Author Topic: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?  (Read 88311 times)

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toe_knee

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #750 on: August 28, 2021, 06:35:43 PM »
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Couple of months on Bones Super Reds. Imo, they are shite. They have this lagging sensation. Probably weak tolerances. I used to skate Bones Swiss six balls, and had done so for many many years without this terrible sensation.

Anyone tried SKF or NTN 608-2RS? Proper bearings by big bearing companies who make stuff for aero etc.
They cost about around $70 tho
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Working on sourcing some, skf makes a skate bearing endorsed by oski find them online
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Those Oski SKF bearings are so cheap, like $30. I doubt they have the same tolerances.

Yea most likely not, it’s tough to find industrial bearings with nylon cages, most have stainless
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rocklobster

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #751 on: August 29, 2021, 09:15:13 AM »
Has anyone tried Fireball Dragon bearings? Or is that just pure sacrilege because it's "longboard shit"? I like the fact that they give exact specifications for their products and claim they are manufactured within +/-0.02mm tolerances. They also claim to have improved seals and heavier grease on the Endure version for longevity.

Decent for $10 but don't expect much, go Reds or Mini Logo.
Venture Truck Height:

5.0 & 5.2 LO
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Loki700

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #752 on: August 29, 2021, 09:41:26 AM »
Has anyone tried Fireball Dragon bearings? Or is that just pure sacrilege because it's "longboard shit"? I like the fact that they give exact specifications for their products and claim they are manufactured within +/-0.02mm tolerances. They also claim to have improved seals and heavier grease on the Endure version for longevity.
@MysticalTypeExperience, for what it’s worth, saying that they are manufactured within +/-0.02 mm tolerance is largely meaningless, not just because they do t specify which parts are maintained to that tolerance.  ABEC-1 bearings are +/-0.008 mm for reference, and ABEC rating has nothing to do with surface finish, roundness of the balls, or material selection.  They also have nothing to do with how “fast” the bearing is, just how precise it is, and thus the maximum speed capability.  ABEC-1 bearings more than exceed the speeds that are seen in skateboarding.

Unfortunately what is important to skateboard bearings doesn’t actually have any standards, so there’s not really any way to accurately compare bearings.  Essentially more expensive is generally better, but choosing which expensive ones are the best is at most an educated guess.

Grease will make them last longer, but they will be “slower” due to the higher viscosity compared to oil.
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Mbrimson88

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #753 on: August 29, 2021, 08:29:20 PM »
Swiss. I had them for six months now and realised today one wheel was stuck so I took them out and cleaned them in acetone. Four of them run smooth but the other four don't and I can't remove the bearing cage retainers no matter how I try so I put them back on but I have a feeling I will have to replace them eventually unless I can clean them properly.

Anything that feels jammed up can usually be spun between your fingers to help get the muck out as well, so give them a bit of a soak, then spin them a bit, give them another shake or two, spin them again, repeat until they spin freely.

This usually works to get almost everything out of them. 

Note:  You don't need to have them zinging, just slowly turn the bearings between your fingers a bit, back and forward and that way you can get even moderately rusted up or totally seized up bearings running fairly freely again.

I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.

Easy Slider

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #754 on: August 30, 2021, 12:43:45 AM »
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Swiss. I had them for six months now and realised today one wheel was stuck so I took them out and cleaned them in acetone. Four of them run smooth but the other four don't and I can't remove the bearing cage retainers no matter how I try so I put them back on but I have a feeling I will have to replace them eventually unless I can clean them properly.
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Anything that feels jammed up can usually be spun between your fingers to help get the muck out as well, so give them a bit of a soak, then spin them a bit, give them another shake or two, spin them again, repeat until they spin freely.

This usually works to get almost everything out of them. 

Note:  You don't need to have them zinging, just slowly turn the bearings between your fingers a bit, back and forward and that way you can get even moderately rusted up or totally seized up bearings running fairly freely again.

