Trusted name – Landyachtz has been in the skate business for a long time, and the Dinghy has a pedigree that goes back nearly two decades. This is a board built by experts for you to love.

• High-quality hardware – not content with delivering a board shaped by experience, Landyachtz put their considerable knowledge to work in designing the trucks and wheels to make this board the best cruiser out there.

• Extremely versatile – when you buy a Landyachtz Dinghy, you give yourself the keys to a whole world of skating. Sure, it’s a cruiser, but it’s built to do whatever you want it to, in style and confidence.

Cons

• More expensive than some other options – you get what you pay for with the Landyachtz Dinghy. You do get a lot, but you pay a lot in comparison to some of the other cruisers out there. Don’t let that put you off if you want a board that’s going to stand the test of time.

The Arbor Pilsner is another cruising classic. Arbor builds fantastic boards with decades of knowledge and craftsmanship behind them.

When you buy an Arbor Pilsner, you’re getting a cruiser that’s built from the ground up to be the best board possible, that will give you the best cruising experience you could ask for.

At 28.75” long and 8.125” wide, this is a comfortable board that begs to be ridden.

The Arbor Pilsner is constructed from 7-ply maple with a palisander wood top-sheet that gives this board a classy look along with industry-standard durability.

Maple is a wood that has a bunch of flexibility and strength, which is why it’s the chosen timber for boards the world over.

The Pilsner comes complete with high-quality Paris Street trucks and 61mm Arbor Easyrider wheels for confident cruising. This board is designed for you to ride for years to come.

Along with the lifelong quality of the board itself, Arbor is committed to sustainable practices in its manufacturing.

Every Arbor product is made from sustainable wood, and a proportion of every sale is donated to efforts to replant and protect forests for the future. You’re not just buying a board, you’re giving back to the ecosystem that it came from.

Pros

• Sustainable and ethical – skating is a culture that cares. Arbor take that to its logical conclusion by using sustainable forestry and actively working to enhance ecosystems with every purchase.

• Quality in every aspect – the deck is a thing of beauty. The trucks and wheels are specially designed and selected. Everything about this board shouts quality.

• Perfect size – for learning to cruise this board is a perfect size. Big enough to roll and carve with ease but compact enough to take anywhere, the Arbor Pilsner is just right.

Cons

• Also on the expensive side – like the Landyachtz Dinghy, this is on the expensive end of beginner cruisers, but it’s a board for life. Don’t shy away if you’re looking for a long-term board.

The Beleev Cruiser is an excellent beginner’s cruiser skateboard. With its 27” classic cruiser shape formed from 7-ply Canadian maple, this is a stylish and sturdy board that’s got a ton of great features.

That maple construction is industry standard, so you’re not compromising on flexibility or durability, and it’s suitable for riders up to 220lb.

High-rebound 60x45mm polyurethane wheels mounted to heavy-duty aluminum trucks give you a smooth ride over everyday surfaces, meaning you don’t have to be on the smooth concrete of a skatepark.

They’re 78A rated on the Durometer A scale (which we’ll explain in the buyer’s guide), which is a good sidewalk-riding softness.

This board has a nice kick-tail for popping up and down curbs and is great for starting to learn the basics of tricks like ollies. The tough and durable grip tape keeps your feet in perfect position and gives you excellent control over your board.

Pros

• Classic cruiser – patterned after the asymmetrical skateboard shapes of the ‘70s and ‘80s, this isn’t a modern trick board but is designed for easy riding.

• Top-quality materials – there’s nothing entry-level about the construction of this board, leaving you free to ride in confidence.

• Cool designs – there is a range of deck graphics available so you can pick the one that matches your style.

Cons

• Not a modern trick board – if you’re looking for a cruiser this might not concern you, but the asymmetrical shape means that progressing to more technical tricks is going to be harder.

A bigger cruiser option at 30.5”, the Kryptonics Super Fat Cruiser is a cool and sturdy board that is perfect for beginners.

As the name suggests this is a wide board, clocking in at a solid 9.75”. That’s big for tricks but accommodating for cruising, and also a good thing for beginners still getting the feel of their feet.

More width means you’re less likely to misplace your foot when you’re placing it back on the board, and having more wood underneath you gives you more confidence.

Rugged aluminum trucks and polyurethane wheels guarantee you a smooth sidewalk riding experience.

The neat little cut-outs to the deck underside prevent wheel bite during tight turns, which is handy for beginners who wouldn’t be anticipating the sudden friction and also good for prolonging the life of your deck.

The single kicktail is perfect for popping up and down curbs, and the 8-ply deck provides plenty of toughness and pop. This is a great, solid board for any beginner.

Pros

• Big deck – 30.5” long and 9.75” wide, this is a deck built to inspire confidence for long cruising sessions.

• Quality construction – great hardware and wheels plus the 8-ply deck means that this board is built to last.

• Built for the street – the decently sized kicktail is perfect for negotiating obstacles out on the street.

Cons

• Might be too big for some – this board isn’t really suitable for kids under 8, and some people might find it a bit heavy.

Combining some of the best features of the preceding two boards, the Wheelive Cruiser is 9.75” wide but 29” long, making it a great all-around alternative.

Constructed of 7-ply Canadian maple, this board has the pop and strength to handle whatever you want to throw at it.

This board comes with harder 95A wheels, which give you a bit more of the feel of the surface you’re riding on but also allow you to go faster on smooth surfaces. They’re harder-wearing than softer wheels but lose a bit of grip in comparison.

The good news is that if you love the deck but want to change the wheels, there are a heap of options on the market for you to choose from.

