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!!!