The Bones bearing cleaner unit, Sonic Citrus cleaner solution, and Super Oil.

Your bearings are going to get dirty. This is a fact. Skating indoors or out doors, you will have a need to clean your bearings. Unless you don't mind spending the money to just replace them. Most Stock bearings are not worth it. But when you spend some cash on quality bearings, you best be cleaning them.

The bones cleaning unit makes the job so much easier. They even provide step by step instructions. This perfect little device is amazing. Never has cleaning bearings been so easy.

Sonic has been making quality skate products for as long as I can remember. Skate tools, wax, and all sorts of usable things.

The most common question I hear when it comes to cleaning bearings is when and how often should I be cleaning them. Just like your skating style, it's a personal thing. Everyone skates different, and in different environments. When you start to hear your bearings that's a good indication that they need some attention. When you notice a loss of speed. You really don't want to put it off. You can permanently damage your bearings. Use your best judgement. It cost less to service them than it does to replace them. Do it when you have too, and do it when you get new wheels. If there is doubt in your mind, clean them.

The instructions on the process are pretty straightforward. There are a few small details that you need to follow. Mostly recommendations from bones that should be followed, But other than that, it smooth sailing.

I love my Crap bearings (don't let the name fool you they are far from it). They are great bearings and if you take care of them, they will take care of you. Crap bearings are not Abec Rated. They are Òskate ratedÓ Abec Rating really has nothing to do with inline skating.They come from the same place as the legendary bones bearings.

Crap bearings come with the same plastic shield on the inside that Bones bearings do. This makes taking them apart a breeze. Pop them off and wipe them down. Once you get there remove the wing nut and spacers from the cleaning unit. Make sure that the bearings are facing up, so all the dirt and muck gets out. Once you have the bearings there you are going to add your cleaning agent. Only need to fill it about 1/3 of the way. Agitate in a gentle manner. Until they are good and clean. Remove the bearings and clean with a lint free towel. (nevermind my paper towel) Once the bearings are clean you gotta lube them. Two drops should be enough, spin them to make sure the lube is spread. Then hook up the bearing shields. These should slip right in. get your bearings back into your wheels and on to your skates and your good for go.

I found the whole process way to easy not to do. It really didn't take that long to do. Especially if you only skate with four wheels as I do.

The Sonic Cleaner and oil worked great. I was very happy with the cleaner. I did have to use more than two drops of the super oil. My bearings do feel quite fast, although I am going to have to try the Bones Òspeed creamÓ sooner than later.

This cleaning System gets a 10 on the Juan-O-Meter!!

Here is a good read on abec ratings. Taken from www.BonesBearings.com Written by the man himself.

ABEC vs. Skate Rated

By George A. Powell

We are often asked, ÒWhat ABEC rating are your bearings?Ó The answer is that ÒBones Bearings are Skate Rated not ABEC rated.Ó

Bones Bearings are the skate industry leader and favorite choice of professional skaters, and have been since their development in 1983. During the past 18 years, Bones Swiss have become legendary because of their superior speed quality, and longevity. Even though Bones Swiss are the top rated bearing in skating, we don't give them an ABEC rating. There is a good reason for this... thank you for asking.

The ABEC rating system has been around for the last 35 years. The purpose of the ABEC committee (Annular Bearing Engineers Committee) is not to test every manufacturer's bearings and proclaim them good or bad, but to establish dimensions, tolerances, geometry, and noise standards for bearings in an attempt to aid industrial bearing manufacturers and users in the production, comparison and selection of bearings for general applications. However, since every bearing is used in a different manner and environment, bearings should be redesigned or ÒcustomizedÓ for special uses (like skating). The ABEC rating system is not intended to be the only criteria used for selecting bearings for use in specialized applications like skating.

It is only one of the tools a bearing designer can use if it is appropriate for the application.

The ABEC rating system includes grades 1,3,5,7, and 9. The higher the ABEC rating, the tighter the tolerances are, making the bearing a more precision part. High precision and small tolerances are required for bearings to function at very high RPM, in products like high speed routers that must spin at 20 to 30,000 RPM. In an application like this, an ABEC - 7 or 9 bearing rating may be appropriate. However, a skateboard with 54mm wheels turning 20,000 RPM will be traveling about 127 MPH! Since virtually all skating is done under 30 MPH, the realistic maximum RPM your skate bearings will see is about 4700 RPM and probably 90% of skating occurs under 2000 RPM. Thus, very high precision is not required at skating speeds.

The dimentions and tolerances controlled by the ABEC standards include the diameters and widths of the raceways, their shapes to some extent and the smoothness of the running surfaces. The ABEC rating system ignores, side loading, impact resistance, materials selection and grade, appropriateness of lubrication, ball retainer type, grade of ball, the clearance between the balls and the races, installation requirements, and the need for maintenance and cleaning. All these bearing design requirements are very important to the performance of your skate bearing, even though the ABEC rating says nothing about them.

From our testing of bearings and our 18 years of experience designing bearings for skating, we know that there can be a HUGE difference between the performance of two bearings that both have the same ABEC rating. Indeed, we have found that in many cases, bearings with high ABEC ratings don't perform as well as others with lower ABEC ratings in a skate wheel. Thus, reliance on ABEC ratings alone can lead skaters and dealers to choose a bad bearing for skating over a good bearing for skating. That is why we don't use the ABEC rating system at all. In essence, the ABEC rating is irrelevant to the performance of a skate bearing when it is used as the sole criteria for selection.

To explain this another way, choosing an ABEC-7 or 9 bearing for skating would be like choosing an Indy car to race in the ÒBaja 500Ó because Indy cars can go fast and are of high precision. It isn't that the Indy car isn't a good piece of equipment, just that it is not designed for off road use and so it would quickly fail when its suspension breaks and its engine clogs with dirt.

Bones Bearings out perform all other bearings because we went to the trouble to skate rate Bones Swiss and Bones REDS, not just select an ABEC rated industrial bearing and put a customized plastic shield on it. Bones have been completely redesigned for skating from the ground up and are built to Bones specifications that include Skate Rated components, lubricants, tolerances and clearances.

Bones' component parts are engineered and tested to withstand the high impacts of hard landings, the high side loads of turning, and (to the extent possible) the dirt of skate environments. As a result, Bones roll faster and last longer than other bearings. To merely give Bones an ABEC rating would be to ignore all the improvements we have engineered into Bones and the resulting difference between Bones and standard ABEC rated bearings. Since there is no appropriate ABEC rating that will reflect the superior quality of Bones Bearings, we have given them their own rating, Skate Rating, to let you know that Bones are special and made just for skaters like you, not for electric motors.