Thanks I shall do that the next time they clog up.
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streetmeat

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #755 on: October 18, 2021, 07:34:54 AM »
Reds. Team Shieldless and Dry. Forever.

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #756 on: October 30, 2021, 07:33:46 AM »
I have exploded 3 bones swiss bearings in bones stf v3s in the past month. Super bummed, they are only 1yo bearings.

I remember for some reason the 'bearing hole' seemed super tight i couldn't get them to fully seat just pushing onto the truck, I had to use a socket that was the same size as outer ring and a hammer to knock them into place. The f4's i had never needed this much force. Could this have anything to do with all of my bearings just exploding out of the blue?

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #757 on: October 30, 2021, 06:51:07 PM »
From now on I'm on Big Ballz (Chinese  Bones 6 balls) for budget bearings and Quantums for fancy.

Xen

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #758 on: October 30, 2021, 07:13:22 PM »
From now on I'm on Big Ballz (Chinese  Bones 6 balls) for budget bearings and Quantums for fancy.

I just cleaned my swiss 6 and big balls with 99% iso, both sets are bone dry right now.

Swiss 6: Hissing and smooth like a motherfucker - I've had this set for years, going to run them dry and into the ground

Big Balls: crusty and slow just doing the finger spin (index and thumb), just like they were before cleaning. I re-lubed them and they're still fucked somehow. There is one that is 'ok' but they're toast. Never again.

Sticking with Swiss 6 and Bronson Ceramics (these things are so fast right now, with shields), do want to try Quantum tho, probably my next new set.

Frank and Fred

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #759 on: October 30, 2021, 07:17:27 PM »
Swiss  6 are the best but so spendy these days. Quantum are a better bang for the buck IMO.

I cleaned my Big Ballz with gasoline (big no no I know) but they have been great since.

Xen

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #760 on: October 30, 2021, 07:41:34 PM »
Swiss  6 are the best but so spendy these days. Quantum are a better bang for the buck IMO.

I cleaned my Big Ballz with gasoline (big no no I know) but they have been great since.

The first cleaning I used a citrus cleaner (cleaned the same set of Swiss 6 at the same time, too) and they've been fucked ever since (swiss 6 held up fine after the citrus cleaner). It's kind of a good thing tho, as I popped the shields at first cleaning and can't tell them apart from my swiss 6 other than they've been fucked since then (I keep them separated).
« Last Edit: October 30, 2021, 09:16:06 PM by Xen »

Mbrimson88

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #761 on: October 30, 2021, 08:24:36 PM »
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Swiss  6 are the best but so spendy these days. Quantum are a better bang for the buck IMO.

I cleaned my Big Ballz with gasoline (big no no I know) but they have been great since.
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The first cleaning I used and citrus cleaner (cleaned the same set of S6 at the same time, too) they've been fucked ever since. It's kind of a good thing tho, I popped the shields at first cleaning and can't tell them apart from my swiss 6 other than they've been fucked since then (I keep them separated).

Did the swiss 6 have black / dark bearing cages but the Reds 6 have clear bearing cages?

That was how I could always tell them apart when fixing them, given they were all Bones bearings.  Modus and some other brands also have the dark bearing cages too, but they have a different shape to them.


I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.

Mbrimson88

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #762 on: October 30, 2021, 08:28:47 PM »
I have exploded 3 bones swiss bearings in bones stf v3s in the past month. Super bummed, they are only 1yo bearings.

I remember for some reason the 'bearing hole' seemed super tight i couldn't get them to fully seat just pushing onto the truck, I had to use a socket that was the same size as outer ring and a hammer to knock them into place. The f4's i had never needed this much force. Could this have anything to do with all of my bearings just exploding out of the blue?

I couldn't say for sure, but there could be something in it - wheels not holding bearings easily could cause other issues.

Other factors include how lubed or dry they were, what was happening to them (how you were skating) and how old they were.

Given I have seen some swiss last twenty years and others seemingly not last a month, it is a funny situation sometimes.

