Ask the Gear Guy
Fix slow skateboard wheels
The wheels on my skateboard aren’t spinning well anymore. Is there anything I can do to fix them or do I have to buy new wheels?
Slow Joe, Tampa, Fla.
We feel your pain, Slow. We have the same problem, so we asked our friend Andy Macdonald, eight-time world champion skateboarder, for the lowdown on your slow down:
“New wheels are not going to help in the least if your wheels aren’t spinning. Chances are you just have to clean and lubricate your bearings. Remove your wheel and pop out the bearings with the edge of your axle. Bones Bearings pretty much set the standard in the skateboarding world as far as bearings go. They recommend picking up a Bones Bearings Cleaner Unit at your local skate shop ($15), but a clean plastic yogurt cup and a few cotton swabs will work, too.
“You’ll need to remove the bearing shields if your bearings have them. Just poke them out with a paper clip. Then soak your bearings in acetone, nail-polish remover or rubbing alcohol. Spin them dry and make sure all the dust and dirt are out. Now you’ve removed all the dirt as well as all the lubricant from your bearings. It’s important to use a silicone-based lubricant. WD40 or others like it will dry out your bearings and attract dust and dirt. You can pick up a bottle of Bones Speed Cream at the skate shop, or try some Prolong from the auto parts store. It doesn’t take much, and the excess will just spin out when you replace your shields, pop your bearings back in your wheels and start shredding. Skate safe and enjoy your new-found speed.”
Read 23 comments about “Fix slow skateboard wheels”
September 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am
i want good wheels
June 27th, 2008 at 8:47 am
i just like to put on w-d 40 and that w3orks because i don’t want to buy new bearings.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
skating wrocks!!!!
March 25th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
dude, apec 7 speed demons are way better than bones
March 25th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
if your gonna spend 15 bucks on cleaner, u might as well spend the 15 dollars on new bearings…but, i was wondering what if ur bearings have been lubed up and all but they still run slow…? if they’re broken is there a way i can fix them?
February 28th, 2008 at 9:40 am
swiss bones bearing i think are the best
February 12th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Yeah deffiantely dont use WD40 on your bearings, if grits up and attracts dirt easily, rubbing alchohol works great to clean but to lube it all up I recomend spraying white lithium grease inside the bearing while th cap is off but only a very small amount. Ismade not to wear out or wash off and doesnt attract dirt if you dont put to much on.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
look, i went and bought some graphite which my friends said worked really well if you apply a little bit then rup all over the sheild of bearing. i tried it and had to wash graphite out in petrol. i ended up just putting all of bearings in petrol for cleaning and i didn’t bother to lube them and they work just fine and each wheel spins for 20 seconds when spun by hand! i recomend just doing what i did. im going to try graphite powder again though and try to use less! hop this helped!
also, i was in a skate shop and the guy there said not to use speed cream. but he didnt tell me y?? he was creepy so i just didnt ask!! haha!
November 29th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
HOW DO I PUT BEARINGS ON WHEELS I NEED HELP ASAP!
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:16 pm
DUDE, skateboarding with Bones Bearings is AWSOME!!!!!!!!! :):):):):):):):):)