Dirty Bearings

So its still raining up here, not a big shocker...only difference would be that APPARENTLY its raining buckets in California as well. On that note...last week we made rain wheels, and this week...I think its entirely appropriate to clean bearings. If you don't clean your bearings after taking this much abuse many things will happen, if they even spin in the first place. Plus, nobody likes melted cores either, and dirty bearings are the number 1 culprit for that. Here is the fastest, most effective way to clean your bearings that I have found. Feel free to comment with another method if you got one.

1) get a big ol can of gasoline (or another solvent...but gas works just fine) Bottles that are light in colour work best so you can see whats being released, make sure it has a lid.

2)If your bearings have shields that you can remove, its best to do that now

3) pop the bearings in the can, fasten the lid and get on shaking, swirling, stirring, doing whatever you want...just as long as your creating a somewhat vigorous motion to get the gunk out of your bearings. Repeat as often as necessary with fresh gas till you crack the lid and there is no more crap in the can.

4) if your lucky enough to have an air hose, dry those babies off. If your not lucky enough...spin em between your fingers as you pull them out to get out as much excess gasoline as possible.

5) get some speed cream, or another lubricant like sewing machine oil or transmission fluid and get a couple drops in there. Don't put too much in because you'll just drown them out and thats just slow.

6) Skate!

you can also get a high pressure can of break clean and spray directly into the bearing while its spinning between your fingers...just make sure you re-lubricate! It doesn't matter that they spin faster initially with no lube. Your going to destroy yourself if you keep skating dry bearings, okay?! okay.

So, I've been on Sector 9 for 4 years now...I can safely say after trying out all the different bearings they have, the ceramic race bearings have been my favorite cause they are hella fast off the line, run very smooth, and can tolerate the heat of a good long run... but a nice affordable alternative are the steel Platinum Series Bearings. They are good and smooth, easy to clean and are cheap enough to replace them if you're not taking care of them like you should be!

Have fun out there, and don't forget your helmets!!!

Rain Wheels

Surprise! It's raining in Vancouver!

For those of you that are following the downhill skateboard circuit, you would have seen that a couple weeks ago it rained buckets in Australia during Newtons Nation. Maybe you saw the video of me skating some runs in the wet, maybe you didn't... maybe you should (Katie skating Newtons in the Wet). Get to the point, you say? okay. Rain wheels. Life's a bitch when the road is wet...but not when you got a bunch of extra edges! In fact, if you go skating on somewhat sticky pavement in the wet with rain wheels...you can almost trick yourself that its dry!

How do you go about making rain wheels you ask?! Patience my friend, Im just about to tell you...

Step 1. Pick a wheel.

My favorite is the 78a Centre Set for grip and comfort while sliding. The nice thing about centre set is that because they are rotatable, you can wear them out all you want, almost to the core as long as you move them around your board like your supposed to...cut for rain or not. But beware, if your sliding lots...the edges of your new rain wheels are going to wear down so you gotta keep sharpening them or make new ones!

Step 2. Find someone with a lathe, preferably someone that actually knows how to use it and get all 4 wheels stacked together and mounted to the machine.

My Dad cuts my wheels for me, and he does it by getting a rod thats long enough to go through all four wheels, meeting with solid bases at both ends with the end of the rod threaded so that you can clamp the wheels with a nut (Think of clamping 4 bushings together using a king pin, 2 washers and a nut). Making sure that they are pinched tight is important cause you're dealing with heavy machinery and nobody likes hospitals.

Step 3. Get a sharpie...get the lathe spinning...Mark your path...

Experiment a little on what you think would work. If your dealing with heavy rain and deep puddles; you want deeper and wider grooves so that you can displace more water. This works best for freeriding in heavy rain areas and places where maximum speed is not your priority. However, if your dealing with just a wet surface, and are in a situation where you need maximum speed, having minimal depth and maximum sharp edges is probably your best bet. Remember that the more surface space you loose, the slower your wheel will roll.

Step 4. Using SHARP TOOLS, hack away at that wheel till your satisfied! Less is more kids...you don't want to over do it and destroy a hard earned set of wheels! (Best to experiment with worn out wheels first, plus they provide a better surface when they are scrubbed)

Don't have a lathe or access to one?! Thats cool and totally understandable...easy solution too.

Step 1: Find a serrated knife (any will do but serrated cuts hardcore!)

Step 2: Find a good, strong friend that can run

Step 3: Sit on your board cross-legged and get that knife into the surface of the wheel a bit...make sure the knife is straight and your holding on tight. Put your leathers on if your an idiot prone to cutting yourself.

Step 4: Find a mellow downhill slope to make it easy on your buddy and get 'em to grab on to your shoulders and push you forward...not stopping until you have a new edge.

Step 5: Repeat this process until your satisfied with your hack job...

Happy Skateboarding!

Morrow bay boardercross

A little video of the Sector 9 team hitting the Morrow bay Skatercross

G-Mack Takes a Win in Ohio!!!

The Soldiers of Speed Downhill race went down in Ohio last weekend and Georgy took the win with Louis following behind in second. Check out a little video of the action below, more to come!

Soldiers of Downhill 2010 DH Skateboard from Level 7 Longboarders on Vimeo.

Push for the Cure

We love the ladies in our lives, and its because of that Sector 9 team mates Mack Wacey and Skatie Katie hit up Push For The Cure this past weekend in support of the Canadian BreastCancer Foundation. 3 days of pushing from Hope to Stanley park over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend was a great way to show our support for those we care about. Follow them for a day and night as they both (mostly Mack actually) commited their time to being "Assholes" on the road.

The Crew heading out of hope

boards all set to go with the assholes only stop sign

Mack Attack puts on a smile early in the morning before headin out on the road

small view of a big crew he was watching over and keeping safe on the roads

3 whole days of this! Many people driving by offered lots of support and encouragement

Thanksgiving dinner of Burgers and Pizza... perfect!

Yeah...we thought it was a good idea too

Doesn't matter where you go...there is always going to be campsite mayhem

Dual Durometer

Now she may not be the wheel killing machine that some of the big boys out there are, but we still think Skatie Katie has a better handle on urethane than the majority of the general population. With that being said, enjoy as our little lady does her first run ever on a fresh, out of the package set of 74mm 78a(white)/86a(pink) dual durometer lipped wheels at Giants Head and gives us a colourful commentary of the first things coming to her mind as she heads down the hill.