Because freestyle skating is very precise, and because of the need for good balance during rail stands, pogos, caspers, etc., setting up a proper board takes a bit more thought and effort than just slapping a street board together.

Wheels

Most modern wheels have center-set bearings. The wheels are reversible. However, because many freestylers spend a lot of time doing rail stands, they tend to prefer wheels that cover the axle completely.

If you can find some old Powell Freestyle wheels, OJ Freestyle wheels, Vision Freestyle wheels, etc., then great. However, there are some good wheels available now. Burley makes the Keith Renna FS wheel. Sk8kings.com makes the "Crown Jewels" FS wheels. Both are great. They aren't reverseable, but they both cover the axle completely with a washer or two behind them.

Trucks/Wheel unit width

I've found that if if the width from the outer of edge of one wheel to the outer edge of the other wheel is about 1/4" - 1/8" less than the width of your board, your board will sit very nicely in a rail stand. So if you have a board that is 7.25" wide, you want the outer edges of your wheels to be about 7" wide. Besides sitting really nicely in a rail stand, this works really well for oldschool-type kickflips -- with the board slightly wider than the truck/wheel unit, you get just a little better leverage for flipping the board without making the board feel like it will just tip over.

This works the same on a newschool street board that you are setting up for freestyle. In this case, since the axle will probably stick out farther than the wheels, you want the axle to be 1/4" to 1/8" less wide than the board. By doing this, a newschool board can be just as stable in a rail stand as a FS board. If you are going to do this, I recommend putting an extra speed washer behind your wheels, and maybe putting one behind the axle nut, so that when you put the axle nut on it doesn't leave a bunch of unprotected axle. This will save your axles from getting ground-down and ruined.

Freestyle Decks

As you will see if you explore the links below, FS boards are generally a little smaller than a typical street board. Most are between 7" and 7.5" wide. The biggest difference, however, is the wheelbase. A normal street board has 14" between the trucks. Most FS boards have a wheelbase of 11.5" - 13.5". Why?

Well, the shorter wheelbase does a number of things. First, it makes the board respond much faster when doing footwork like walk-the-dogs. It's also much easier to get the shorter wheelbase spinning for 360 Shove-its and 540 Shove-its. I can do 360 shove-its easily on a normal street board, but can't get anywhere close to a 540 on the same board.

So basically, the shorter FS board makes nearly every FS trick much easier. It's not as good for cruising down the street, but that's not what it is for.

Most FS boards have at least one end that is more flat than a typical, round-ended newschool board. This helps you with balance during pogos, 50-50 fingerflips, etc.

Some freestylers prefer a single-kick board. I personally like a double kick, but I must admit that a single-kick helps on certain tricks.

Here are some makers of good FS boards:

Outlook Skateboards: click the Freestyle link.
Eastbilt
Reverse Freestyle
YOYO Skates
Decomposed
sk8kings
smallschool
Meta:creations


Protecting your board

Perhaps even more than street skating, freestyle is a board-destroying activity. The time you spend smashing the nose, tail, and edges of your board can wear it out pretty fast.

Many freestylers use tail skids on the tail of the board, or perhaps on both the nose and tail. This one thing will add a lot to the lifespan of your board. Imagine wearing your tail down, and THEN bouncing around on that very same tail. As you can imagine, the tail will splinter. The tail skid prevents this. True -- it's not as good for ollies. But FS is less ollie-centric, so it doesn't matter that much.

I used to actually put little wood screws on top of the board, going around the nose and tail. The idea was to prevent wearing down those surfaces during caspers. It works. You might try it.

Other tricks

It is common to see grip tape on the bottom of the nose and tail, providing a grippy surface for caspers. Sure -- it's not good for nose/tail slides -- but we're talking flatland freestyle, so who cares?

Risers vs. No Risers

I'm not currently using any risers. I'm using 54mm wheels, Tracker Fulltrack trucks, and no risers. I keep the trucks fairly tight. I like the board to ride low. Some freestylers like a bit higher ride. Depends on your style and tricks. For me, low is good.

For your viewing pleasure...

Here are a few pics of my current FS setup. The deck is pretty old, and will soon be replaced with a newer version of the Outlook Terry Synnott model. The trucks are Tracker Fulltracks, Burley Renna FS wheels. I cut a hole in my grip tape to decrease the friction during walk-the-dog and other footwork, which increase the life of my shoe! Not everyone does this. Just a personal preference.

I also recently removed the front tail skid. On my next setup I may put it back on. The little notch cut into the casper area grip tape is where my fingers grab for a fingerflip, so I have a smooth area for them.