I am wondering if anyone has had the same experience as I have had with caliber 2 trucks. It seems that the axles on the caliber 2 trucks have produced a rapid amount of rust which seems odd.
I am also using the Bones race reds bearings with the built in spacers.
I have been riding the board now since January on and off. I pretty much avoided water like the plague. I never would ride if the weather was likely to rain or even if there was standing water on the ground.
I also made an effort not to store the board in a hot and humid room.
The only thing that can think of is that dust has somehow caused the axle and/or the inner bearing race to rust.
It just seems odd to get this amount of rust so quickly. I have other longboards and skateboards and they do not have this issue.
Pretty normal wear and tear for trucks tbh. Ditch the bones bearings. They’re shit imo. Any sealed bearing- generic amazon or otherwise- that is abec 9 will be much more suitable for esk8.
Just take a wire attachment on a rotary tool and clean it up before you install new bearings.
Zealous are find but tbh you don’t need to spend the extra doh on them. The key is getting a sealed bearing with an abec 9 rating. Paying for brand name bearings is usually a scam imo. They’re all made exactly the same way and if they’re abec 9 (or any other abec rating) the tolerances are identical.
@WayneTheWaffle One thing you can do to help prevent rust in the future.
First, clean all the rust off with scotch brite or a wire brush (brass brush is better)
2.Then clean the axel well with acetone.
Heat the axel until it turns blue(ish), then dip and hold it in Wd-40 or Linseed oil.
Things to note…
Looks like you might be using cast aluminum trucks where the axels are cast into the truck itself, so you should be fine doing this. I your axel is screwed in with loctite, then heating it will melt the loctite and you may need remove it and apply more. (which in that case, just remove the axel first.)
Disagree. The ABEC rating defines the tolerance and rpm rating, higher the number the better. However I agree that this rating doesn’t matter at all for esk8 wheel bearings.
Just get some cheap 608-2RS bearings.
In my opinion the most important part to a long lasting wheel bearing (other than having rubber seal on both sides) is the factory grease inside it. Once you open the seals up to regrease bearings the seal will loose effectiveness, so best to get something cheap and just throw em out when they get too loud. You won’t know the specifics of the grease until you have them in your hand.
I’ve had really good experience with KBS (kedron bearing services) bearings. I can get their 608-2RS for about 0.5$ per piece in the local hardware store and they last forever even in the wet because of the good seals and the grease they have.
ABEC rating means close to nothing, especially on generic bearings made overseas. I’ve seen “ABEC 9” bearings made with the crappiest materials possible, poor grinding, crappy seals.
A good seal is the most important thing for Esk8 bearings. Some seals dont even touch the inner race of the bearing, they just get close. If you can see light through your bearing when held up to light, it’s gonna suck for skateboarding.
My NTN bearings I bought from Japan are among the most consistent and reliable bearings I’ve found, with a difference you can feel. The seals are watertight and the grinding on them is excellent. They’re ABEC 1
Unfortunately, I must disagree with @Common_good as well. Disregard an abec rating for Eska8 period. An abec rating really only applies to high speed bearings meant for extremely high precision applications, such as machine spindle bearings. And when choosing such bearings, then, name brand does mean something. In my experience machine building, Japanese, German, or American made companies provide the best. (NSK, Nachi, NTN, and FAG to mention a few)
For ska8 wheel bearings, go with what you find on Amazon. They are cheap, and easily replaced when they start to go bad. Those are all made in China, most likely in the same factory.
Lastly, when referring to sealed, always make sure the bearings say 2rs after. That means 2 rubber seals on both sides. Also, Do Not go with ceramic bearings.
Hmmm… some good info in here. My understanding of ABEC ratings needs to be revisited bc I was under the impression that ABEC ratings, as they increased in number, were indicative of smaller and smaller tolerances which, for a moderate speed application like esk8 would imply that we would want something somewhere in the middle (e.g. ABEC 9 or possibly 11). Too high a rating and they’re not suitable as not enough heat would be generated to make the bearing work as it should.
This is what I meant but worded it poorly. As above.
The only difference you might have in efficiency would be because of a difference in the thickness of the grease inside it, and that has nothing to do with an abec rating. Plus the potential efficiency gain from a thinner grease is very minimal.
