2026 Bearing Brand Preference Poll

[Benicio El Toro]

yeah that had me fucked up 

[backside_frontside]

Voted Bones, but I also liked my Quantums and SKFs. I had to degrease the SKFs tho.

[swongolianbbq]

Surprised SKF isn't in second place here
Or mini logo even

[Murge]

Olympia are the only bearings I’ve bought and wasn’t shitty and wasn’t over priced.  Bronson is trash and expensive. Bones are affordable but not good then jump on price and I feel quality doesn’t reflect price jump.

I want to try skf. But Olympia and Olympia ceramics have always treated me good.

[gringo_viejo]

Olympia are the only bearings I’ve bought and wasn’t shitty and wasn’t over priced.  Bronson is trash and expensive. Bones are affordable but not good then jump on price and I feel quality doesn’t reflect price jump.

I want to try skf. But Olympia and Olympia ceramics have always treated me good.

Ok hell yeah. Next setup it’s Olympias, OG Ace 66, and 58 radial fulls.

[DarkPools]

Surprised SKF isn't in second place here
Or mini logo even

I've had 3 different Mini Logo sets shit the bed within weeks of setting them up. I personally think they're garbage, just like their trucks. Yet, others quite emjoy ML bearings. Bones never happened that quickly on me, curiously enough. I've not tried SKF but they seem well liked!

[bluedohdohs]

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Olympia are the only bearings I’ve bought and wasn’t shitty and wasn’t over priced.  Bronson is trash and expensive. Bones are affordable but not good then jump on price and I feel quality doesn’t reflect price jump.

I want to try skf. But Olympia and Olympia ceramics have always treated me good.

[close]

Ok hell yeah. Next setup it’s Olympias, OG Ace 66, and 58 radial fulls.

Highly recommend the ceramics. Best 40 I’ve spent on my set up

[Nom De Plume]

Bones Swiss 6 or OG. I keep a set or 2 on ice and only buy when on sale. Clean 'em and they last.

Anytime I've tried anything else it feels slower and less smooth.

Real curious about the SKF, Olympias, and Quantums now though.

[logjammin]

best bearings of all time are the bones swiss 6 balls. but I bought $20 quantum vectors over the summer and they're lasting and performing like a set of regular swiss. certainly better than reds.

[GashBandicoot]

Bones big balls on top

[munchbox]

nuking that quantum thread was a big brain move
cause i cant remember for the life of me
what the controversy actually was

bought ceramic atoms for about $50 years back
and the bearings are performing without a fuss at all
so theres that

[SupremePizza]

My quantum atoms from 2023 are still going strong and outlasted Bones Reds. They've never seized on me and only seem to get better each time I clean them

[Slave IV]

I’m hearing a lot of, “my (your bearings) have lasted for two years with no issues”. Meanwhile, Bones Swiss people are saying, “My bearings are still going strong since the last century”. Lol

Just messing and I’m sure a lot of different bearings work quite well for everyone. I only just recently noticed my Swiss 6 (and some other Reds) are significantly faster than Bronsons while before, I thought all bearings basically felt the same. I thought my Swiss bearings were on their way out, which is why I decided to try Bronsons but then I ended up giving the Swiss a good clean and lube an that’s when it was immediately apparent I was holding speed longer and going faster with less pushes. I have no other brands to compare as I only have Bones Swiss 6, Reds, Super Reds, Mini Logo and Bronson G3 and Raws. All the Skate 1 bearings are much older and noticeably faster and stay faster longer than the Bronsons after cleaning.

Which again, is why I’m very curious if WIB is confirmed to no longer be making Bones Swiss.

[Mbrimson88]

.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by how many bearing brands are actually out there, but in looking up a lot of shops, quite a few more than I first thought came to mind, as well as so many shops having their own shop brand bearing options too.

Sure the Bones bearings are a mainstay - had Bones Swiss for a long time in a good number of boards and they just work for everything, but maybe the 2020 shortages and counterfeit products, including a lot of Bones bearings, soured the Bones Swiss experience for some people.  I still think a few people could be riding round on fake Bones bearings, but I really don't know.  That would maybe explain how some lasted very little time at all, more so than the quality was just dropping in their products, but who really knows.