This board has a shallower kick tail than the preceding two boards reviewed here, but it’s still perfectly serviceable for navigating cracks and curbs, and for learning the basics of trick skating.

Pros

• Hard-wearing wheels – 95A polyurethane wheels sacrifice a bit of grip, but last longer than softer wheels.

• Wide but shorter – at 29” long this board is easy to control, and extra-wide to give you more confidence.

• Tough construction – 7-ply Canadian maple is a skate deck staple, and the aluminum trucks and high-speed bearings won’t let you down.

Cons

• Less grip – the wheels included with this deck are tough and good all-rounders but might be a little slippery for some beginners.

Buyer’s Guide

Now you’ve had a chance to think about some of our favorite cruiser skateboards for beginners, you’ll have a bit more of an idea of what sort of options are available for you to choose between.

However, there’s still a lot to think about before you grab that board and get cruising, and you may have come away from our list with more questions than you had before!

That’s why we’ve got this helpful buyer’s guide ready for you, packed with information to help you choose the best beginner’s cruiser skateboard to suit your needs.

After all, it doesn’t matter if it suits someone else; your board is your choice, and it has to be right for you.

Let’s go through some of the key things that you need to know about what makes a great cruiser board. You’ll come away informed and ready to hit the streets in no time.

Deck Material

The biggest and most obvious part of any skateboard is, well, the board.

Known as a deck in skating, your primary choice when you’re looking at cruisers is between wood and plastic decks.

Both have their advantages.

Laminated wooden decks are the classic skate staple.

Generally formed from seven layers of wood, often Canadian maple, wooden decks have a natural flex that feels great underfoot, and they’re comfortable to ride.

They also have what is known as pop, which is the natural rebound that happens when you apply pressure to wood if, for example, you’re executing an ollie.

This is why they’re the industry standard; because they simply work for most skating applications.

Plastic decks are relatively common with cruisers, and not just small kids’ decks either. You can buy full-size adult cruisers with polypropylene decks.

The main benefit you get from plastic decks is that they are solid and tough. They don’t have the same flex and pop that you get from a laminated wooden deck, but they’re almost impossible to break and stand up to a lot of wear and tear.

Unlike wooden decks, plastic decks generally don’t have grip tape (the high-friction sandpaper-like top), generally substituting a patterned upper surface instead. This makes them less grippy in wet conditions.

Choice Of Wheels

Now you’ve got your deck, it needs to be able to move.

Wheels are naturally an important thing to think about when you’re buying a skateboard.

As a beginner, you’ll be buying what’s known as a complete, which is the deck, trucks (the axels that the wheels attach to), and wheels all pre-assembled.

As a consequence, you want to make sure that you’re getting a set-up with the appropriate wheels straight off the rack, though you can easily replace them yourself at a later date if you find you have a different preference.

Hardness

Skateboard wheels are most often made from polyurethane, or PU, which is a tough plastic that comes in many grades of hardness.

Hardness is important with skateboard wheels because it determines:

• How much grip your wheels give you
• How fast you can go
• How quickly they wear down

Wheels are generally rated on the Durometer A scale (there is a Durometer B scale, which reads out 20 points lower than the A scale and is identifiable by the hardness number being followed by a B rather than an A).

The scale runs from 75A, which is the softest, to 101A, which are very hard wheels almost exclusively for high-end trick skating.

Soft wheels are grippier, more forgiving over lumps and bumps, and ride slower than hard wheels, but wear down faster. The higher up the scale you go, the harder your wheels get.

75A wheels were made to be cruiser wheels, providing the ultimate in comfort when commuting or cruising around, although because of the trade-off with durability many cruiser wheels are now made in the 80A to 90A range.

Wheel Diameter

The size of the wheels is also worth considering.

Higher diameter wheels make for faster cruising speeds, so you can gain back some of the loss of pace that you take from softer wheels. Most cruiser wheels are between 60mm and 65mm.

Also, for cruising make sure you avoid low-profile wheels. These are great for competitive skating and tricks but aren’t as good for cruising because they have less surface area in contact with the road, meaning you have less control.

If you take a quick look at pictures of skateboards and longboards online, you’ll see the difference in the wheel shapes.

For cruising, you want to be looking for wheels that are more in line with the longboard wheel shape.

Deck Size

All of the boards in our list above are shorter than your average skateboard.

You may find that you want to look for a longer board, though. The perfect length of deck varies depending on what you find comfortable, though often it is the case that taller riders prefer longer boards.

The best thing you can do is try before you buy, but as a taller rider, something like the Kryptonics Super Fat Cruiser is likely to be easier to handle than a 22” mini cruiser.

The width of the deck is also important:

• Wider decks give you more space for your feet and mean you’re less likely to miss your footing.

• They can also help you feel more confident as you have more board underneath you.

You have to apply more force to induce turns on a wider board, but that means that you get better straight-line stability too, and you can always adjust your trucks to make turning easier or harder as you see fit.

Deck Shape

Not all skateboards are the same shape. There’s nothing that says a skateboard has to be any shape in particular.

The classic popsicle stick deck shape that is a staple of modern skating is not necessarily the best choice for cruising.

Due to the two kicks (the angled ends of the board), the trucks have to be mounted closer together (a short wheelbase), whereas a board with only one kick or no kicks can have a longer wheelbase, which offers more stability and control.

Electric Skateboards

Another option to consider is an electric skateboard, which have come along way over the last decade. These days there are many cruiser shaped electric boards which make cruising at high speeds a breeze with minimum efford. Check out this guide on the fastest electric skateboards.