Longboard Bearings, Lube & Cleaner

The Ball Bearing is the skateboard or longboard's roll speed. Bearings are the determining factor for how fast you get to go and for how long your board will roll. Some of the faster bearings for longboards like the Bones Swiss Original Bearings or the Bones Super Swiss 6 Ball Bearings will both last a long time and roll very quickly. Another very durable bearing is the Bones Reds Bearing. These are great for the skateboarder that is going to thrash his or her board in the pool or the park. Bearings for longboards that are good for downhill longboarding include the Zealous Bearings as they have built in bearing spacers and speed rings allowing you to lock your wheels down tighter than usual to minimize play and slop. Use skateboard lube and bearings cleaner to clean and maintain your bearings for a longer healthier life. For the best clean use a Sonic Citrus Cleaner and the Bones Speed Cream Solutions.These will remove dirt and lubricate your longboard bearings so they are good as new.

If you want a smoother faster ride the quickest way to do it is to upgrade your bearings. Most bearings are stainless steel with rubber shields. The shield keeps out most of the dirt from the road, but is not 100% effective. Some bearings are made with ceramic. Ceramic has less friction allowing the bearing to spin faster and last longer. These bearings are the most durable, the fastest, and the most expensive. If you are racing and need the extra speed then the Bones Swiss Ceramic bearings will be your best bet, but for the rest of us the Bones Super Swiss 6 Ball Bearings are as fast as you can get without being ceramic. 

Bearings are the one part of the longboard that requires active maintenance. Bearings get dirty fairly easy, and if they get wet they will rust. Skateboarding in the rain is usually a bad call due to the bearings rusting. If you do happen to go through rain or if you have a large build up of dirt it is a good idea to clean and maintain the bearings. You can do this by removing the bearings from the wheels, letting them soak in some bearings cleaner like our Citrus Cleaner, then drying them off and lubing them up with a Bones Speed Cream. Bearing maintenance is something you should consider doing (depending on frequency of riding) every couple weeks to every month. If you happen to forget or do not have the tools to clean your bearings don't fret. You can always wear them out and then buy a new set of bearings.