Extreme Sports

Skateboards are great to ride and play around on. It is a sport that encompasses speed and skill. There are many different parts to a skateboard such as the deck, the wheels, and the truck, but probably the most important part is the bearings. The bearings allow the wheels to turn freely without friction which is what makes the skateboard travel at high speeds. The speed and precision of control of the board is down to the bearings. But skateboard bearings are very delicate and need to be treated right; here are the top 6 reasons why skateboard bearings fail:

1. Dirt – if dirt gets into the bearing of the skateboard the bearing can not move freely and the dirt causes friction. How can you prevent dirt from attacking your bearings? Clean your bearings every time you use them, this’ll get rid of the chance of dirt from getting into the bearing.
2. Lubrication – not enough lubrication on your bearings creates friction and causes the skateboard to slow down and will eventually break the bearing. On a regular basis take off the bearings to your skateboard and soak them in lubricant.
3. WD40 – the minute people spray their skateboard bearings in WD40 is the same minute they have just ruined their bearings. WD40 may look like a lubricant but it actually gets rid of the grease that is inside of the bearing and causes them to fail.
4. Age – it has been said that bearings should outlive the life of the actual machine but due to other factors of wear and tear this isn’t usually the case. Skateboard bearings do take a lot of pressure on them and they do suffer from wear after long periods of time and so be sure to change this.
5. Wrong Fitting – fitting the bearings to your skateboard perfectly is exceptionally important, a little like Goldilocks they can’t be fitted too tight or too loose they need to be just right. If the bearings are not fitted appropriately they usually vibrate more which causes the ride to be less than smooth.
6. Cheap Bearings – people sometimes think that because the bearings on their skateboard are so small they don’t mater and so when it comes to buying or replacing them they go for the cheapest option. This is a huge mistake, you don’t have to choose the most expensive but go for quality, cheap bearings usually break after a short period of time and never run as fast or smoothly as the more expensive ones.

By avoiding these pitfalls you can enhance the lifespan of your skateboard bearings and prevent them from failing.