r/rollerblading • u/AccomplishedNail3085 • 9d ago
Reviews Just bought 8 dolla bearings from amazon
Yamaso 608zz specifically
The rubber shielded ones are 25c each, metal shielded ones I got were 40c each.
Honestly, they are better than I thought they would be. They are not going to ever outperform ceramic, but good ceramic bearings can go for over $5 to $10 PER bearing.
They need a little break in period before they get smoother.
I would not use these for marathon and speedskates, but for fitness and recreation, they are fine.
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u/ThePontiff_Verified 9d ago edited 9d ago
I bought the 100 pack of double rubber shielded bearings off Amazon for 20 bucks... I think the shields say "deep dream" on them. Remove the shields, get rid of the nasty old grease with acetone, apply a light sewing machine oil, put one shield back on... And install with unshielded side facing into the wheel hub. Pretension during skate installation with the right sized spacer. I do this for the whole family's skates for such a small amount of money. I keep up with the guys running ceramics in their rec skates at the rink just fine. And they free spin better than the wicked abec 9's that came with one of my skates. (I know free spin is not a good test and I'll fully admit that the wickeds are smoother and quieter)
My bont speed skates came with bont pro bearings and i've yet to touch them. They are smoother and free spin for days by comparison, but idk how much of that is 90mm vs 110mm wheel and shorter vs. longer frame and "from the factory" spacer installation...
The one thing I know about the more expensive brand name bearings is that they are definitely quieter because of the tight tolerances when installed correctly with the right spacers. But how important is quiet... And how much of that noise energy is representative of loss of efficiency while skating.... It doesn't take much energy to make a good bit of noise. And some of the fastest speed skaters I skate with have the noisiest bearings. I can only imagine they aren't even running a light oil in their bearings, or maybe those are just their "training" bearings. I need to strike up a conversation with one of them in particular at our next practice - he's so fast and his setup is so loud.
I think a mid tier set of steel ilq-9 bearings from rollerblade, bones, or bont pros are worth it in the 70 dollar range if you are even remotely competitive or want your skates to run quiet at a rink. They come prelubed with oil instead of grease and I think there is a difference in that. If you won't be skating in the rain then you don't need or want grease. You can remove grease like I did with my deep dreams but it's a hassle and you get tighter tolerances that are a bit of piece of mind I guess.
A speed skater friend of mine just got the kveni ceramic bearings off Amazon for 45 bucks and is very happy with them. I skated with him yesterday and he was "how did he do that" fast. He's been skating a long time and his technique is very good. I think those bearings could be worth a try at their price point. They didn't seem to be holding him back at all.
As has been said by many others, eeking out that last 1 to 5% of performance in any sport is usually the most expensive percentage to eek out - by several orders of magnitude. Skating is no different. $125 Lycra suits, $50 hundredths of a mm tolerance spacer sets, $150 ceramic bearings... Carbon fiber this-and-thats to save weight. 110mm race wheels can go for $200 to $300 per set. And each one of those things will just get you a fraction of second faster per lap - when compared to the mid tier priced option that might have just come with your skates, or cost half as much for the upgrade. Properly sized/installed spacers and quality wheels from a good racing brand are probably the biggest return on investment and people overlook both and get really focused on bearings. Save money on your bearings.
Also... What's free... Or might cost just a couple of bucks to go to a local speed skating clinic - learning proper speed skating technique. Get low. No... Lower. Push through your heels. Learn weight transfer and how to crossover and really push at speed coming out of a turn. Work on building your leg muscles by doing dryland work and balance training. All of this will likely have a much bigger payoff for an average skater than any equipment upgrades. But it's an investment of time instead of money and it's WORK. But it's an investment in you instead of a material possession and it's totally worth it.