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| Bearing Reviews (4976 Posts)
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BSB Titanium out the window.
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On 3/18/2001 PCB
wrote in from
(207.172.nnn.nnn)
You're trying to lube with WD-40, a solvent? I wouldn't use it on any part of a skateboard unless it's to loosen a rusty bolt. Yuh better clean the WD-40 out of those bearings with paint thinner or something and then start over with teflon stuff.
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karl
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On 3/18/2001 rulio
wrote in from
(208.30.nnn.nnn)
yo karl you're preachin' to the choir hear (sic) but i think you're wrong about using water on metal and i prefer to use sewing machine oil
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bsb titanium
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On 3/18/2001 karl christ
wrote in from
(24.132.nnn.nnn)
I drive a 40# flexdex with 215 indy.s and 75mm spiked
wheels fitted with BSB titanium bearings,suposedly
assembled in swiss but close inspection reveals that
certain parts were made in china.
I have tried a diverse range of bones,but these are the best
i drove yet,though i am considering upgrading to ceramics.
The secret of bearings is that it does not matter what type
u use if u dont take good care of them.
Dirt sand grease damaged shieldings will seriously slow down
even the most expensive bearings,but if u use the right
components and clean ure stuff i garantee u can go 3x faster
Use spacers and those little slightly conical rings to tighten the inner rings of ure bones,only the outer ring
should revolve.Dont tighten it to much though.
If ure bearings are really clean the wheels will revolve
at the slightest touch of ure fingertips.
I use half open bearings for eficient cleaning and (dis)assembly.
For cleaning i use dishwashingstuff,hot tapwater a tooth brush and a dishbrush.
First i clean my wheels especially the inside and my trucks
making sure they are 100% dirt free i dry them.
Then i wash the rings spacers and bolts and do a rough cleaning of the bearings to get the main dirt of.
Dry everything of with some cloth and lay to dry further
exept for the bearings wwhich i now disasemle into shieldings,C-rings and of course the bearing itself.
Clean the shieldings and C-rings and lay to dry.
Lay or hold the bearings under hot tapwater the materials
will expand,thus making it easyer to remove dirtparticles
Now use put dish wash on the bearing and spin the bearing
between your fingers or on the top of a toothbrush or
something spin and clean with toothbrush rinse with hot
tapwater while spinning ure bones repeat until all friction
is gone spin and rinse carefully under hot tapwater.
repeat for each bearing.
Dry ure bones on a heater or use a blowdryer make sure they
are 100% dry before re-assembly.
By now ure bones should be spinning like little machines,
otherwhise theyre fucked.Trow them away.
For lubrification i use teflon spray only on the inside of
the bearing Any grease or socalled speed lubes will slow u
down its just to sticky ,teflon or wd40 will leave a small
longlasting film,with a minimum of friction.
RE-assemble ure bones and deck and make sure everything is
fitted correctly,fine tune ure wheels by adjusting
the bolt pressure until they are almost frictionless.
thats it the whole process takes me an hour,but its worth
every minute,when everything is in top shape u can be faster
than most menpoweredvehicles.
Teach em a lesson or do you prefer slogging trough the foam
in a bearsuit?
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Taiwan bearings
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On 3/17/2001 Herbn
wrote in from
(216.107.nnn.nnn)
I think i covered that,there are a number of bearings that do come from the same big factory,with different sheids pressed in and packed up different,in fact bearings could be imported without sheilds and the sheilds pressed in could say "made in usa" on them and technically be correct,i havn't seen that.Your better bearings,ninja's,swiss bones,i think speedemons gold,the clear sheild one seem to be slower probabely from a different source,i've bought abec 3 generic chinese bearings that were similar in spin and appearence to grease balls. The major skate companies,may have exclusivity contracts with some of their suppliers,it keeps the supplier from entering the market,or letting other companies enter the market with generic versions of their well advertised well distributed product,like a slightly different sheild on a chinabone.
