intermediate // grinds
5-0 Grind
Also known as Five-O Grind, Five-O
Only the back truck grinds on the obstacle while the nose stays in the air. A manual on a ledge or rail.
The 5-0 Grind is an intermediate Grinds trick. Most skaters land their first one within 2-6 weeks of consistent practice.
Spec
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Complexity
- Learn time
- 2-6 weeksⓘ
- Category
- Grinds
- Stance
- regular
Your progress
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What the tutorials teach
All three tutorials point to the manual as the prerequisite that matters most: the balance point in a 5-0 grind is the same back-foot weighted position as a flat-ground manual, just transferred to the side of a ledge. Braille and Skate Hacks both stress that approach angle and ollie aim are nearly identical to the frontside 50-50, with the difference being you lock only the back truck against the coping and keep the front foot raised. Skate Hacks adds the most useful tip for rails, where you lose the ledge wall as a safety net: press heel-side into the back truck and commit fully to one side if you bail. All videos agree that wax is non-negotiable and that a tail-dragging style is acceptable for learning but tail-up balance is needed for progression.
- Build flat-ground manual balance first, the back-foot weight distribution in a 5-0 is identical and transfers directly
- Approach and ollie like a 50-50 but aim only the back truck at the coping, keeping the front foot raised during the grind
- Wax the ledge every session, friction on a dry surface is enough to stop the grind and cause a bail
- Lean too far back and the board shoots out, too far forward and you drop into a 50-50, find the sweet spot and hold it still
Synthesized from the top video tutorials. Watch them
Steps
- 1
Approach nose-up
Approach slightly more nose-up than a 50-50. You want to lock in on the back truck only.
- Force
- ●●●○○
- Direction
- up
- Weight
- back
TipThink of it as a slightly nose-high ollie onto the ledge. - 2
Lock the back truck
Land on the back truck and immediately find the balance point — nose slightly up.
- Force
- ●●●○○
- Direction
- down
- Weight
- back
TipIf the nose drops immediately, you need more back-weight bias. - 3
Manual on the ledge
Keep the nose up throughout the grind. Momentum naturally wants to level it out.
- Force
- ●●○○○
- Direction
- forward
- Weight
- back
TipThink 'manual on the ledge' — same balance challenge as a manual. - 4
Pop out
At the end, pop a small ollie off the back truck to exit cleanly.
- Force
- ●●●○○
- Direction
- up
- Weight
- centered
TipThe pop-out is important — just riding off tends to catch the truck on the edge.
Common mistakes
Stalling out
- What
- Momentum stops mid-grind.
- Why
- Nose angle is too high, creating too much drag.
- Fix
- Keep the nose lower — just barely enough to clear the ledge.
Becoming a 50-50
- What
- The front truck drops onto the ledge.
- Why
- Not enough back-weight at lock-in.
- Fix
- Approach with your weight slightly over the tail. The front truck should never touch.
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Community clips
How other skaters land the 5-0 Grind. Hype the ones you rate — the most hyped becomes this trick’s cover in the catalog.
Why this works
The mechanics behind the trick
- Board
- With weight over the back truck only, the back axle becomes the grind surface. The nose hangs free, requiring constant balance to prevent stalling.
- Feet
- Your back foot controls the nose angle. Your front foot's pressure is the fine-tuner.
- Weight
- Weight over the back truck, slightly toward the nose to maintain forward momentum without stalling.
Frequently asked
- How long does it take to learn a 5-0 Grind?
- Most skaters land their first 5-0 grind within 2-6 weeks of consistent practice, once you can 50-50 grind consistently.
- What should I learn before the 5-0 Grind?
- The 5-0 grind builds on 50-50 Grind. Get that consistent first, since the 5-0 grind reuses the same pop, balance, or flick.
- Is the 5-0 Grind hard to learn?
- The 5-0 grind is an intermediate trick. It gets much easier once you can already 50-50 grind.
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