Bearings are the most delicate part of your rollerblades. So, you should take the most outstanding care of them and must know how to clean rollerblades bearings. The bearings make your movement swifter with high accuracy. Furthermore, the greater you take care of your bearings, the better your skating experience will be, and less frequently you will need to replace them.
As an avid inline skater, youll need to clean your inline skate bearings every month or two. There are many options available when it comes to buying the rollerblades and you don’t need to know a whole lot about what to do or what not to do. It is very simple and easy to clean your rollerblade bearings to provide maximum efficiency.
Before reading how to clean your rollerblade bearings, you will need to know there are two types of casing, one sealed and the other one shielded. It is impossible to clean sealed as it is used in low-class skates while it is easy to clean shielded bearings. First, you need to know the tools that will help you in cleaning your skates or skateboard’s bearings.
How to Clean Rollerblade Bearings
To Clean Your Bearings, Youll Need:
- Hard Surface: A surface on which you will work on. It should be hard and rigid.
- Prying Tool: A wide flat-head screwdriver-like end that extends as a wedge, mostly used to separate pressure-fit components without damaging them during separation. It will be used to remove bearing shields.
- Inline Wheel Tool: It contains everything that you need to service your skates. It will be used to quickly remove bearings from skates without damaging them.
- Bearing Cleaner: A lubricant oil that helps you clean your Rollerblade bearings. Dedicated lubricants or cleaner easily removes any unwanted material from bearings.
- Drying tool: A tool or cloth that will help you dry the rinsed bearings.
Steps to Clean Rollerblade Bearings
- Preparation: Gather the above-mentioned tool and use a hard surface for easy and simple cleaning.
- Disassemble: Disassemble the shielded bearings by removing them from the wheels. Remove the casing holding the bearings in position. Use a small screw to push out the rubber seal gently, and bearings will fall out easily.
- Cleaning: Use only dedicated cleaner for improvising cleaning techniques, dont use other lubricants as they can rust.
- Reassemble: After cleaning, reassemble the parts, and dont forget to apply lubricants to parts before reassembling as they help the parts remain safe and rust-free.
Now, we will, step by step, show you how to clean your Rollerblade skates bearing efficiently.
Disassembling Rollerblade Bearings
First, remove your skates from the axis using an inline wheel tool. It doesnt matter if you want to remove bearing through a push or bearing a pull end. The inline wheel tool is perfect for both types of the axis.
For bearings push, insert push side into bearing and apply pressure. You should hear a pop or snapping sounds if bearings are released from the wheel.
For pull or short, floating bearings, use the pull end by hooking it into bearing and gently pulling its bearings out of the wheel.
Once these bearings are out, next is to remove the shield of the bearing. For starters, you should know there are two types of bearing shields: a rubber shield or a metallic shield with a c-ring.
To remove a rubber shield used on most high-end bearings, use a prying tool. Pry it from the bearing with a prying tool that can be a brad, thumbtack, or a paper clip.
C-ring is an aluminum piece that sits beneath the inside lip of the bearing and holds the shield down. To remove this type of bearing, with your prying tool, gently lift only the C-ring from the bearing, then tap the bearing edge on a hard surface, and the shield should fall out.
Now, you have successfully disassembled rollerblade bearings, and now you have to clean them.
Cleaning Rollerblade Bearings
Once the bearings are disassembled, you can clean them. Place your bearings in a container that can be a small glass jar or lidded container made for cleaning purposes.
First, immerse your bearing in the cleaning solution. It is highly recommended to use a dedicated cleaner specifically made for cleaning bearings instead of other lubricants as they can leave rust on the bearings.
Why should one use a dedicated cleaner instead of other lubricants? Well, it is pretty simple. Another solution may dry your bearings which will result in rusting and making them less efficient. While dedicated cleaners are formulated to keep this in mind, they wont harm the bearings in any practical way. You can buy cleaners for bearing or just opt to pack that is a combination of washer and water.
After that, shake the container until you are sure that the agent has completed dispersed into bearings and let them sink in for the recommended time or 20-30 minutes. Or give the solution enough time to completely absorb dust and remaining grime in the bearings.
After 30 minutes, remove the bearings from the case and put them in a dry cloth. You can speed up this process by drying each of the bearings by hand, but this is risky as you have to be very careful of leaving a lint of dirt or other material while drying. Air compressor and blowing both works very efficiently and quickly. Repeat this process one to two-time with less time while immersing them in a cleaning agent for doubt-free cleaning.
Reassembling Rollerblade Bearings
Once the bearings are all dried, use dedicated oil for re-lubricating. Again dont use other all-purpose lubricants as they can make bearings rusty.
Add two to three drops of lubricating agent and spin the bearings between your fingers to thoroughly lubricate them. Then, replace the shield, and you can put them back into the wheel.
Put one bearing into one side of the wheel and insert spacer on the other end. Place the second bearing on top of the spacer and squeeze the assembly together.
You have completed cleaning your Rollerblade Bearings. Here are why and how you should know when to clean your Rollerblade bearings.
Why and When Should You Clean Rollerblade Bearings
When regular use under normal conditions, you should clean your bearings once in the month. It is essential that you clean them as when using skateboards spinning wheel makes your movement. That spinning wheel contains bearings that may jam or even rust, making your movement slow or laggy if not cared for. If not cared, you may need to replace them, which is costly depending upon the skateboards you are using. Also have a look at the best skateboard bearings in the market.
To maximize the performance of your skateboards, you should clean them once a month. If your skateboard is moving slower than usual or making sounds while spinning, this means their bearings need to be taken care of or requires cleaning.