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Black Helicoptors
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On 3/17/2001 Bill Gant
wrote in from
(207.208.nnn.nnn)
I'm not implying that there is some crazy conspiracy to seperate us from our hard earned money. I'm only wondering if there is a chance that there are a few large manufacturers out there that are tooled to produce bearings cheaper than some smaller companies can. "Farming" out work or contracts is not an uncommon manufactureing/buisness practice. And if I remember right didn't Vision at one time or another actualy press wood for several smaller board comanies? Never the less, I learn alot from ya all's postings and next time I need a set of bearing might actually for-go the old German stand by's, and try something new. cheers
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Conspiracy bearings
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On 3/17/2001 Herbn
wrote in from
(216.107.nnn.nnn)
You might be onto something there,but i doubt outright fraud is happening,swiss means they're made in switzerland.There is a fairly large number of bearings that are all out of the same factory and shields are custom stamped and colored. But the better bearings are generally pretty unique.A lot of people swear by swiss bones,some like myself beleive they are better but not by enough to need to have them 100% of the time,i'd rather get three sets of speedemon golds a year than one set of swiss,a though i'd have a set of swiss on a special board or in a special set of wheels,i know they are faster, and powell doesn't pay me to say that,though free bearings would nice:)
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Just a thought
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On 3/17/2001 Bill Gant
wrote in from
(207.208.nnn.nnn)
I can't help but wonder about all of these different bearings: Swiss, Gravity, Reds, and all the others. My question is this, is it possible that there is only a few large companies manufacturing bearings and selling their products to smaller outfits who stamp "Swiss" or what ever on them. And if this is the case, as I suspect, why plunk down $35 for "Nipple twister speed Impalers" when plane old "Bile Risers" at $9 will do?
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greaseball bearings
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On 3/7/2001
Mike G
wrote in from
(64.7.nnn.nnn)
Greaseball bearings work fine, from my experience bearings dont matter that much. They come to matter the must when you do aggresive skating. But for normal longboard use most bearings will work fine. You would barley relize the difference between the broken in greaseballs and the swiss. Just keep ur greaseballs and keep them dirt free and re grease them or re-oil them after a while (u will have to re oil them more if u use oil, u have to grease them less if u grease them)
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greaseball bearings
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On 3/7/2001
rulio
wrote in from
(208.30.nnn.nnn)
i wouldn't replace any bearings till i noticed a problem
and then i'd choose either the red or the swiss depending upon the intended application (downhill or park)
in any given set of 8 bearings your shot of getting a bum bearing (even swiss!) is definitely there
i have 15 year old nmb abec 3's that spin better than some bum swiss bearings
rulio
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greaseball
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On 3/6/2001 joseph
wrote in from
(61.9.nnn.nnn)
I know they are not that gooder bearing but are they worth replacing straight away with china or swiss bones ?
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bearing /cleaning/spacers etc...Thanks
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On 3/6/2001
paul
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
Hey folks ..thanks for all the info on bearings and the best way to clean em, what size spacers to use on different wheels etc, its been a real help, longboards are still in their infancy here in the UK so its nice to get some info on stuff like this. We have a organistaion called BADASS (british association of downhil and slalom skateborders) who promote it very well with their races and entries in the x games. Thanks as well especially for the info on my gravity wheels taking 8 mm spacers, this is a great help..............Paul
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DHX Mystery Lube
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On 3/5/2001 Misterbill
wrote in from
(64.170.nnn.nnn)
I heard that Eli Smouse was using a sample of a new type of lube at the DHX. Comletely different from speedcream and triflo/slick50. Suposedly slicker than "greased snot". Not that lube makes any difference compared to the level of skill that these guys skate with, but still, It may be something that us mortals can benefit from.
I bet that Wendel at Purple Skunk will have it if anyone would.
