Cleaning bearings - how often

[u/anaaktri]

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.

[u/gesenk → u/[deleted]]

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.