Why Santa Cruz Makes Some of The Best Cruiser Skateboards

We get it – there’s tons of awesome cruiser skateboard brands out there today!

Each cruiser brand has their own unique style. Cruiser shapes, components, and riding experiences are different between the brand of board you choose.

Since the beginning of Cruisin City, we’ve been passionate about Santa Cruz Skateboards

If you’re in the market for a cruiser, whether you’ve never skated or if you’re looking for a new ride, we just want to explain a few reasons why we’ve always remained close with Santa Cruz.

Of course, our ultimate goal is for you to make an informed decision on the cruiser skateboard that suits you best. However, we’re hoping this article will help you understand what you really get if you choose to ride with Santa Cruz!

Santa Cruz Cruisers: A Blast from the Past!

Cruiser boards are often intended to give you an “old school” feel. They generally have wider, shaped decks and bigger, softer wheels.

This type of board was common in the late 1970’s and 80’s. Well, Santa Cruz Skateboards was founded in 1973

The Santa Cruz cruisers that you’ll find today often feature the original shapes and graphics of board models released by SC in the 80’s. When skating one of these cruisers, you are quite literally skating a piece of history

During the 80’s, pro model Santa Cruz decks were shaped specifically to the pro skater’s preference. So, when you skated a Rob Roskopp deck, you really skated the shape that Rob rode himself. The same goes for pros like Corey O’Brien, Jason Jessee, and Jeff Grosso!

Lucky for us, Santa Cruz still produces many of these decks to the exact concaves and dimensions of the 80’s originals. The riding experience of these cruisers is basically the same that skaters of the era where using. Very few other brands can say the same about their boards today. 

Nowadays, these boards are not just cruisers, they’re a way to experience an earlier time period of skateboarding.

Skateable Works of Art

Many cruiser boards can be considered works of art – Santa Cruz cruisers are no exception!

Most of the iconic Santa Cruz graphics were created by legendary skateboard artist Jim Phillips.

To put it lightly, Jim is pretty much the godfather of skateboard graphics.

No other skate artist’s graphics continue to live on like Jim’s.

To discover the origins of many classic Santa Cruz graphics, check out this video:

To learn more about the history of Santa Cruz Skateboards and Jim Phillips’ influence, check out our Brand Highlight: Santa Cruz Skateboards!

Premium Parts to Match

It’s not just looks that make Santa Cruz cruisers so awesome! These cruisers are not fashion over function.

Precision steering response and controlled grip are expected with SC cruiser completes. These things are achieved with the help of premium Krux or Bullet trucks and Slime Balls wheels.

Santa Cruz, Krux, Bullet, and Slime Balls Wheels are all brands created and owned under the same company called NHS, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.

Each of these brands have also been around longer than most skate brands today.

This stuff matters because these components are all designed to go together! Especially Santa Cruz decks and Slime Balls wheels, these are the original brands that would have been paired together during their creation in the 80’s. 

Yeah, these cruisers are really what your dad probably skated back in the day! Both aesthetically and technically, the pre-assembled Santa Cruz cruisers you’ll find today offer the skate experience for which the board was intended.

You just won’t have the same experience when building one of these cruisers yourself, pairing various brands and components together.

How to Choose a Santa Cruz Cruiser Skateboard

If you’re interested in finding the perfect Santa Cruz cruiser for you, there’s a few things you need to know first!

While it’s important to find a board with an awesome graphic that you love, you’ll need to pay attention to the size of the board. In general, SC cruisers are going to run from about 8.5” wide up to 10” wide.

Keep in mind, these sizes are larger than common popsicle-shaped skate decks today (which are usually 7.75” to 8.5” wide). However, the larger size is an important part of their old school appeal!

While your shoe size can help you determine the right deck width for you, there’s also an element of personal preference when choosing a cruiser board.

If you need help finding the right size cruiser for you, we highly recommend reading our article: How to Choose a Cruiser Skateboard

This article will explain everything you need to know about cruiser sizes, shapes, features, etc.

Santa Cruz Cruisers at Cruisin City!

Of course, we always try to stay stocked up on the latest and greatest Santa Cruz cruisers, decks, apparel, and any other cool accessories we can get our hands on!

Here’s some links to Santa Cruz stuff we currently have on our site:

Santa Cruz Cruiser Skateboards

Santa Cruz Decks

Santa Cruz Clothing

Need Some Skate-Inspiration?

Watch Erick Winkowski shred many of the iconic Santa Cruz boards in his “Right to Exist” part!

Then check out our Cruisin City article: Born in the Wrong Era: Erick Winkowski Rider Spotlight!

Happy Cruising from Cruisin City!

Text by Skatetexter.

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