I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.

Xen

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #763 on: October 30, 2021, 08:58:24 PM »
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Swiss  6 are the best but so spendy these days. Quantum are a better bang for the buck IMO.

I cleaned my Big Ballz with gasoline (big no no I know) but they have been great since.
[close]

The first cleaning I used and citrus cleaner (cleaned the same set of S6 at the same time, too) they've been fucked ever since. It's kind of a good thing tho, I popped the shields at first cleaning and can't tell them apart from my swiss 6 other than they've been fucked since then (I keep them separated).
[close]

Did the swiss 6 have black / dark bearing cages but the Reds 6 have clear bearing cages?

That was how I could always tell them apart when fixing them, given they were all Bones bearings.  Modus and some other brands also have the dark bearing cages too, but they have a different shape to them.




Yessir! The Big Balls were white/clear...but that's when they were new, after getting them filthy, they are just as grey/dark as the swiss six now.

In hindsight I should have marked the races or something to not mix them up with the swiss...but hte isopropyl method clearly defines which is which.

Mbrimson88

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #764 on: October 30, 2021, 09:08:49 PM »
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Swiss  6 are the best but so spendy these days. Quantum are a better bang for the buck IMO.

I cleaned my Big Ballz with gasoline (big no no I know) but they have been great since.
[close]

The first cleaning I used and citrus cleaner (cleaned the same set of S6 at the same time, too) they've been fucked ever since. It's kind of a good thing tho, I popped the shields at first cleaning and can't tell them apart from my swiss 6 other than they've been fucked since then (I keep them separated).
[close]

Did the swiss 6 have black / dark bearing cages but the Reds 6 have clear bearing cages?

That was how I could always tell them apart when fixing them, given they were all Bones bearings.  Modus and some other brands also have the dark bearing cages too, but they have a different shape to them.



[close]

Yessir! The Big Balls were white/clear...but that's when they were new, after getting them filthy, they are just as grey/dark as the swiss six now.

In hindsight I should have marked the races or something to not mix them up with the swiss...but hte isopropyl method clearly defines which is which.

Ha yeah when they are dirty they are harder to tell apart, but when I wiped a little off the back, I can usually see they are clear under all the muck, even if it is the tiny smallest bit of clear...

I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.

Sonny Paluso

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #765 on: November 03, 2021, 04:02:49 PM »
Had these Swiss for a good amount of time. Retainer was broken for a while, but finally exploded today. Glad I wasn't going fast.

MysticalTypeExperience

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #766 on: December 14, 2021, 01:43:25 PM »
Popped the shields on my Big Balls Reds for the first time to give it a try. Yeah it looks/sounds pretty tight but one of the wheels is already spinning slow as fuck after like three 1 hour sessions. Pretty sure it got a bunch of wax in it.

Edit: looks like the bearings freed up again after just riding some more. Still not sure I'd pop the shields in the future though. The double shielded bearings like Bronson's seem to last the longest for me
« Last Edit: December 14, 2021, 03:45:11 PM by MysticalTypeExperience »

Mbrimson88

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #767 on: December 14, 2021, 04:54:40 PM »
Had these Swiss for a good amount of time. Retainer was broken for a while, but finally exploded today. Glad I wasn't going fast.



I recently fixed a couple of old bearings from friends who had them go down like this.

One in particular who had Swiss kept all the balls and I just rebuilt it with an odd ball retainer and they still go like the others.

Probably a bit late now, or often just impossible to get all the balls / bits back in some situations, but it does work and I do like to have full sets of things, even though I know I have spares of everything from Reds, Swiss, Ceramic Swiss and many other miscellaneous brands too.

I talk too much about skateboards.  Sorry.

thebacker

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #768 on: December 15, 2021, 07:51:10 AM »
swiss for a few years now, clean them once a year and they buttahhhhhhhhhhh

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #769 on: December 20, 2021, 04:06:12 PM »
Had a set of swiss for a few months, cleaned them one time. Recently a few seemed to seize up or not spin properly so I just cleaned them again pretty thoroughly (standard procedure, 99% isopropyl a few times, let em dry then lube).

