Are Bones Swiss Ceramics really worth that hefty extra sum of money?
Can someone please provide a valid reason other than them being manufactured in Switzerland and have slightly more expensive components etc.
Funny how there are zero videos that cover this.
Don't get how you go from 20/30 dollar/euro bearings to 130 just like that with no evidence...
For most people, the answer is NO.
Even for normal Bones Swiss, if I didn't have heavily discounted / wholesale access, I most likely would not have been riding the twenty or so sets I have on boards, but I keep the shields on and keep them clean, so they last for a long time - never had any blow out, some going 20+ years.
There are a lot of decent bearings on the market now, some from no name brands for dirt cheap that work almost as well as big name brands at a fraction of the price, but the bottom line is if you don't look after them, you may as well be riding the cheapest you can get and just replace them whenever you have issues.
Lots of people just do the new wheels, new bearings thing, which in general is a good way to do things, as new wheels with old slow bearings just sucks on any level. If you are going through wheels every couple of months, at least decent bearings like swiss will carry on, but if you work out how much you are spending, sometimes it is just easier to get something simple like reds with new wheels every time, especially if you don't clean them or you like to pop the shields on them.
The one set of Bones ceramic bearings I have were faster than the normal swiss, but they are currently sitting in the box they came in, mainly because I like having the same feel and performance and definitely was not going to spend that much on setting up a lot of boards with ceramics.
Not to be a dick, but people with too much money and longboarders are about the only ones I know who only ever ride and swear by Bones Swiss ceramics. I will never have them in any shop I run, but that is just me.
Post covid, bearings have gone up like everything else, so how's this for prices:
Reds $30 - 40 (AU dollars)
Super reds $50 - 60
Swiss $90 - 120
Swiss ceramics $199 - 270