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Citrus cleaner
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On 3/5/2001 R.
wrote in from
(192.26.nnn.nnn)
hey all,
I use De-Solv-It citrus cleaner. Haven't had a prob with any residue, though. I think it binds to water when added -- the water turns cloudy. just make sure you rinse thoroughly. a really good way to make sure all the water is out is to put a blowdryer on them for a bit. The bearings heat up, then no more water, ta-dah. Only worry I guess would be calcium deposits, but really, I don't see these as such a big problem. If you are really paranoid, use filtered or distilled water.
Hey peoples, citrus cleaner really is the way to go. there's no reason to use noxious crap like turp, gumout, or whatever volatiles to clean your bearings.
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RooX
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On 3/4/2001
degreasers
wrote in from
(142.66.nnn.nnn)
yeah, good call on making sure you get it all out. I take my bearings apart if i use degreaser and saok all parts for an hour or so, and make sure all gun is gone. After that i let the parts sit for a while and dry, then actually physically dry them, then oil them.. let them sit, oil them again and then rub everything down with a clean closth, assemble and lube to your taste. this might even be over kill but the drying and lubing then wiping down seems to get it all. Seems to work just fine, got one set of daily use bearings that are well over two years old now, still nice and smooth (bones reds)im using finish line sitrus degreaser as ive got loads of it for biking apps, im sure any would work though, ive also used pedros (works the same)
Cheers,
colin
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Orange degreaser, PPaw spacers
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On 3/4/2001 PCB
wrote in from
(207.172.nnn.nnn)
RooX,
When cleaning bearings with orange degreaser, do you do anything to make sure that all of it gets cleared out before re-lubing? I always thought those degreasers would be hard to completely rinse out a skateboard bearing. Is there a particular brand you use?
Hamm,
Marc at longskate.com told me that all of the PowerPaw wheels require 11mm spacers and that they have them specially made for them. They sent the special spacers with my 65mm PPaw Centereds and the combo is quite solid. I tried fitting a 10mm spacer in one of them but it was clearly too small.
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c-62
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On 3/4/2001 RooX
wrote in from
(142.66.nnn.nnn)
what size spacers do these kryptos use??
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spacers
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On 3/4/2001
Hamm
wrote in from
(63.38.nnn.nnn)
all Gravity wheels except the 'comp' & 'snap' use the 8mm spacer.
usless I am mistaken, Power Paws take a 10mm spacer and its only the Aluminators that take the 11mm spacer.
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coke
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On 3/4/2001
RooX
wrote in from
(142.66.nnn.nnn)
this is probably a bad idea... the acids in it might clean a the durt out.. but coke is also a sugar product, it would gum up a bearing real quick... another idea might be vinegar, a high acid content and no/less sugar, personaly i think orange degreaser works just fine and isnt expensive.
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coke/dumb idea maybe not
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On 3/4/2001 paul
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
hey you might have something there coke is full of all sorts of chemicals, yet if we can drink it unlike say paraffin/gasolene or whatever solvent, coke must be slightly more environmentally friendly, just make sure no one drinks it after youve soaked the bearings in it heheheh
paul (england)
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Bearings/maintenence/gravity etc
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On 3/4/2001
paul
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
Heyy thanks for all the info you lot, its a real help. hey my gravity wheels are 73mm super Gs are these the same as street Gs? also from reading one of your posts i get the impression gravity either dont like or fail to put wheel spacers in their stock boards? surely not! This would perhaps explain why My wheelnuts when I tightened em up today the wheel would barely spin, I had to back off a few turns to get em up to a normal state, I didnt over tighten em either just untill I felt the first resistance on the socket. anyways they seem ok now after I backed em off again but I,ll have to check em another day and get em some spacers and speed washers if there aint any. aanyhow I had a good afternoon skating but my legs ache now hehe I never know when to quit. thanks all...........paul (England)
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a dumb idea??
