maintaining bearings?

[Prison Wallet]

I'm a few beers deep and was just wondering if folks out there clean/oil/do anything to maintain your bearings? I never have; I used to just ride like Reds and replace them one by one as they blew out.

I've been riding Bones Swiss for a while now and it's probably worth a little maintenance to keep them fast and from blowing out.

Any tricks of the trade?

(And don't tell me spray them with WD40 'cause that's a degreaser which cleans but leaves them un-lubed and bound to blow)

[Arizona]

I sell at least 10 bottles of the bones bearing lube a day at the shop. I usually just ride them til they're done also, but maybe the 8 year olds know something we don't

[1992]

^^^^yeah...that will work....I remember they used to sell "Speed Cream" with Powell Swiss....I don't even know if you can find that shit anymore.

[Prison Wallet]

I sell at least 10 bottles of the bones bearing lube a day at the shop. I usually just ride them til they're done also, but maybe the 8 year olds know something we don't

I ran a shop for a while as well and sold a shit ton too. I always figured most kids had $5 burning a hole in their pocket; not $50+ for a deck or shoes.

How about popping the shields off? I don't on Bones Swiss but used to love those Reflex bearings with the removable shields.

Do you work at a shop in AZ? Which one/where?

[rocklobster]

i recently cleaned out my bearings for the first time ever and they run even smoother and faster than when i first bought then 2 years ago....  total cost of the cleaning materials was less than 20 bucks so im really stoked...

1) remove bearings from wheels and pop the shields off.  I assume you know how to do this already so i wont explain any further.

2) soak the bearings in methylated spirits using a glass or metal container.  if you have a cap for it, pop it on and give the bearings a good shake to remove all the dirt.  after that let them soak for a bit (30 min).

3) now you need to dry the bearings.  i soaked my bearings in alcohol bought at the hardware store for 5-10 minutes to remove any moisture on them.

4) remove the bearings from the alcohol and wipe them dry

5) lube up the bearing with some kind of lubricant except WD-40, which will fuck up your bearings bad...  you can use the powell speed cream or some 3-in-1 silicone based lube 



6) fit the bearings back on your board and skate.

alternatively, you can try finland's windex method, just use the search function to find it...  he swears by it but i would never try putting windex in my microwave...

[sage]

Aren't you a grown ass man? Anyways, since you need the help of kids on the internet I'll show you the way.

The most thorough way to clean them is to get a strong solvent like mineral oil and a shallow dish. take the bearing out of the wheel, and remove the shields. depending on how bad the bearings are, you can also remove the little housing for the balls, but you have to be careful to keep the balls aligned or the bearing can fall apart. set the naked bearings in the dish and pour the solvent over them, you only need enough so they are all covered. let em soak for a good 10 min, then agitate the dish a bit to try and flush out any disolved oil and dirt still trapped inside the bearing. Take them out and dry them with a papertowel.

Now you wana rinse the bearings out with some strong (90%) alcohol to get rid of any solvent residue and a good final bit of cleaning. dry with a clean papertowel and let em sit out for a good 10-20 minutes. The alcohol will evaporate and leave nothing behind. take your bearing lube and add a few drops, put them back together and they should be like new. 

[H8R part 4]

i tried the windex method recently for the first time ever.....it didn't work for me. 

i usually just use soap and water with a old toothbrush and go to town on them.
i dry them out then throw some oil(triflow bearing lube) on them and i'm done. 
 

[Prison Wallet]

Aren't you a grown ass man? Anyways, since you need the help of kids on the internet I'll show you the way.

You've become so bitter since you focused your account. I just thought it might be interesting to read the different ways people clean their bearings.

I know I have a bottle of acitone and some three-in-one oil at home; I might try the acitone to both clean an dry them. Then lube them up with the three in one.

I've never taken shields off of anything but Reflex bearings. Would taking a utility knife and just slowly prying it off as you go around do the trick? Or is there some other method? And I take it once the shields are off they don't go back on?

[Narcissus]

maybe once a month i will wipe the dirt off the shields with a paper towel. that's it. same swiss for over a year. no trouble.

[Arizona]

Expand Quote

I sell at least 10 bottles of the bones bearing lube a day at the shop. I usually just ride them til they're done also, but maybe the 8 year olds know something we don't

[close]

I ran a shop for a while as well and sold a shit ton too. I always figured most kids had $5 burning a hole in their pocket; not $50+ for a deck or shoes.

How about popping the shields off? I don't on Bones Swiss but used to love those Reflex bearings with the removable shields.

Do you work at a shop in AZ? Which one/where?

