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Skateboard Bearing Reviews

 
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Bearing Reviews (4976 Posts)
Bearing Review
minis
On 10/14/1999 Rene wrote in from (216.101.nnn.nnn)

Hey Tiki guy, thankx for your input, what your forgetting is I'm saying the kid being much lighter, hence less force to imput into a skateboard dropping into a 12ft. ramp was able to get the bearings to speed faster, think about it, its common sense, ever wonder why they don't use huge wheels or big bearings in RC cars, or ever notice when you put some monster muds on your jeep with a 4cyl. it lags, well thats the same idea, like I said depends on the rider (biger rider mostly wins on a free coast contest down hill if on the exact same equipment cause of weight),course, and so on, if you want to talk fast, get on a hill with a tunnell that has no wind, pull out your radar gun and then get on all your bearings, and you'll see the diffrence. And what I do is own the long awaited longskate.com, as well as Fluidskateboards, Power Paw and also Equal (thats for kids), the biggest reason why ninjas are more money than most is they are made in a clean room environment, a human hand does not make the bearing (we all no the way to slow a bearing is with dirt and debris/water). All the bearings made in china are cheap cause of how they are made/assembled kind of like a sweat shop. Also the minis use an adpter that costs extra money. Hell whats a set of bones go for these days? But if you would like to try some minis give me a call back @ 11-11 Distribution I spoke with you a month ago, and I'll send you a set to try!
Take it easy.

 
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genaric 608's
On 10/14/1999 eggman wrote in from (156.39.nnn.nnn)

All I know is that the bearings I have rule. I go faster than my buddies, even guys that have "expensive"(swiss bones) bearings. They are just your regular 608 motor bearings. (or whatever the number is for skate sized bearings) I have been riding them for about six months and never cleaned them or anything and they still out perform new bearings. Anyway, anyone else running these? Did I just get a killer pair, or have you had this expierence?

 
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mini mizers
On 10/14/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

I agree that the efficiency of a bearing doesn't get proved by an 11 year old gettin over the coping,he did that all on his own,welcome to the club.I'm still interested in doing a bearing test, anyone in the N.Y,N.J. area who might be interested in driving / taking runs on a standard relatively easy hill , get in touch. I can only think of one explanation ,of why no magazine or bearing co. is interested in a real life skateboard bearing test, that there might not be enough of a difference to justify the extra money, which I don't really beleive because I'm pretty sure I can feel the extra speed from a good set of bearings.Supposedly way back in the day, one year when Pacer wheels were on Dave Dilbergs skatecar it had oversized bearings in the wheels, so which is faster? Z bearings never set any speed records (officially) and they had the same micro bearings, by the way there is still one bearing size even smaller than the minimizers, would that be even faster but to fragile for skateboard use.

 
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ninja-mini misers
On 10/13/1999 TIKIMAN wrote in from (12.79.nnn.nnn)

O.K., Renee...let me see if i got this right...you own/work in a shop that has this great new bearing & you want to sell lots of them for big $$$ ...sooooo!.....we bend a few laws of physics, but what the hell-all's fair in love & capitalism----right??? good! let's start with this bit about the smaller/faster stuff. if i recall ( and, forgive my memory but i'm way over 30), a smaller wheel, tire, etc.,goes less distance than a larger one for 1 revolution, right? and, for an equivalent measure of distance & speed wouldn't it work longer/harder which brings up that pesky business of rolling resistance, heat, etc., no? one would think that as a matter of real-world efficiency, this smaller diameter bearing would not be so good,....yes? NOW, i too, am a shop owner, and i like to keep an open mind about any new product ( hell, i even bought some of those 'rip-saw blade' ice conversion kits for our decks! ) soooo, i'll have to try these things out & see for myself if Newton's rolling in his grave or not!...BUT...DON'T TRY TO JIVE US WITH THIS BULLSHIT ABOUT THIS RIDER OF YOURS LEAPING OVER THE BANK BUILDING BECAUSE HE SAVED 3 OUNCES OF WEIGHT ON HIS BOARD, MAN! maybe he was just riding better that day, no?

 
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mini=money
On 10/13/1999 mule wrote in from (209.63.nnn.nnn)

boy I just can't wait to spend $50 on bearings!!!

