Jason Mitchell, Seismic Nationals 2007, Hybrid Slalom.  Photo by Greg Fadell Northern California Downhill Skateboarding Association
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Skateboard Bearing Reviews

 
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Bearing Reviews (4976 Posts)
Bearing Review
bearings
On 1/18/2001 will wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

hey i wanted to know what would be the best bearings under $25 for racing my friends down a big hill

 
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bearings
On 1/18/2001 will wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

hey i wanted to kow what would be the best bearings under $25 for racing my friends down a big hill

 
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Speed demons
On 1/18/2001 Herbn wrote in from (216.107.nnn.nnn)

If you take brand new bearings out of their package,the gold speed demons have a free ,quiet ,smooth spin. The Clear sheild,while they do have snaprings to hold the sheilds on,have worse spin than either.I think unloaded spin is a pretty good indicator of how they will do in real,loaded conditions. I can imagine that conditions could exist were a freer spining bearing might be slower during actual riding,but it's never actually happened to me,i've never had a set of bearings that spun crazy fast,then sucked while riding.I'm fairly certain that ceramic swiss are faster than reg.swiss,they felt faster,then tested fast,maybe 1 or 2 mph on a 40+ hill,but i'm fairly sure that Gold Speed Demons are very similar to reg.swiss and at 1/3 the price ,they don't need to last all that long.

 
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hey pete
On 1/17/2001 kelsey wrote in from (128.114.nnn.nnn)

"better" is pretty subjective. I gave you my opinion
on the bearings, you decide which you think is better.

TNTs and speed demons are pretty much the same bearing
in my limited experience. They seem faster than the
Lucky 5s or reds. If you never clean your bearings,
you might as well go for speed demons, as they are
pretty cheap.

Personally, I prefer a bearing with a removable shield
so I can clean them. You might not give a sh*t. Your
call.

 
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don't feed the trolls
On 1/17/2001 pete bill wrote in from (208.30.nnn.nnn)

205.188.xxx.xxx

 
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world industries, china bones, and luckys
On 1/17/2001 pete wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

which are better world industries speed demons abec 5, world industries tnt bearings abec 5, china bones red, or lucky abec 5

 
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smoothe and fast
On 1/17/2001 bill wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

what are the fastest and smoothest bearings for under $25

 
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Pig ABEC 5
On 1/16/2001 fishroller wrote in from (209.53.nnn.nnn)

Help! The shield on one of my bearings keeps falling off and it is only 3 months old. Is there a way to keep it on, or is it shot? I know that the shields are removable, but how do you keep them on? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy some Swiss Bones! I'd like to know if I can fix this first though (I'm a broke student trying to support a family on student loans, ugh!)

 
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the bearings joe mentioned
On 1/16/2001 kelsey wrote in from (169.233.nnn.nnn)

Speed demons and world industries seem very similar to me.
Both are fast, but don't last too long due to their gold
non-removable shields.

Reds and lucky 5s are good, and both under $25. They don't
hand-spin as fast as speed demons, but I don't think that
matters much. The ability to clean and relube them makes
them a worthwhile purchase, since they'll last longer.

I haven't yet tried the other bearings you mentioned.

 
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bearings
On 1/15/2001 joe wrote in from (152.163.nnn.nnn)

if not any that i wrote down just a second ago what are the best bearings under $25

 
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world industries/speed demonds/china bones (reds)/birdhouse jacked/lucky 3/or pig 5
On 1/15/2001 joe wrote in from (152.163.nnn.nnn)

out of all the bearings i wrote out to the side which of them are the best and which ones go fastest

 
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Seating bearings
On 1/15/2001 Herbn wrote in from (216.107.nnn.nnn)

Sometimes when i assemble a board,it will make sort of a knocking sound,and the bearings don't spin well(maybe in one or two wheels),i tap on the sides of the wheels, sort of a glancing tap that spins the wheel. A couple of taps,from both sides and they're usually fine.