Then as per the options, popularity being about right for the top to bottom list of Bronson, Quantum, SKF, Olympia and Mini Logo - such good bearings for the price too.

There are any number of others like Modus, Sunday, Commodore, DSCO (from Australia) or more universal brands like Pig, Shake Junt, Spitfire, Ace, Indy, Globe, Rush, Grizzly, Primitive, Paramount, Shortys Black Panthers or all the other associated brands that put out a bearing line.


RIP FKD, Andale, Cortina, Lucky and however many others who had their day too.

[Fast_Freddie]

.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by how many bearing brands are actually out there, but in looking up a lot of shops, quite a few more than I first thought came to mind, as well as so many shops having their own shop brand bearing options too.

Sure the Bones bearings are a mainstay - had Bones Swiss for a long time in a good number of boards and they just work for everything, but maybe the 2020 shortages and counterfeit products, including a lot of Bones bearings, soured the Bones Swiss experience for some people.  I still think a few people could be riding round on fake Bones bearings, but I really don't know.  That would maybe explain how some lasted very little time at all, more so than the quality was just dropping in their products, but who really knows.

Then as per the options, popularity being about right for the top to bottom list of Bronson, Quantum, SKF, Olympia and Mini Logo - such good bearings for the price too.

There are any number of others like Modus, Sunday, Commodore, DSCO (from Australia) or more universal brands like Pig, Shake Junt, Spitfire, Ace, Indy, Globe, Rush, Grizzly, Primitive, Paramount, Shortys Black Panthers or all the other associated brands that put out a bearing line.


RIP FKD, Andale, Cortina, Lucky and however many others who had their day too.

That is why I made the bigger well know bearing companies up top, and as you can see the "other" category is quite big... but there are so many mediocre bearing brands out there, wasn't trying to make the list like that...

[Slave IV]

.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by how many bearing brands are actually out there, but in looking up a lot of shops, quite a few more than I first thought came to mind, as well as so many shops having their own shop brand bearing options too.

Sure the Bones bearings are a mainstay - had Bones Swiss for a long time in a good number of boards and they just work for everything, but maybe the 2020 shortages and counterfeit products, including a lot of Bones bearings, soured the Bones Swiss experience for some people.  I still think a few people could be riding round on fake Bones bearings, but I really don't know.  That would maybe explain how some lasted very little time at all, more so than the quality was just dropping in their products, but who really knows.

Then as per the options, popularity being about right for the top to bottom list of Bronson, Quantum, SKF, Olympia and Mini Logo - such good bearings for the price too.

There are any number of others like Modus, Sunday, Commodore, DSCO (from Australia) or more universal brands like Pig, Shake Junt, Spitfire, Ace, Indy, Globe, Rush, Grizzly, Primitive, Paramount, Shortys Black Panthers or all the other associated brands that put out a bearing line.


RIP FKD, Andale, Cortina, Lucky and however many others who had their day too.

That’s a good point about the counterfeit bearings. I definitely heard there was a lot of that going on with Bones in particular so that could really hurt their reputation if people were basing experiences off counterfeits without knowing they had fakes.

Either way, I’m not that hard on my bearings and I can adapt fine even when I’m riding my slower Bronsons but if I had to buy new bearings, I think I’d just buy authentic Bones Big Balls Reds. I don’t need to spend the extra money on Swiss 6 but I have such a good experience with them, the Chinese versions of the same design should do just fine, especially when I know their other versions have been really good already. I’m sure there are other decent bearings but most seem to just copy what Powell did in the first place or not even bother with that so I’d rather just support the originator unless someone else comes with an extremely new design that is proven to be better.

[Mbrimson88]

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[close]

That is why I made the bigger well know bearing companies up top, and as you can see the "other" category is quite big... but there are so many mediocre bearing brands out there, wasn't trying to make the list like that...

For sure!

I did the same for the truck brand poll.

No one really needs a list with a hundred different brands, that most people might not have even heard of before.

I often wonder how many other brands there really are out there, or if it is more just a case of some shops just not having an account with the relevant brand so they don't stock their bearings (or other products) even if they are the best brands on the market.

