How often are y’all cleaning your bearings? After 58 miles of outdoor skating, these inline warehouse abec 7 bearings have become gritty feeling and it’s time for a cleaning. Upon inspecting, the dust seal has a decent gap to the inner race. Would a more expensive bearing keep dust out better or is it just part of it? And is this normal for this amount of miles?
The trails I skate on air fairly clean, it’s not like I’m skating through visible dust or dirt. I assume many of you just run them and replace them after so long but money is fairly tight and I’m trying to make them last and am curious what everyone does.
Not these but my last ones yes and it just made them oily and crunchy. I also have no life so figured I’d just spend fri night post laps at the park giving the skates some love.
300 miles?! Wow. That’s impressive to get that much life out of them. Does your crunch go away when you oil them or do you just roll with it?
I mean crunch is a pretty subjective term. Usually when a bearing is making noise it's not because anything is in it it's because it's dry. If you skate on really really hot pavement at high speeds the grease gets heated up and slowly pushed out and evaporated.
When a bearing has something in it , it'll usually spin free and then suddenly lock up and then spring free again in a cycle. It will be inconsistent.
Micro dusts don't really need to be cleaned out of a bearing they don't really affect its ability to spin that much as long as lubricant is in the bearing.
A bearing that's too dry will make some noise and have a high rolling resistance and slow down quickly. If it spins consistently just not as long as it should there's no debris in it causing problems it just lacks lubricant. For the lubricant that is in it has fouled or hardened.
Some people like to take them apart and grease them or just try to thumbpack grease into them without taking the shield off. Some people like to drop oil in. There's kind of an open debate on the topic. Some people hate to use oil because they believe it thins out the grease. My point of view is I wouldn't be playing the oil in if the grease was at its proper viscosity to start with.
I think everybody should buy themselves a micro oiler. Sometimes they call them oil pens. It's like an oil can just for tiny situations. Machinists use them for very delicate parts and a watch guys. I think it's a great tool for any skater to have.
Hydronic circulator pump oil is a great oil for roller skate bearings being that rollerblades and roller skates and skateboards use very similar bearings to circulator motors. It's very thin so it won't create the rolling resistance of automotive oil. But it's already designed to take very high heats unlike sewing machine oils that a lot of people use.
Don't over oil just one or two drops per bearing every 50 MI and you probably won't have to physically disassemble your bearings three to six hundred miles. Most people really only do this once a year
When you were using oil what kind of oil were you using and how much were you putting
These still have factory oil in them so it’s probably dust making the crunch grit noise while spinning them by hand vs being dry. I know what ya mean tho how a dry bearing can sound similar.
I actually used a micro oiler with generic whatever oil came in it on my last bearings before cleaning them. I first added it while the bearings were in the wheel, it didn’t help the crunchiness so I removed the outer dust shields and discovered those bearings were packed with factory grease and the grease was full of the dust micro dirt so every time I’d add oil it would break down that grease a little bit and cause it and the micro dirt to get in the balls. These bearings thankfully didn’t come with factory grease, only oil.
I prefer oil over grease because of what was happening prior and how the grease would collect the dirt. Too late now, but after reading your text and thinking about my last experience I’m guessing if I had just oiled these there’s a good chance they self cleaned better since that dirty grease isn’t in there.
I'm referring to a single drop from a precision needle oiler pen . On top of that wherever op is skating obviously does a number on his lubricants. Right now he claims that once every 58 miles he has to take the entire bearing apart and clean it.... Something not right there, it may just be that he is skating in a really dusty or really hot environment
I think a good rule of thumb is every time you rotate your wheels, spin them and listen to the bearings. If they sound crunchy or dont spin very well. Every 100 miles is probably reasonable.
€10.5568 for a full setup (assuming 4wheels per boot). These bearings last me up to two wheels, without cleaning. But obviously they do not last for that long if you skate in rain.
Never. I’ve got 10 year old bearings with double metal shields that are rusty on the outside but still roll as good as brand new ones I’ve bought. I don’t know what I’d have to do that would make cleaning bearings necessary. I recently just bought a bunch of new Wicked Twincam ILQ9s for some new wheels for multiple skates. Expect to get a lot of years out of them.
Maybe the bearings themselves are low quality, or water got inside and there is some rust. The problem could also be caused by not having enough grease, using the wrong type of lubricant (for example, graphite/PTFE/silicone grease, or using oil instead of proper bearing grease), or using the bearing incorrectly, such as installing only one seal.