 
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Ninja mini misers/steel
On 10/11/1999 Rene wrote in from (216.101.nnn.nnn)

Hey your mostly correct, they do work better for lots of skating styles, I have a 11yr. team kid that used them and it put him 1ft. over the coping instead of 6" under it, on a 12ft. vert pipe at Vans (orange). So they do save on weight but also being smaller for him they let him build/top speed much faster as he is smaller rider 80lbs.
Sean (the duck) Mallard is actually the first guy to use these officially, he rides for Ninja, then Bob P. so thats the only guys that get them for free, the rest pay , and its worth the money if you are looking for that edge, I do recommend the steel minis for anyone, the ceramix are a bit much and over kill for everyday use. If you skate pipes/pools you will luv them, streetluge and so forth they kick ass as well.
So go out and have fun on them or any other bearing that works for you!!!
Rene

ps. I do have the minis in stock and are $50.00 (8-pack)once the longskate.com site is up. the site is getting close...

 
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Minimizers
On 10/9/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

I've been laggin on ordering some minimizers for myself and for stock in my store,because a store has to order 150.00 min. which is really not to bad but it's sort of slow at this time of year and gotta stock up on winter/snowboard stuff. But here's the deal minimizers are a smaller standred industrial size ,they have the same 8mm bore,but are smaller on the outside (16mm) they say their bearings are custom made for them and are stronger than regular 688 (the indutrial part no. for minimizers)but I doubt they're really are that much different and there really is no room for extra metal anywhere.To run them in your wheels they come with nylon adaptors that you press into your wheels before you put the bearings in, they seem to spin really good and Biker and a bunch of top pro's are sponcered and using them (probabely the ceramic 220.00 versions) The minimizers should sell for between 35 and 40 bucks so watch some of those internet over priced longboard boutiques

 
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Ninja Mini misers
On 10/9/1999 Lee wrote in from (195.186.nnn.nnn)

Does anybody understand this? Do you need 8 normal bearings plus 8 minimisers? Can anybody explain?
Thanx

 
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freakin ABEC
On 10/6/1999 Bob wrote in from (192.73.nnn.nnn)

Once again, Mule is right on the money.

A funny note -- in the recent Transworld Skateboarding Buyers Guide, they display a wide variety of name brand bearings, most of them with high ABEC ratings, but they don't show a simple old NMB bearing (which work just great). In the text of their article about bearings, they actually state that you SHOULD NOT be concerned about the ABEC rating! They give a really good explanation of why you shouldn't care about it.

 
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freakin ABEC
On 10/6/1999 mule wrote in from (209.63.nnn.nnn)

I will keep repeating this- who knows why.
ABEC means nothing to skateboards! Do the research for
crying out loud! If you pay for those numbers you are
letting yourself be duped.

 
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GERMANS
On 10/2/1999 kaylee wrote in from (129.24.nnn.nnn)

For anyone looking for a fast and smooth yet durable bearing,
I found some high grade black shield Germans. They are sweet
and feel sturdy. Check them out at Z (www.zprod.com). They
also have an economy German for the frugal. I Love GERMANS!

 
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Ninja web site
On 9/29/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

Just went there,and with the exeption of possibly contradicting themselves in one spot, it seems like a very factual and informative web site. They critisize 8 ball designs but marvel at their own minimizers which have many of the same features that they critisize in 8 ball designs on obviously they're gonna say they do little balls right.

 
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Boss bearings
On 9/29/1999 rick wrote in from (171.213.nnn.nnn)

I've only seen the boss swiss bearings sold in packs of sixteen in the blade section of larger sporting goods stores. In Fairfax Virginia they go for $69.99 for sixteen, or about the same price per bearing that the Bones Swiss sell for.

 
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NINJAS
On 9/29/1999 BEN GILBERT wrote in from (140.189.nnn.nnn)

THANKS

 
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Hey Ben
On 9/29/1999 Keith Fellmy wrote in from (134.68.nnn.nnn)

Hey dude

try the Subterfuge Luge Store. That is where I buy all of my Ninja's. Get the ceramic mini bearings they kick ass if you can get by the 245.00 for a set.