That’s a good point about the counterfeit bearings. I definitely heard there was a lot of that going on with Bones in particular so that could really hurt their reputation if people were basing experiences off counterfeits without knowing they had fakes.

Either way, I’m not that hard on my bearings and I can adapt fine even when I’m riding my slower Bronsons but if I had to buy new bearings, I think I’d just buy authentic Bones Big Balls Reds. I don’t need to spend the extra money on Swiss 6 but I have such a good experience with them, the Chinese versions of the same design should do just fine, especially when I know their other versions have been really good already. I’m sure there are other decent bearings but most seem to just copy what Powell did in the first place or not even bother with that so I’d rather just support the originator unless someone else comes with an extremely new design that is proven to be better.

I recall a story someone told, when a hardgoods rep went into a shop and all the shop had were Bones bearings, the hardgoods guy was trying to get their brand in there, but the shop owner said "Why do I want to get anything else when Bones are clearly the best product out there?" to which the rep replied "Yeah that is true and everyone else is second behind Bones, but some people still want options."  The rep pretty much sent himself out of the store without a sale that day, admitting Bones bearings were the best, but as he said, some people do want to ride other products anyway.

Each to their own in that regard.  I often thought if it was just me, 99% of brands would be out of business in a short time for some types of products, but at least there seem to be people who are willing to try different things, or even prefer to have something other than what might be the best, or what everyone else has.

At least we all have a place to come to talk about it here too.  That always makes things more interesting.


* I just put some Modus Blacks in a set of new wheels to try today, the cheapest of the Modus range and comparable to any number of other budget sets.  They work fine, feel just as good on my ramp, no issues, etc.  Might be a different story in the long run, or on different terrain, but I just wanted to try them again, just to see how they compare seeing as they are almost the best for price in the current market.  They have black shields too, which I prefer anyway, simple or silly as that might sound.

[Slave IV]

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.

[close]

That is why I made the bigger well know bearing companies up top, and as you can see the "other" category is quite big... but there are so many mediocre bearing brands out there, wasn't trying to make the list like that...

[close]

For sure!

I did the same for the truck brand poll.

No one really needs a list with a hundred different brands, that most people might not have even heard of before.

I often wonder how many other brands there really are out there, or if it is more just a case of some shops just not having an account with the relevant brand so they don't stock their bearings (or other products) even if they are the best brands on the market.

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That’s a good point about the counterfeit bearings. I definitely heard there was a lot of that going on with Bones in particular so that could really hurt their reputation if people were basing experiences off counterfeits without knowing they had fakes.

Either way, I’m not that hard on my bearings and I can adapt fine even when I’m riding my slower Bronsons but if I had to buy new bearings, I think I’d just buy authentic Bones Big Balls Reds. I don’t need to spend the extra money on Swiss 6 but I have such a good experience with them, the Chinese versions of the same design should do just fine, especially when I know their other versions have been really good already. I’m sure there are other decent bearings but most seem to just copy what Powell did in the first place or not even bother with that so I’d rather just support the originator unless someone else comes with an extremely new design that is proven to be better.

[close]

I recall a story someone told, when a hardgoods rep went into a shop and all the shop had were Bones bearings, the hardgoods guy was trying to get their brand in there, but the shop owner said "Why do I want to get anything else when Bones are clearly the best product out there?" to which the rep replied "Yeah that is true and everyone else is second behind Bones, but some people still want options."  The rep pretty much sent himself out of the store without a sale that day, admitting Bones bearings were the best, but as he said, some people do want to ride other products anyway.

Each to their own in that regard.  I often thought if it was just me, 99% of brands would be out of business in a short time for some types of products, but at least there seem to be people who are willing to try different things, or even prefer to have something other than what might be the best, or what everyone else has.

At least we all have a place to come to talk about it here too.  That always makes things more interesting.


* I just put some Modus Blacks in a set of new wheels to try today, the cheapest of the Modus range and comparable to any number of other budget sets.  They work fine, feel just as good on my ramp, no issues, etc.  Might be a different story in the long run, or on different terrain, but I just wanted to try them again, just to see how they compare seeing as they are almost the best for price in the current market.  They have black shields too, which I prefer anyway, simple or silly as that might sound.