I work at an industrial in AZ. I get pretty bummed when they hire people that don't skate, one of the guy's I work with writes for a local magazine called AZ steez it's pretty sick  http://www.azsteez.com/

[sage]

Expand Quote

Aren't you a grown ass man? Anyways, since you need the help of kids on the internet I'll show you the way.

[close]

You've become so bitter since you focused your account. I just thought it might be interesting to read the different ways people clean their bearings.

I just wrote step-by-step instructions just for you on how to clean your bearings and you call be bitter? This is like a slap to the face idk why you do this to me...

[grimcity]

rocklobser - fucking props on being able to hang onto bearings for 2 years! The closest I've ever come to bearing maintenance is wiping masonite grime off the shields, only because i also happened to be removing it from my wheels (humid masonite tends to leave clumps of shit on wheels & bearings here, maybe everywhere else too?).

Anyway, gnars on all the how-to's. I must go through a set every month and a half before they get crunchy.

[rawbertson.]

metal shields always shred and then tear up your balls, they are not meant to take the heat and friction like vinyl ones (thats what they use in swiss precision)

i have kept my bearings over a year (bones precisions) and rode in the snow and rain like 4 times, to the point where the bearing was completely seized and would not budge 1mm.

i just wiped them out real quick, put a dab of penetrating oil in each one (it eats rust), then you wipe that shit out with the paper towell, then put 3 in 1 in. they roll like brand new again. make sure you spin them by hand a ton each that helps get that last bit of shit out of them. takes less than 15 minutes.

[NYCasphaltSurfer]

Those Tensor/Oust Street Bearings that have the little oil hole in the shield work really well if you sometimes get your bearings wet and don't want to go to the trouble of completely disassembling:



Just put a couple of drops of oil in each hole, spin each wheel, and then let sit overnight...

[rocklobster]

rocklobser - fucking props on being able to hang onto bearings for 2 years! The closest I've ever come to bearing maintenance is wiping masonite grime off the shields, only because i also happened to be removing it from my wheels (humid masonite tends to leave clumps of shit on wheels & bearings here, maybe everywhere else too?).

Anyway, gnars on all the how-to's. I must go through a set every month and a half before they get crunchy.

thanks grim!  i got sick of having to replace my bearings so i thought ide man up and start cleaning my own bearing instead of spend 30-40 bucks on a new set....  but you got to promise not to laugh when i tell you that the set of bearings im currently using is a set of ninja minimiser bearings....  my shop sells them for cheap, just 10 bucks more than bones reds and they have been good to me ever since...

[H8R part 4]

I've never taken shields off of anything but Reflex bearings. Would taking a utility knife and just slowly prying it off as you go around do the trick? Or is there some other method? And I take it once the shields are off they don't go back on?

 

yeah, you gotta pry them out with a knife. 
if they got the rubber shields then you can put the shields back on but if its the metal ones, then its permanent.


i've been riding the same set of $16 speed demons for 2 years now. 
i've yet to spend more than that on a set of bearings.  i just don't see the point of paying a lot of them, only to get bummed if/when they pop.  i rather just get cheap ones and spend my money on other skate shit.     

[BoysAreYummy]

maybe once a month i will wipe the dirt off the shields with a paper towel. that's it. same swiss for over a year. no trouble.

I do pretty much the exact same thing.

[rawbertson.]

the only time you should need to clean them is if they are fucked up from rain/snow really otherwise all you need to do is wipe otu the dirt

[BriDen]

metal shields always shred and then tear up your balls

[rawbertson.]

everyone lols when i say that

[Guile]

for 16 years ive been destroying bearings every week or two no matter what brand, right now im riding some old mismatched crap thats going on 5 months thanks to one application of this shit.

[oyolar]

Those Tensor/Oust Street Bearings that have the little oil hole in the shield work really well if you sometimes get your bearings wet and don't want to go to the trouble of completely disassembling:



Just put a couple of drops of oil in each hole, spin each wheel, and then let sit overnight...

no lie-i swear by these bearings. i will not by another bearing unless tensor goes out of business. and i am really, really paranoid about my bearings since the caused me to fuck up my knee worse than i though possible. rodney mullen knows what he's talking about.

[the whompler]

Expand Quote

Those Tensor/Oust Street Bearings that have the little oil hole in the shield work really well if you sometimes get your bearings wet and don't want to go to the trouble of completely disassembling:



Just put a couple of drops of oil in each hole, spin each wheel, and then let sit overnight...

[close]

no lie-i swear by these bearings. i will not by another bearing unless tensor goes out of business. and i am really, really paranoid about my bearings since the caused me to fuck up my knee worse than i though possible. rodney mullen knows what he's talking about.

ya i don't know, i came up on set of those and they blew out by the end of the week. the guy at oust was nice enough to hook me up but if the shit doesn't work it doesnt work.