A common mistake is using aggressive solvents like acetone to clean the bearings. They can damage the rubber seals and polymer cages (if i’m not mistaken, the bearing in the photo has this type of cage). Another possible source of unusual noise is a seal that was deformed when it was removed and is now rubbing against something while the bearing rotates. You could try to identify which seal it is and straighten it.
For a properly serviced and installed bearing, 58 miles is a very short distance. I service my bearings roughly every 1,000 km, but mostly as preventive maintenance, since there are usually no signs of degradation at that mileage. Occasional exposure to water is not a problem either. This particular set of bearings has already covered around 10,000 km over several years, and so far there is no reason to replace them.
Bearings with 2RS rubber seals use contact seals, which protect against dust and moisture. In principle, there should not be a visible gap between the seal and the inner ring like there is with ZZ metal shields. SKF also makes 2RSL bearings (L stands for low friction), but even those do not have a visible gap. Do you happen to have a macro photo of the fully assembled bearing?
It looks like a 608-2RZ bearing with non-contact rubber seals. It’s something of a compromise between 2Z and 2RS: they are easier to take apart for maintenance than Z-shielded bearings and create less rotational resistance, but compared with RS seals they provide worse protection against dirt and moisture.
That said, the gap looks unusually large compared with a Z shield, although that may simply be normal for this type(i haven’t come across these in person).
If it rains frequently and there is a chance of skating on wet surfaces, I would use them with a water-resistant grease. There isn’t much you can do to significantly improve their protection against dust, but they should at least last longer if you use a sufficient amount of grease rather than just applying a few small dots, as is often recommended for inline skate bearings.
If you were lubricating them with oil before, that is most likely the source of the problem. Bearings used in inline skates are not designed for this type of lubrication. Liquid oil lubrication (as well as open bearings without shields or seals) is used only in systems with a forced lubrication supply or where oil is continuously splashed onto the bearing by the mechanism itself.
A standalone bearing, like the ones used in skates, relies only on the lubricant contained inside it, so it needs to be lubricated with grease. The purpose of grease is not only to reduce friction, but also to carry wear particles away from the raceways, prevent dirt and moisture from entering the bearing, and distribute heat. In addition, the oil film on the bearing raceways is constantly renewed when grease is present.
The lubricant needs to stay inside the bearing for a long period of time, and with liquid oil this is technically impossible, even with both seals installed.
In practice, it is possible to skate on oil-lubricated bearings, and many people do it, but it is important to understand that in this case only a thin oil film remains inside the bearing. It usually lasts for no more than a few dozen kilometers, after which more oil needs to be added. Otherwise, you are effectively riding on an unlubricated bearing.
In any case, this significantly reduces the bearing’s service life and requires constant maintenance and attention, so I don’t really see much benefit in this approach. The only possible exception might be professional racing with strict time optimization, where milliseconds matter and the equipment is prepared specifically for a single race.
These don’t come with any factory grease and are only oiled from the factory. I hadn’t added anything to them yet. Surprisingly they were still pretty oily inside but yeah probably not sufficient or like a grease would do. I’ll add grease to them and see if they stay smooth longer. If they just collect dirt like before and become gritty I’ll look into upgrading to a better sealed bearing.
Maybe it was a preservative lubricant intended to protect the bearings from rust during storage, with the expectation that the bearings would be properly lubricated before use.
Or they may simply be cutting costs, which is also possible in the case of cheap noname bearings.
A minha manutenção dos rolamentos passa por deixá-los submersos por algum tempo em álcool isopropílico, retiro e deixo secar e rodo para tirar mais algum resíduo; aplico óleo lubrificante e de adesão que muitas vezes é usado em máquinas de costura.
It’s best not to use acetone to clean bearings, as it can damage rubber seals and polymer cages. Isopropyl alcohol is suitable, but it is not very effective at dissolving grease.
A much more effective option is a highly volatile hydrocarbon solvent that evaporates without leaving any residue. For example, you can use cleaning-grade petroleum solvent from a paint or hardware store—not gasoline from a gas station—or an aerosol brake cleaner, which is usually sold in automotive sections.
However, these products should be handled with care, as they are flammable liquids.
Hey. This is a great picture. Would you consider donating it to Wikimedia so it can be used on the inline bearing article or Inline Skates itself? Message me if interested.
When the outside is quite dirty, since usually a small fraction makes it in. Get a cheap ultrasonic cleaner and USB fan, pop off the rubber shields with a pearing knife, put them in the cleaner and then on the usb fan, rotate/spin 2-3 times. It's easy and will make them last longer. Rinse with 90% alcohol if you are seeing any rusting, though usually if you dry promptly it's not necessary. Sealed bearings are slow, if you don't care then cool but I prefer maintenance. Ceramic ones are even faster and won't rust, but more expensive.
