Does anyone have experience with standard machine bearings? Recently I have bought 56 standard 608 2rs bearings for 30cent per bearing from a bearing shop.
When rolling around in the garage they don't feel that bad. I'm curious how long they will last.
Seven sets of bearings, at $2.40 a set is a good deal.
608 is the specific bearing size and make that we all use in skateboards.
RS - rubber shields, so 2 rubber shields on each bearing.
Pop the shields and have a look at the insides, could be all metal as per the older style of bearing, or could be nylon ball retainer as per newer style and most skate brand bearings nowdays, eg same as Bones, Modus, etc.
Also give them a bit of a shake / hold the inner ring inbetween two fingers of one hand and move the outer ring side to side with the other to see how much play there is - too much play and they might not last as long, but if they are reasonably tight in there, you might have some decent bearings.
Some generic bearings are so thickly lubed up they might hardly move at first, others almost not lubed at all, both will make some difference to how they skate right away, but should be about normal within a week of decent use.
I am interested to hear more once you have skated them a bit too.