Bearings

[Trygve]

stupid question: i saw some people at the skatepark and you could see the balls in the bearings, did they just like turn them backwards or the protector fell off??
?????

[roflsore]

They probably had bearings with shields that, through the tool hitting the shields causing them to deform, eventually fell off and they hadn't replaced them.

[EBasil]

What you saw were some skaters about 2 years off the back of a silly trend that had skaters taking the shields off their bearings to expose the innards when they skate. The idea was/were that it was, a) faster because drag off the shield was gone, b) faster because dirt could fall right out, c) cooler because you could see stuff and or d) cooler because someone else told you it was.

Actually, it's just slower and louder because bearings get dirty even faster when they have no shield.

[Kiwibomber]

yeah, its because all the trick flipping they do just hammers their bearings and the shields all eventually fall off.....when park skating the need more extremely fast bearings isnt that much of a must...

[crazyboarderbum]

umm ya...the shield fell or broke off
and without the sheild they get crapped out fast
but ya...

[bucksaw87]

read a transworld where they interview pros about their bearing preferences...they just pop the shields off because (to quote bam) "it sounds cooler"

now, granted, pro skaters don't use bearings long enough to make a difference (the wheels and bearings are shot dead after one or two sessions regardless of if they have a shield or not), so it doesn't make a difference for them. but some dudes at your skatepark...well, they're another story