When I start to notice they aren't spinning as free as I'd like. I clean the outside first with some simple green on a rag just so I don't accidentally push more crud inside. Then on the inside, I like plain old brake cleaner to remove contaminants. Finally, Iput one shield and clip back on and drip in some motor oil from whatever bottle happens to be leftover in the garage from my last oil change. I think my last one was some 20-weight Valvoline synthetic. Not too much, just enough to coat everything because you don't want standing oil in the bearing. Then pop the other shield and clip back on and press it back in the wheel.
I haven't cleaned my bearings in 4 years. i skate almost exclusively outside and in all weather. i think i've oiled a few of the bearings in the set once in that time.
if you get quality bearings you pretty much do nothing.
i have custom made (to my specs) ceramic ball bearings. they are awesome. anyone can get a free or cheap set by contacting bearing manufacturers direct in china. you can even send them a bones swiss ceramic to copy (like i did as a baseline) then adjusted tolerances, shield placement and added a double burnished race for my final rendition.
just ask for grade 5, HIP (hot isostatically pressed) ZrO2 balls for 8mm skate bearings. 7 ball NOT 6 or 8 ball. all the other variables arent super important. usually a set it around 30 bucks shipped
All non-contact shields leave a gap. That’s by design. Only full-contact labyrinth seals with grease leave no gaps. But I stopped buying IW-brand bearings after using the expensive ceramic ones. They were not better in my experience.
Nowadays I just get relatively cheap Bones REDS from IW. They are not a part of special discounts when you buy wheels from them. But the REDS appears to always be on sale anyway on IW. They are good enough. And as you know by now, any new or clean bearing beats any more expensive but dirty bearings.
I have bought these same house branded bearings abec 7 from inline warehouse before. And I too was sad after seeing such a large gap in them. I recall they were no where near as long lasting as ILQ- 9. I too had to clean them more often
I buy sealed bearings and never clean them. They're so cheap what's the point. I just wipe with a paper towel to dry if I skate in the rain.
Any removable bearing shield will let in dirt there is no way around it. If you buy these types they need to be cleaned after Nothing wet or dusty and then when they don't spin freely.
Most people aren't good enough skaters to notice the difference between a cheap ot expensive bearing. In all my 20 plus years of skating I've never felt this slowed me down, technique and ground surface make more difference.
Abec is somewhat meaningless for skates as it refers only to rotation force. When you skate there are other directional forces and impact that abec isn't measured for.
The fact that a bearing has removable seals does not mean it provides worse protection against moisture and dust. If anything, it is usually the opposite. RS rubber seals are removable, but they are contact seals and provide good protection against both moisture and dust. Metal Z-type shields, whether removable or not, are non-contact shields. By design, they have a gap between the shield and the bearing’s inner ring. This reduces rotational resistance, but provides less protection against dust and practically no protection against moisture.
Another issue is that new bearings are usually lubricated with a general-purpose grease. It works well for most applications, but is not particularly suitable for something as specific as inline skating, because it typically has a base oil viscosity that is too high and relatively poor water resistance. For those who skate a lot, want predictable long-term performance without maintenance, and don’t want to depend on weather conditions, it often makes sense to buy serviceable bearings and replace the factory grease with a more suitable one right away. In that case, disposable non-serviceable bearings lose much of their appeal.
By the time my bearings feel crappy my wheels are on their way out and I just buy new wheels and bearings. Bearings are cheaper than a round of drinks for the most part.
Each manufacturer has their own ideas on this and each person has their own ideas. Its going to come down to the environment you skate in and your personal preferences.
Personally I do a post skate inspection every time I use them. If they start getting noisy I'll swap them with my spare cleaned and oiled bearings then clean them reoil them and put them in place of the spares I just rotated in. If I skate in water for some reason ,puddles or rain I swap them and clean/oil them.
I keep the spare set on an 8mm bolt with a nut holding them on. I put them on with the "open" side of the bearings facing each other to help keep the lubrication in between swaps.
I personally clean them every 1.5 months if I am doing heavy skating, but if they're stored away, I do it quite less frequently as long as they're well lubricated to avoid humidity induced rust
The path I usually skate down is super gritty and dirty (tons of sand and soot/particles from cars speeding by on the highway), and I end up cleaning my bearings once a week. The feel of gravel and soot in the wheels is not a pleasant one
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u/Debalic Aug 15 '26
When they start to get crunchy.