But two or three of them are still kinda jammed up and won't spin properly. Probably won't notice if I set them up and ride them but any ideas on how to get stubborn ones to spin freely in hand? Clearly shaking them in isopropyl isn't cutting it. I'd try take the cages n balls out but last time I tried that on some bearings I couldn't put it back together so not tryna go through that again.

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #770 on: December 20, 2021, 05:01:08 PM »
Try letting them sit in the isopropyl alcohol (shields off of course) for a few hours before spinning them out. I did this with a couple stubborn bearings and it eventually worked into the deep set gunk and got them spinning great. Not sure if it damages any of the components in the long term, but I’d have tossed them anyway. Hope this helps.

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #771 on: December 20, 2021, 06:37:15 PM »
I never bought into the quality bearing hype in all my years of skating but one of my friends who’s a big Swiss advocate finally convinced me to give them a shot over the summer.  Honestly they’re great.  Been skating them shieldless for like six months without taking care of them and they’re faster and smoother than ever. 

Frank and Fred

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #772 on: December 20, 2021, 07:14:16 PM »
Had a set of swiss for a few months, cleaned them one time. Recently a few seemed to seize up or not spin properly so I just cleaned them again pretty thoroughly (standard procedure, 99% isopropyl a few times, let em dry then lube).

But two or three of them are still kinda jammed up and won't spin properly. Probably won't notice if I set them up and ride them but any ideas on how to get stubborn ones to spin freely in hand? Clearly shaking them in isopropyl isn't cutting it. I'd try take the cages n balls out but last time I tried that on some bearings I couldn't put it back together so not tryna go through that again.

Man chasing those precious balls around the kitchen is no fun... been there... but re-assembly is possible. You just have to make sure the balls are evenly spread before trying to click the cage back in... It sometimes takes a few attempts but can be done. Also once a bearing is completely disassembled like this, cleaning seems to work even better.

GBLange

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #773 on: December 21, 2021, 03:05:49 AM »
got some generic "abec9" bearings that cost RM15 (around USD4) for 10pcs..







astro

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #774 on: December 22, 2021, 11:40:40 AM »
i picked up a set of super swiss 6s along with a new set of conical fulls and genuinely don't feel a difference between them and the reds i was running before :/ pretty bummed about it.

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #775 on: December 22, 2021, 12:21:32 PM »
Got the quantum bearings on my spitfire 52 classics
https://www.quantumbearing.science/shop/p/metallics

So far, i love em! I mainly do flatground + curb type of skating so I keep it mellow, but my favorite bearings ive ridden so far

jcsk8

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #776 on: December 22, 2021, 04:34:46 PM »
Bronsons G3. Fast and durable. And cheaper than Bones swiss.

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #777 on: December 22, 2021, 04:39:43 PM »
I've been riding the same Bronson Raws for two years with spacers (never used spacers before this set) and I haven't done one thing to them and they're still just as fast. With speedrings and spacers I can crank the wheel nuts down all the way tight and they still free spin, and that's on 2-3 different sets of trucks and at least 3 sets of wheels. I hear a lot of people saying Bronsons suck, but these have been really good with spacers.

kenjiro

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #778 on: December 22, 2021, 04:47:18 PM »
Quantums. as a transition skater speed is the most important thing. I don’t trust any other bearing. These things are so fucking fast.

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Re: Which Bearings Are You Guys Running?
« Reply #779 on: December 22, 2021, 06:13:11 PM »
Quantums. as a transition skater speed is the most important thing. I don’t trust any other bearing. These things are so fucking fast.

Got the quantum bearings on my spitfire 52 classics
https://www.quantumbearing.science/shop/p/metallics

So far, i love em! I mainly do flatground + curb type of skating so I keep it mellow, but my favorite bearings ive ridden so far


Thank you both so much! 
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