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On 3/4/2001
andy
wrote in from
(213.122.nnn.nnn)
i have no idea why i thought of this one, but it might (???????) work for bearings without removable shields. well, you know how if you drop a dirty coin, a penny/cent in a glass of coke and leave it overnight, it cleans all the dirt off....... well howabout if you took some dead/dirty bearings and left them in some coke to clean them, the just re-oiled them when you take them out.
anyone tried this? or am i stupid. (more probable)
im fairly short on spare bearings so i don't wanna try it straight out... any experiance?
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gravity street G spacer size
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On 3/4/2001
Bob
wrote in from
(64.28.nnn.nnn)
SolidSkate has them -- perfectly machined spacers for Gravity hubbed wheels -- they work PERFECTLY!!
Hats off to Glen for providing them. I've talked to the guys at Gravity. The are great guys, but not sold on the value of spacers. I wish they could see how well Glen's spacers work in their wheels. The debate would be over.
Bob
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gravity street G spacer size
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On 3/4/2001
R.
wrote in from
(192.26.nnn.nnn)
hey, if you're wondering how to clean and lube bearings, there are a lot of posts in the archives. here is a site with a lot of links explaining the how tos (even though it's an inline site:
http://www.skategrrl.com/bearings.html
I clean mine with orange cleaner (works great and smells great too), and lube it with triflow. for cleaning, just spray a bunch in a jar with the bearings and swirl it around a bunch. beware the triflow. you might want to get speed cream if it's less stinky and noxious(I don't know), because after lubing two sets of bearings I was flying a little high. Probably absorbed some through my skin.
Also, if anyone is interested, the bearing size for Gravity street G's is definitely 8mm. I spent all yesterday driving around San Diego asking skate shop folkses for smaller bearing spacers (only to be told by every single shop except Hamel's that I didn't need them at all). Finally, as per this forum, Hamel's in OB had them. They get them from a rollerskate company, apparently. Every skate shop had just piles and piles of 10 mm. spacers. Why don't the dumb asses at wheel manufacturing plants realize this and standardize their damn hubs? Maybe it's a conspiracy to get everyone to use only their bearing spacers a la Microsoft and Explorer. So devious!
By the way, how would one go about filing down a 10 mm. spacer, anyways? clamping it seems out of the question.
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Wheels, spacers and lubrication.
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On 3/4/2001 PCB
wrote in from
(207.172.nnn.nnn)
Here’s my list:
Exkate wheels use 12mm spacers.
PowerPaw wheels use 11mm spacers.
Powell wheels use 10mm spacers.
Kryptonics wheels use 10mm spacers except the 76mm Classic and any of the Route series wheels (these use 8mm).
The wheel is the only thing that determines spacer size. Traditional skateboard bearings are all the same size and shape when it comes to parts that touch the wheel or spacer.
I’ve only lubed bearings once and it was after an entire cleaning. I cleaned them because there was clearly something inside keeping one of them from spinning correctly.
I haven’t seen the Gravity brand bearings so I can’t tell you exactly how to clean them. I use Powell Bones Reds bearings because only one side of them has a shield. The side without the shield faces the inside of the wheel. To lube them, you remove the bearing, put one drop of lube in the open side, hold the inner ring between you finger and thumb and spin it until the lube is distributed well between all the BBs. If your Gravity bearings have a removable shield, use your good judgement to remove it without messing it up. Look for something on one side that’s different from the other side and fiddle with it however you see fit. There’s a good chance though that the Gravity bearings are non-serviceable.
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bearing lubrication, when & how
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On 3/3/2001
Paul
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
Hi sorry for a nother newbie question, ive been reading all the different opinions in the archives on bearing maintenence, I bought a stock gravity hypercarve art board a week or two ago with gravity bearings. Any guidelines on when to lubricate them and how do you go about it. I am assumuing from small pictures I have seen of them, that you take em out of the wheel and that the face of the bearing has gaps or access points to put the lube in, without dismantling the bearing. The board is used at the moment for general carving/cruising around not high speed racing :)
naturally the board is my pride & joy and I wanna keep it healthy so it lasts long and is safe to ride....Thanks paul (England)
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