Clean bearings or buy new?

[collegedu3]

I've got a sweet pair of RB SpeedMachine 90s, but, despite cleaning the the outsides of the bearings with a soft cloth relatively frequently, a few of my wheels are making a bit of noise when I spin them. Accordingly, it seems like it might soon be time for me to clean / replace my bearings. My question pertains to the economy of buying cleaning solution, a bearings cleaner bottle, and lubricant versus buying new bearings.

Buying the cleaning supplies will come out to nearly 30 dollars, which is about the same price as a set of 16 SG9 bearings. Given that my time is at least somewhat valuable, and once I open my bearings I'll have to clean them more frequently, and given the number of 'cleans' I'll likely get from one bottle of cleaning solution, will I save much money by buying cleaning solution instead of new bearings? Also what kind of will the spinning of my wheels create to indicate they need to be cleaned/replaced?

Thanks!

[ironhorse]

You dont need cleaning supplies. You can boil the bearings on a stovetop with water and then make sure they dry off then lube them. You can also clean in other materials. You should check out some videos on youtube on cleaning bearings. A good set of bearings will run upwards of 80+. Do you know what kind of bearings are in your skates?

Guess they come with rollerblade SG9 bearings. They run about 30.00 for the bearings. If I were replacing bearings I would go with something better such as bones swiss or bsb swiss or twincam ilq-9. With these you will want to clean vs replacing. Bearings can last quite a while as long as you clean them.

[IW Staff]

It depends on the person, but I don't like servicing my bearings. Many love working on their stuff. I just like skating.

Noise is a sign of possible problems down the road, but I never jump in to clean as soon as I hear noise. I wait for roll issues. It seems I never get the roll to be as good as new after I service. Could be my impatience as well, but you get the idea. BSB and Bones are the bearings I have the most experience with. TwinCams are known to service/clean well also. Bearings are very resilient and even with an open shield like you find on the inner side of Bones, they last a long time and are durable. I've had bearings on for some time and they've gotten noisy, but spin like day 1. Not all bearings will go bad at once obviously as well.

I replace only when I feel and/or see a wheel slowing as compared to the others. I then replace one or both on that wheel and move on. Bearings are often sold in 8pks as well as 16.

Some start cleaning as soon as they hear some noise in there and many have bearings for a looooong time.

So.. if like me. I normally buy new bearings. Skating mainly on Bones these days, they are of great quality and I don't need to replace very often. Once a year it seems. I used to service when I had more patience, and found that new bearings are what works for me.

Thanks for the post. A common question and no real wrong/right answer. Budget, time and know how are the main factors it seems. Different for all.