what are my chances?

**Sk8Guy31** · 11-11-2009 02:10 PM

Today I was talking to my friend about how to clean bearings and he was saying that taking them out of the wheel and taking the shields of can damage them and ruin them in the end and he cleans his bearings by taking them off the board and spraying WD-40 onto the bearing without even taking them out then spinning them "so the dirt comes out". Of course I said he was wrong abut he wouldent listen. He also seems to think that a higher ABEC bearing will spin faster but are much easier to break?
So, we made a bet that whoevers bearings break first from riding has to buy the other a set of bones ceramics... do you think I have the best chance of winning? I'm tempted to buy a new set of my bearings to I could replace any that broke just incase.

**snozzboarder55** · 11-11-2009 02:13 PM

wd-40 is good for cleaning grease out, but you need to get some bearing lube in there afterwards. without any lube in there the wd-40 will seize your bearings.

**Sk8Guy31** · 11-11-2009 02:28 PM

**urbs** · 11-11-2009 04:18 PM

I never clean my bearings

**AFTT** · 11-11-2009 04:27 PM

I ride my bearings till they die.

Then, I resurrect them and ride them again.

**Bookworm** · 11-11-2009 04:32 PM

so this is "proper maintenance vs. wd-40" fight?

**Old Guy** · 11-11-2009 04:47 PM

**Trevonator** · 11-11-2009 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by urbs

I never clean my bearings

Amen brother

**cawlin** · 11-11-2009 06:01 PM

3-in-1 oil is what I use.
When I do clean them...which isn't often.

**Brute379** · 11-11-2009 06:35 PM

Your chances are good.

Maintaining your bearings is a two step process, cleaning and lubing.
There is not a single product that will do both.

Only by removing the shields can you properly clean bearings.

Use a solvent to clean....citrus based is good, mineral spirits works well.

Use a light oil to lube. gun oil, 3 in 1, triflow, etc. Grease can be used and may be preferable during the wet season..

**rodgon** · 11-12-2009 12:03 AM

WD 40 will corrode the Urathane. if you want your core to come apart from the rest of the wheel keep using that.

WD 40 is BAAAAAD for URATHANE WHEELS... DONT USE IT

**Bit Of A Trip** · 11-12-2009 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Old Guy

I don't know why he would even lube anything but his bearings

I use lithium grease on the pivot cup insides. It makes my trucks nice and quiet. I've also put some on my bushing before, just to stop squeaking.

No more squeaks, and no detrimental effect

But, mama says "WD-40 is the devil."

**jsweriduk** · 11-12-2009 02:49 PM

Depends on your weight and how you two ride, and the speed of the hills. Just be careful when putting your bearings back in. If you do it wrong you can dent the shield, which may or may not break them, resulting in you possibly losing. I have never heard of a bearing breaking besides seizing up from no lube, or being banged into a wheel incorrectly which caused the shield to be damaged. WD-40 alone does not clean your bearings. If you want to win, ride in the rain with him as much as you can, and clean your bearings properly after each rain session. Hopefully his will end up seizing first, not from rust, but from all the sand from the rain. Could be months down the road

**Zap** · 11-12-2009 06:28 PM

Your friend is an idiot; you've got this in the bag.

**AntonL** · 11-12-2009 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by jsweriduk

Depends on your weight and how you two ride, and the speed of the hills. Just be careful when putting your bearings back in. If you do it wrong you can dent the shield, which may or may not break them, resulting in you possibly losing. I have never heard of a bearing breaking besides seizing up from no lube, or being banged into a wheel incorrectly which caused the shield to be damaged. WD-40 alone does not clean your bearings. If you want to win, ride in the rain with him as much as you can, and clean your bearings properly after each rain session. Hopefully his will end up seizing first, not from rust, but from all the sand from the rain. Could be months down the road

fantastic plan, rain will rust them quick too and if he doesnt take his shields off that rust will stay in there and kill his races.

Basically you won.
btw if you ride in the rain put some thick grease in there, lithium grease works nice and doesnt slow you down at all in my experience

**Sk8Guy31** · 11-13-2009 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by AntonL

fantastic plan, rain will rust them quick too and if he doesnt take his shields off that rust will stay in there and kill his races.

Basically you won.
btw if you ride in the rain put some thick grease in there, lithium grease works nice and doesnt slow you down at all in my experience

this is what I was thinking. I dont use the shields on the inside of my bearings so I dont think that I need to worry about them denting. I went skating on very wet ground today in very wet conditions since my sliding gloves arrived on wed and iot has been raining basicaly the whole time ant it s supposed to continue till next wed and I have been waiting to use my new slide gloves for 3 days. no succes with my colemans yet cant get my wheels to break free (using O'tangs in heats, orange if you have any hints, going to borrow some of my friends krypto's). anyways I checked and no water even touched the bearings.

I'm thinkin bout geting some o'that grease bu not sure where I can get it and I need some more acetone b4 I can clean my bearings anyways

**AntonL** · 11-13-2009 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by Sk8Guy31

this is what I was thinking. I dont use the shields on the inside of my bearings so I dont think that I need to worry about them denting. I went skating on very wet ground today in very wet conditions since my sliding gloves arrived on wed and iot has been raining basicaly the whole time ant it s supposed to continue till next wed and I have been waiting to use my new slide gloves for 3 days. no succes with my colemans yet cant get my wheels to break free (using O'tangs in heats, orange if you have any hints, going to borrow some of my friends krypto's). anyways I checked and no water even touched the bearings.

I'm thinkin bout geting some o'that grease bu not sure where I can get it and I need some more acetone b4 I can clean my bearings anyways

you can just use alcohol to clean the bearings some 94% or even 70%. and the grease you can just buy at like an Autozone or some autoparts store. even try walmart they carry everything these days.
Id suggest keeping both shields cuz it will keep the grease in the bearings, and riding in the rain gets water everywhere!

**Sk8Guy31** · 11-13-2009 03:17 PM

I live in the UK so I dont have most of these shops but I might have a look in halfords (:

also the main reason i dont put both shields in is because 2 of the shields were bent when my board arrived and some of the c-rings flew away when I was removing them. I still have about 5-6 spare rings and at least 4 spare shields.

**Ogre** · 11-13-2009 03:35 PM

WD stands for "water displacement" It is not a lubricant!!! Water is slippery for a time, but isn't a "lubricant" and WD 40 will eat away at oil based materials

**AntonL** · 11-13-2009 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by Sk8Guy31

I live in the UK so I dont have most of these shops but I might have a look in halfords (:

also the main reason i dont put both shields in is because 2 of the shields were bent when my board arrived and some of the c-rings flew away when I was removing them. I still have about 5-6 spare rings and at least 4 spare shields.

oh haha i see, yea any auto parts store will have it or just search like amazon.com for lithium grease.
having shields off on one side much of a problem just helps so you should be fine