 
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Bearing Spacers
On 1/15/2001 kaylee wrote in from (209.43.nnn.nnn)

Adam, I am using bearing spacers. The effect I'm talking about isn't that noticeable. Now that I think about it, when I used to not use spacers, the effect was exaggerated. It still happens, just less noticeably. Getting my spacers to work: There's another topic I've been too lazy to test. I'm planning on running every wheel, spacer, bearing, axle, and washer combo I have to figure out what part affects bearing spacer efficiency the most. My guess is that axle diameter is a major factor, as my internally threaded Seismics seem to work best with the wheels cranked down, as opposed to backing off an eighth a turn as on my Indy's and Randal's. Thanks for the idea, though, Adam. Maybe if I try the "spread" problem with my Seismics, and see what happens, it will give me some clues to work with. Lots of variables, that might be an entire weekend of experimenting and skating right there.

 
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Bearing "Spread"
On 1/15/2001 Adam wrote in from (204.182.nnn.nnn)

Kaylee,

Use bearing spacers, it will solve this problem instantly. See the Links page under "About Bearing Spacers" for info.

 
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Bearing "Spread"
On 1/15/2001 kaylee wrote in from (209.43.nnn.nnn)

Does this happen to anyone else?: I always make sure that my bearings are seated fully when assembling my wheels, and that there is the proper amount of play on the axle. On all my setups, after I ride them a while I find that the bearings have "unseated" themselves. At this point I either have to push/pull on the wheel to reposition the bearings or I have to loosen the nut to get back the proper amount of play. This happens on "normal" street wheels, hubbed wheels, XT's, etc. Why would a properly seated bearing unseat itself? Is this bad and if so, how could it be prevented? Am I doing something wrong? This happens without exception, 100% of the time I put a new bearing/wheel configuration on.

 
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China Bones(Reds) or Lucky 5 Black Beauties?
On 1/14/2001 Simfucious wrote in from (172.155.nnn.nnn)

China bones(abes 3s) or Lucky 5 (abec 5)??? I have been told that lucky 5s are faster but crap out fast??? which one should have i gotten???

 
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Spacers
On 1/12/2001 bobo the clown wrote in from (129.116.nnn.nnn)

Thruster,
Spacers are always a must.

 
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Spacers or not
On 1/11/2001 Thruster wrote in from (12.13.nnn.nnn)

I have always used them in my longboard but alot of people I talk to don't
use them. Do the help for speed or not? I think they do.

later

 
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bearing cleaning
On 1/11/2001 david wrote in from (209.178.nnn.nnn)

ben, you are right their are many many ways to clean your bearing. check the archives for many ways some that involve highly volitile chemicals.

i clean my bearing with stuff you that u can find in your house or at a local store

first wipe off visible grease and grime, then give the bearing a bath in paint thinner. paint thinner is good because it drys quickly and is NON flammable. let them soak for a good 20-30 minutes. take them out and wipe them again and let em sit to dry(or put the bearing in front of a fan). last is to lub them. i use your average 3-1 oil. their are many things to lub your bearinz with, speedoil is the oil made for bearing lubrication, but i think its a rip-off.

keep on skatin

 
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Cleaning Bearings
On 1/11/2001 Ben wrote in from (206.55.nnn.nnn)

I am relatively new to skating, and have heard a million different ways to clean bearings (many of them seem ridiculous). What is the best way to clean and maintain my bearings? Can someone give it to me strait?! Thanks.

 
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skatepark i.d. cards
On 1/10/2001 Brad wrote in from (209.220.nnn.nnn)

The Skatepark I.D. card museum website is seeking scans of your old skatepark cards to be added. go to the page and email your scans to the email address there.

 
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germans/swiss
On 1/10/2001 hugh r wrote in from (205.216.nnn.nnn)

In my opinion it's a six of one half dozen of the other decision... both are fine/fast bearings... HR

 
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bearings
On 1/10/2001 james wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

should i get fkd germans abec 7 or powell swiss bones?

 
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fkd germans
On 1/4/2001 hugh r wrote in from (205.216.nnn.nnn)

James... copy and past the link below... he carries FKD's... HR

http://www.landluge.com/store.html

 
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FKD germans
On 1/4/2001 james wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

where can i get FKD germans atand what r the best Bearings that i could find not worrying about the money?

 
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