rustless bearings?

**tomahawk** · 10-17-2007 09:25 PM

i was walking back from class today (cuz of the damn rain!) and an idea came to my head. the problem with rain (besides stuff getting into your bearings easier) is rust. if it werent for rust, i could run my cheap ass bearings a lot longer wihtout ever cleaning them.

now, how to avoid rust? oil helps, but gets displaced eventually, and it's too much work to attempt to keep the water out.

then it hit me: why not use a sacrificial anode? i'm sure you could rig a wire to the inner race of each bearings (doesnt spin much anyways right?),then hook that up to a sactifical anode taped to the bottom of your deck or some ####. (reading material http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrificial_anode).

once i start working in my lab and can start jacking cool materials imma experiment with this! any thoughts, am i a complete idiot and missing something? the only problem i can think of is that the contact between the balls and the inner race might not be very good, so once a little bit of rust slows conduction through the bearing, it'll just rust more and more.

**ryanredbaron** · 10-17-2007 09:45 PM

I was thinking about something like hub caps? A piece of metal cut in a circle that fits around the axle and goes to the outer reaches of the wheel? Just an idea

**Lyferemixed** · 10-17-2007 09:49 PM

ah, a fellow chemistry aficionado...

you would have to get the voltage/current just right so as to prevent the short-circuiting (aka rust)

it would be too cumbersome I would think, I'm researching teflon bushings right now for my next build

**aaronaftershock** · 10-17-2007 09:50 PM

You could try running the inner plastic piece of Grind King Rimz..

They seem like they cover the bearing nicely when they're cranked on right.

**tomahawk** · 10-17-2007 09:53 PM

Originally Posted by Lyferemixed

ah, a fellow chemistry aficionado...

you would have to get the voltage/current just right so as to prevent the short-circuiting (aka rust)

it would be too cumbersome I would think, I'm researching teflon bushings right now for my next build

we'll see how bored i get later this year. and/or how much it rains

even if covering one bearing could work well (which it doesnt when its REALLY wet out), you can't do the same to the inner one.

i want to be able to go in the wet and not care =p

**stuff** · 10-17-2007 09:53 PM

Skookum bearings

full stainless steal, clean them with soap and water. there rad so far, used them in the rain 3 or 4 times now. only 40 bucks, Ross is going to try to hit 160kmh on them with his luge in brazil, wont doubt it happening at all.

**Mile_High_Mark** · 10-17-2007 09:54 PM

Pack them with grease.

**SteveC** · 10-17-2007 09:56 PM

tape the outside of the wheel closed and run grease on the outside of the inner bearing

**green bull** · 10-17-2007 09:57 PM

grind king rimz help somewhat

i just take a air compressor and spray of all the water in the bearing only takes like 2 seconds

maybe you could make like a floating guard that is attached to the board does not move and kinda hovers infront of the wheel
im not sure how you would acomodate for the back of the wheel though

**Slim** · 10-17-2007 09:58 PM

never mind. everyone covered what i was going to say before i could finish writing my post, ha!

**Lyferemixed** · 10-17-2007 10:03 PM

idk, i still think it wouldn't be too hard to cut two tubes of teflon and epoxy one to the wheel hub and the other covering the axle. teflon on teflon, and almost no need for lubricant. expensive maybe

skating has been around for a while, yet we still use ball bearing technology from the days of yore

(at least the steel bb tech)

**David H** · 10-17-2007 10:49 PM

full ceramics don't rust.

**Tai** · 10-19-2007 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by Eugene Pooneil

full ceramics don't rust.

But damn who wants to shell out like $400. Plus running full ceramic isn't too good for skateboarding, we jump off curbs, hit some rocky roads and such. The full ceramics would break a lot easier than the hybrids.

**Tai** · 10-19-2007 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by stuff

Skookum bearings

full stainless steal, clean them with soap and water. there rad so far, used them in the rain 3 or 4 times now. only 40 bucks, Ross is going to try to hit 160kmh on them with his luge in brazil, wont doubt it happening at all.

Now where do we find these bearings? I did a web search and it wasn't too conclusive

**Wells** · 10-19-2007 10:22 AM

All stainless or stainless/ceramic would do it.

**stuff** · 10-19-2007 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Tai

Now where do we find these bearings? I did a web search and it wasn't too conclusive

my shop has 3 or 4 sets left. $40 per set, PM me if your intrested, ill put them on our website soon.

**Longbord1** · 10-19-2007 01:48 PM

FYI: "ceramic" is stronger than steel by far.

**robert borek** · 10-19-2007 04:44 PM

whats the difference between atb bearings and skate bearings other than the atb's are bigger? 'cause they dont rust and they get ridden through mud and rain and #### and all kinda of stuff.

**Severian_Sidewalk_Surfer** · 10-19-2007 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by Mile_High_Mark

Pack them with grease.

Is there perhaps a pressurized 8mm bearing out there for sale, one that's in general use but has never been marketed to skaters?

If you pack skateboard bearings with the same grease that's used in trailer bearings, will it create too much resistance, given that there's no engine?

Why not use Cosmoline (the thick glop that rifles are shipped in) on at least the outside of bearings on one's nasty old "rainboard"? . It's thick, sticky and waterproof.

I cleaned my disassembled trucks with bore cleaner (the stuff for removing powder from shotgun barrels, &c.), then smeared them with a silicone cloth before reassembly. This seems to work well. It's kept the kingpin from getting all fouled-up with road nastiness, and it keeps rust from starting on steel trucks; also makes them much easier to clean.

**Racer128** · 10-19-2007 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by robert borek

whats the difference between atb bearings and skate bearings other than the atb's are bigger? 'cause they dont rust and they get ridden through mud and rain and #### and all kinda of stuff.

If you mean good mountain bikes (not from target, generally $900<), the bearing are sealed. In my XC race wheels, I have japanese (not from taiwan, more precision) sealed bearings. They are literally completely sealed. I rode them in a State Champ race, and the track was flooded with waist deep water. Came out just as they went in.

Here the link: http://www.industrynine.net/official/about.html
I believe I9 talks about their bearings. Otherwise, google it. It might be worth a couple hundred to a serious racer or team to get sealed bearings made for their boards. Who knows, might even be cheaper than that...