No doubt! I’m just basing on my limited experience with various Bones and Bronsons bearings and learning about the industry mostly here. Having options is great and I just want to make more informed choices especially for something like bearings, which are the longest lasting part of a skateboard for me. That’s why I’m very interested in more details around the Bones Swiss factory change.

[The real veganshawn]

Skated Bronson for years, keep meaning to go back to Bones but my Bronson won't die

[layzieyez]

I’m still rolling on some of the last Rock’n Ron’s rockets along with a couple sets of quantum from when they first came out.

I’ve got one last set of Ceramic rockets on ice.

My cruiser boards run zealous ceramics and have never felt any need to do maintenance on them ever.

[Texas_Tone]

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Complete transparency i'm the poor bastard that voted mini logo

[close]

Minilogo bearings are great. Last year, when that tariff talk started, I bought some while they were still $12

[close]

   Same. They were $10 at my local and I bought 3 sets. Have them in my cruiser now and my son is on a set. Best cheap bearings out there! I prefer them to any of the Bronson's I've ridden.


   I voted other. On my main board I switch between a couple different sets of wheels and both sets have Eenox bearings. They're the factory that made Bones Swiss for decades before they changed factories and went a bit downhill. To me, Eenox feel exactly like what Swiss used to. Been on them for maybe 6-8 months and they're still excellent. Shields on and I've never cleaned them.

[close]

Has it been confirmed that Bones switched factories (away from WIB) or is it just that WIB is also selling their own skate branded bearings, which could cause conflict of interest and focus more on their own brand while still making Bones?

Also, agree on ML or Reds. If I’m going cheap, I’ll go with those. If it is confirmed that WIB no longer makes Bones Swiss, I might try Reds Big Balls next time I need bearings. Might not happen since I’m currently riding my 20+ year old Swiss 6 and they are still outperforming all the newer bearings I bought since.

[close]

Bless you all for introducing Eenox.

I got a little chuckle at the naming, though. 

I’ve been on my set for a month or so, liking them a lot, name aside

[texasplant]

Been a Bones Swiss guy for 20+ years, but recently tried Modus Ceramics just to try something that wasn't Bones. They're really good, especially for only $70 when Swiss Ceramics are like double that. Think I might stay on Modus.

Did your modus ceramics take a while to break in? I was excited to be gifted a set but I’ve so far been disappointed- only skated them 3 times though. I imagine ceramics take a little longer than steel to wake up?

[swongolianbbq]

I had a couple sets of bones ceramic reds, originally on my rain board.

Shook em with acetone, spun dry with compressed air and ran them dry without shields on my regular board for a couple months

Versus 6-ball reds, also dry/no shields, I felt like the ceramic reds rolled for longer after a push and felt smoother. Like they retained speed and kept going easier

My 6-year old bones swiss 6 are still doing great

I think the deal with the swiss bones, is that they're just very durable. in my experience anyways.

 I've blown up so many reds. Take my bearing out of my wheel and the plastic core just comes out in pieces hahah

 Haven't blown up a 6-ball red yet though but I don't get quite as buck as I used to

I had some Bronson raws prolly 10 years ago and they were chill

Skated mini logos a buncha times and they were chill, pretty much just like reds.

I give away a lot of my shit but pretty much the only thing I always kept are my bones swiss.

I don't know shit about bronson but it seems like they're trying to do their tolerances like the bones swiss/skate rated for like, side-load durability and stuff

I think this is why swiss without shields would always last me forever but if I bought an ABEC-7 bearing or a proper machine bearing like an  industrial SKF 608 or something, the tolerances are super tight and if anything gets in there it fucks it all up, gotta keep the shields on them boi for sure

Whereas with bones swiss, especially swiss 6s, the walls are higher and stuff and idk it seems like you can beat the shit out of them and they're fine with it

I feel like most of the bad reviews for bones swiss are from folks who bought fake ones on marketplace, Amazon, eBay, whatever, or they came on a complete they got on marketplace or something. Or they somehow fucked up the bearings mounting them by bending the shields with a tool or cranking the inner races down a bunch. Or cleaning them too hardcore ala taking all the balls out and shit

[TorontoTrustFund]

The best part about Quantum Bearings is feeling like an intellectual with all that first year college chemistry lingo