 
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NINJA ABEC 7'S
On 9/28/1999 BEN GILBERT wrote in from (140.189.nnn.nnn)

IF YOU GUYS CARED ABOUT YOU'D TELL ME WHERE I CAN BUY SOME REALLY REALLY FAST BEARINGS, I AM THINKIN' ALONG THE LINES OF NINJAS BUT I DON'T REALLY CARE JUST TELL ME WHAT IS SUPER DUPER FRIKKEN FAST! BY THE WAY, DO YOU NEED TO GET ADAPTERS OR SOMETHIN' FOR NINJAS CAUSE THEY ARE SOOOOOO FRIKKEN SMALL?

 
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BOSS BEARINGS
On 9/27/1999 BEN GILBERT wrote in from (140.189.nnn.nnn)

WHERE CAN I GET BOSS BEARINGS?

 
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Ninja ABEC-7 bearings
On 9/24/1999 Justin Crenshaw wrote in from (151.188.nnn.nnn)

Ninja ABEC-7's are kick-@## ! The design is what makes these bearings so cool. These bearings don't allow even the smallest dirt particals in, (crunchies). This keeps the bearings in excellant condition for a longer life than any other bearings. Plus they're ABEC-7's, so they are FASSST and only riveled by ceramix.

 
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Bearing rebiuld
On 9/22/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

So I'm sittin here, in my Skateshop waiting for the customers to get out of school, and realize that while its supposedly possible to take apart and reassemble bearings (ones with plastic retainers),I'd never actually accomplished this feat.So I pry a cheap old dirty bearing apart and try it a couple of"damn"s "sh1t"s, "gadamn",s all of a sudden ,"cool,its together"a couple more practice attempts,I distinguish myself from the animals when I use a sheetrock screw as a nice little tool to line things up. Now where is that old rumbly set of swiss lets see if really cleaning them will make them work. After assembling them I lube them with two drops of "marvel mystery oil" and spin them out with my air hose,then final lube is with triflon, you can get them up to dentist drill speeds, they'll even get hot ,though that was probabely just my finger rubbing slightly on the spinning bearing. Anyway I've heard you can buy ceramic balls for much less than complete sets of Ninja Ceramics,hell I could make partial ceramics that would be stronger,and if they break I'll fix'em.Just a silly rainy day project.

 
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8 ball bearing
On 9/21/1999 dan wrote in from (209.240.nnn.nnn)

Boss makes some good eight ball bearings. I have had mine forever, their not as quiet as they used to be, but they are still extremely fast.

 
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harry's
On 9/21/1999 frankie wrote in from (141.163.nnn.nnn)

i don't know a lot about bearings but these are pretty noisy. they seem to run OK. in comparison to my friends bearings, they are not as good or as smooth.

 
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Harry's Balls
On 9/20/1999 brian wrote in from (206.105.nnn.nnn)

does anyone know anything about these eight balled bearings at flexdex.com? do they really work better?

 
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FAFNIR ultimate
On 9/20/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

Just got a price,I think its the bearing that everybody says wins in Europe ,FAFNIR ultimate ABEC5 catagorized as an indoor bearing ,"rinks only" ,retail would work out to something like 8 or 9 bucks each. Thats actually not as costly as I imagined.

 
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Ninja micro
On 9/20/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

They think they invented this? Z-products made adaptors for 688 bearings freakin 20 years ago about the same time they made Z-grooves(wheels), and the first Z-rollers (you know those) the guy at Ninja (at the tradeshow in A.C.) said there bearings were custom designed to be stronger, bullsh1t those bearings are so small,what could they possibly do? there is no room for any strengthening, will test them because they probabely are fast Z bearings were fast to.

 
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ABEC EfABEC
On 9/20/1999 Herbn wrote in from (207.198.nnn.nnn)

Grey,there is no black and white, there are really fast ABEC 3 and there are downright crummy 5's ,gotta test them to find out,the manufacturers don't want facts in the way of hype the sponcer real talented and somewhat twisted (in a good way)crazies and say,"see they won on our bearings"When I find a willing driver, I'm gonna do an impartial ,as scientific as I can be, bearing and wheel test ,on my dime and post it here.

 
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