Best bearings for Riding in the rain?

[BlooBerry]

I know I am not supposed to ride in the rain but I live in a place where there can rain for 80+ days without stopping So I need to do what I can to prevent rusted bearings..
Any tips for preventing rust or good waterproof bearings?

[stringtheory]

Probably these.

8 Skateboard Bearing:Si3N4 Ceramic:Stainless:Sealed:ABEC-7:Ball Bearings:VXB

or these

8 Skateboard Stainless Ceramic Bearing Si3N4:Sealed:ABEC-5:Ball Bearings:VXB

Both have race ways made of stainless steel, silicon nitride ceramic balls, and 2 rubber seals. Pricey, but you asked.

Or for about the same price, buy bulk and throw them out when they rust.

100 ABEC-7 skateboard/inline Skate Bearings:Nylon:Sealed:Ball Bearings:VXB

[PhilFTW]

I remember seeing a set of full ceramic bearings. Every part of the set was ceramic, but I lost the link. I'm sure it's a quick google search away.

[stringtheory]

Full ceramic

[Rich Nelson]

I remember seeing a set of full ceramic bearings. Every part of the set was ceramic, but I lost the link. I'm sure it's a quick google search away.

only $320 per set!!


go with the massive amounts of cheap bearings (i've never paid over $10 for a set), even stainless steal/ceramics will require regular cleaning from sediment getting in there, and they can still break.

[PhilFTW]

Full ceramic

Nicely done! 8)

[Ogre]

As a rule.. full ceramic bearings are to be used when bearings are immersed in, or subjected to caustic and corrosive liquids. and the seals aren't exactly a good fit. Therefore grit will still get in. They are also not intended for much lateral stress.
Get cheap bearings..with good seals (a wee dab of grease) helps..but slows you down a bit.Maintaing them still needs be done. Or gettcha that big box o' bearings and toss 'em

[kraffft]

..(a wee dab of grease) helps..but slows you down a bit.

Been experimenting with grease for the past couple months, and roughly what Ogre says is what's worked the best.

That is, starting with clean bearings already lubed with light oil, putting a little dab of grease on the outer seal, and working the dab into the gap between the seal and the inner race. Then wiping off the excess.

That method has worked to keep bearings working at close to top performance through a lot of rain.

Packing the bearings completely with grease is noticeably slower, and doesn't keep water out any better. The majority of the grease seems to get eggbeatered out of the bearing actually.

Both white and green lithium grease have worked fine.

[killdozer]

I would be weary of full ceramic bearings. They will be more brittle than steel and not be able to handle a lot of abuse or constant lateral stress if you are sliding. For racing they would likely be fine but if you slide a lot and are gonna be slamming the board off curbs and whatnot you are asking for stress fractures and or shattering in the casings. Not necessarily the balls but the casing. Try a hybrid set with stainless casing and ceramic balls.

[Ogre]

Get his sealed ceramics
www.edsbearings.com

Pleasure tools makes great bearings, and fairly inexpensive..

[mbrinton91]

Been experimenting with grease for the past couple months, and roughly what Ogre says is what's worked the best.

That is, starting with clean bearings already lubed with light oil, putting a little dab of grease on the outer seal, and working the dab into the gap between the seal and the inner race. Then wiping off the excess.

So what exactly is the "outer seal" and "inner race", sorry for the noobism. I have a picture of a bearing here with a green line and a blue line where I'm thinking you might apply the grease - could you identify the parts / where to put the grease? Thanks

bearing.JPG
(click on the picture to get a larger version if you're having a hard time seeing the blue & green lines I marked)

[stringtheory]

p.s. Don't put grease on the outside at all. It will just attract dirt. Grease goes inside.

[mbrinton91]

p.s. Don't put grease on the outside at all. It will just attract dirt. Grease goes inside.

Allright sweet that was really useful - exactly what I was looking for. How do I put grease on the inside?

And @krafft - i assume by the seal you meant the shield?

And also, referring to the picture I posted - I guess the conclusion is that you put the grease where the blue line is, just on the inside?

[stringtheory]

A shield is made of metal and held in place with a c-clip along the inside grove of the outer race. A seal is rubber coated metal and holds itself in place within the grove of the outer race, and sometimes within the inner race as well.

The diagram mistakenly labels a seal a shield. For reference, the bearing picture you posted shows a bearing with seals.

To apply grease, remove the seal or shield and out a very small dab into the bearing onto the balls and retainer. But, do not do this to dirty bearings. If you plan on greasing them, clean them first.

[mbrinton91]

A shield is made of metal and held in place with a c-clip along the inside grove of the outer race. A seal is rubber coated metal and holds itself in place within the grove of the outer race, and sometimes within the inner race as well.

The diagram mistakenly labels a seal a shield. For reference, the bearing picture you posted shows a bearing with seals.

To apply grease, remove the seal or shield and out a very small dab into the bearing onto the balls and retainer. But, do not do this to dirty bearings. If you plan on greasing them, clean them first.

Ok - krafft was saying that just applying a little grease on the outside and working it into the gap between the inner race and the seal seemed to protect them from rust and keep them operating at near-normal speed.... this sounds ideal to me. But you're saying that attracts dirt - other than that, are there any other problems with applying it that way? Because looking at that diagram it seems like working grease into the gap between the inner race and seal and opening up the bearing and putting grease directly onto the balls and retainer accomplish two different things - but then again, I'm fairly noobish, so maybe I'm wrong.

Also, what type of grease should one use? Anyone know a good, cheap grease that does a good job of keeping out water & rust while still not slowing down the bearing very much? Someone recommended this grease on another thread, but that seems a bit much of a quantity and I'd like to pay less and buy a smaller bottle if I can:

Amazon.com: C105 10 Oz Motor Assmbly#03494...
Amazon.com: C105 10 Oz Motor Assmbly#03494...

[Abel]

skf industrial grade 608 with double rubber shields are probably the only bearings i've ever had to last the longest and never stop rolling. One set were in my gumballs which i used for like the first 2,5 years of longboarding and they stood up to such an extended abuse in rain, dust, sand you name it. they are fatted/greased so the roll isnt what you expect, but man these just wont die. The shields are "labyrint" type, what bones would charge you molto $$$ for, but these were like 20 euro a set, and as i said they took my beatings really well. Cleaned them in gasoline or paint solvent once not long ago then i let them dry, washed the seals and put them on, oiled em up and they are alive again. they have metal ballcages so those are sturdy as hell too. by far the most reliable bearings i've tried, only noticed this when i started buying more expensive "skate specific" bearings and they would just fail one after another. Not the fastest, or most quiet for that matter (mine sounded like a cargo train after two years) but by far the most reliable/sturdy.

i'm not that surprised come think of it these are made by a bearing manufacturer. basta. no kickflippers making bearing with flashy logos, this is pure engineering and i respect that when the results are this good. just my opinion, bash me all you want, but these bearings made me forget to save money for new ones...