Ceramic Bearings

[carve&slide007]

I just got some ceramic bearings. Should I treat these differently than normal bearings? What about cleaning them? Any knowledge at all on ceramic bearings would be sweet.

[Ogre]

Don't slam them..They work best for street carving downhill slalom..But I've found rough treatment ie: jolts like bad transistions and such, harm them! No lube needed (a wee bit don't hurt.)

[nateisgreat9]

Don't slam them..They work best for street carving downhill slalom..But I've found rough treatment ie: jolts like bad transistions and such, harm them! No lube needed (a wee bit don't hurt.)

No lube needed are you on crack? Way to say goodbye to nice ceramice bearings.

Hey carve&slide what kind of ceramics do you have?White ceramic sucks, dark grey (black) ceramic is of much higher quality. Many people use ceramics at skate parks and street. So hard landings are fine. I really have no idea what that guy above me is talking about. Ceramic bearings are just higher quality. Just clean them when ever you feel they need to be cleaned. But do clean them. I have heard of people having thiers for
3+ years. And seriously, lubricate all your bearings. They will last longer and perform better.

[Ogre]

No lube needed are you on crack? Way to say goodbye to nice ceramice bearings.

Hey carve&slide what kind of ceramics do you have?White ceramic sucks, dark grey (black) ceramic is of much higher quality. Many people use ceramics at skate parks and street. So hard landings are fine. I really have no idea what that guy above me is talking about. Ceramic bearings are just higher quality. Just clean them when ever you feel they need to be cleaned. But do clean them. I have heard of people having thiers for
3+ years. And seriously, lubricate all your bearings. They will last longer and perform better.

Hee Hee Hee! you are a newb ..correct?

[HerBDerb]

No lube needed are you on crack? Way to say goodbye to nice ceramice bearings.

Well, first off silicon nitride balls are much, much harder and stiffer than steel, so they basically grind up any thing that gets in the bearing. They are naturally smoother so they have a lower coefficient of friction, and they also have extremely low thermal expansion, so if somehow they even manage to get hot, it won't affect them so there won't be any sudden bearing failure. Hence the "no lube needed", but a little bit won't hurt.
And Dave is kind of right about no slamming them, but I don't really think we encounter large enough forces, within skateboarding, to break them.

[EBasil]

Even the "white ball" ceramics are more durable and can be faster than the same bearing with steel balls. Because they're ceramic, you can lube them with lighter oil, but you can treat them like any bearing. Clean them when they're dirty, to keep them fast, and lube them lightly.

Noah Sakamoto won the IGSA North American Championships in 2006, riding white-ball, hybrid ceramic bearings that many people find on eBay. I've posted about them as "eBay ceramics" or "KMart ceramics". Sakamoto was faster on the descent and through the corner than IGSA Champion Tom Edstrand, and everyone else on their uber-bearings of choice. He rode like a magician, too, but with no lack of speed...

[Ogre]

Let me clarify..I never said "Don't Lube" I stated none was needed! I agree to treat them as any quality bearing ie" cleaning etc... There are several on the market that are "coated" and not top notch "truly" ceramic...Great bearings just the same!

[BetterSense]

Lube is optional on ceramics. Only use it if you are sure it won't attract dirt, and you use it in conjuction with good seals.

[davidp]

bearings don't really matter as long as they are clean and well-lubed. the bearings we use in skateboards were designed for machinery where the RPMs involved are MUCH higher than how fast a skateboard wheel is spinning, even at 60+mph. Noah, a good buddy of mine, rips, and would have won that race on any bearings. the only difference the ceramics make, as already stated is they last longer, don't heat up as much, and i've found don't rust over when riding in the rain.
besides that advantage, i think blowing $$ on ceramic bearings is stupid, if you're that concerned about going fast and having less friction, work on your tuck, get tighter leathers, get precision trucks with strait axles and high quality urethane.

've riddden reflex 9 ball ceramic bearings, and rode ninja ceramics($160 retail) to 1st place in the texas sizzle downhill and could not tell ANY difference between that bearing and anything else that isclean and properly lubed. as i said earlier, the speeds we are hitting on skateboards are in no way limited by the spinning of the bearings.

[EBasil]

anything clean and well lubed.

A bachelor with standards, I see. All good.

[king edward]

Hi......................................Hyper..... .............................Hypermediocrity...

[SgtSparkles]

bearings don't really matter as long as they are clean and well-lubed. the bearings we use in skateboards were designed for machinery where the RPMs involved are MUCH higher than how fast a skateboard wheel is spinning, even at 60+mph. Noah, a good buddy of mine, rips, and would have won that race on any bearings. the only difference the ceramics make, as already stated is they last longer, don't heat up as much, and i've found don't rust over when riding in the rain.
besides that advantage, i think blowing $$ on ceramic bearings is stupid, if you're that concerned about going fast and having less friction, work on your tuck, get tighter leathers, get precision trucks with strait axles and high quality urethane.

've riddden reflex 9 ball ceramic bearings, and rode ninja ceramics($160 retail) to 1st place in the texas sizzle downhill and could not tell ANY difference between that bearing and anything else that isclean and properly lubed. as i said earlier, the speeds we are hitting on skateboards are in no way limited by the spinning of the bearings.

exactly abec 9's on routers(essentially the same bearing) are rated for 30,000 plus rpms.
are you saying you can hit that, hell no.

if you clean them they will fly

[rwadley]

white ball ceramics are fast, but they can chip if you ride them where impact is common (street or transition skating). and once one ball starts chipping, the other balls in that bearing start chipping. mine did last over a year, though. I have had black ball ceramics over a year now and have no problems with them.

[SgtSparkles]

the problem isn't the balls breaking it's that little thing that holds the balls i always break the thing

[rwadley]

the balls chipped on mine. bones sells replacement seals and crowns.