grease-stained me
Jan. 25th, 2011 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7I just got a big ol grease smudge on my white Macbook mouse button. Woops. Did I go wash my hands? No.
Skate maintenance. After 4 years of skating, going into my 5th, I'm finally practicing what I preach. Second season I theorized that having one set of really good wheels for bouts, and then a set or two of so-so / cheap / worn wheels for practice, would be a very economical way to not be paying extra to overnight new wheels when you realize you've got nothing reasonable to skate on in an upcoming bout.
And ever since then, I've struggled with inadequate funds, poor planning, etc., and always have had just one set of usable wheels at any one time. I get new ones for a bout, and then those new ones are the only decent thing I have, so I keep skating on them, and then before I know it, they're worn out and I'm picking through my old ones trying to find at least 4 of the same kind that are usably not-bald. Ugh.
So I finally got myself a set of new Juke 2.0 wheels from Atom, and pulled my new-ish Bones Swiss Six bearings ($$$!!! But fast!) out of my new practice wheels (crappy Fugitives = exactly half the price of Jukes), and have them all set up to break in tonight and Thursday, so I can bout in them Saturday. Then Sunday I'll pull them back off my skates, wipe them down so they're clean, and put them into a box to pull out before the next bout.
My Fugis are newish enough to practice in for some time yet, and I have another old set of Jukes (the older version, a bit less nice than the new ones) with a set of decent-ish bearings, so I can rotate between those two as floor conditions change. (We have a wood floor that thinks it's alive. In the winter, like now, it's almost unbearably tight; in the summer it gets slower and grippier, and at every temperature change it tries to kill everyone who skates on it.)
I also ordered wheels for teammates, and since it took me forever to get off my duff and place the order, I figured I'd be nice and press the bearings into the wheels for them, so they can just put them on their skates tonight and have them broken in by Saturday.
I'm covered in grease and I've decided I'm not helping anybody maintain bearings that aren't a kind I'd use. I'm too confused by these Kwik and Bevo bearings-- the shields don't come off easy, they have weird roll cagey things inside, and screw it. I've ridden Bones from Day 1 and they're the only ones I know how to clean, so if you want me helping to clean your shite, it better be Bones.
Tho a teammate I respect recommended Qubes so I bought a set to have on hand and maybe replace some of these ancient Bones Reds I've had for years that are still ticking-- I've lost probably 6 or 7 bearings to rust since I started, and the rest are still going pretty strong, in outdoor wheels or some beat-to-shit practice wheels I keep on hand for emergencies. I took a peek at the Qubes and their shields are similarly shaped to the Bones-- so I guess I'll maintain those too, if people want help. But forget the rest of these ABEC-rated ones; I don't know how they work, their websites aren't informative, and I just can't be bothered trying to figure them out anymore. This set for my teammate came with lube, but if you can't dissasemble them-- I tried, on one, to see how it worked, and got nowhere-- then I'm not going to try. Forget it.
Skate maintenance. After 4 years of skating, going into my 5th, I'm finally practicing what I preach. Second season I theorized that having one set of really good wheels for bouts, and then a set or two of so-so / cheap / worn wheels for practice, would be a very economical way to not be paying extra to overnight new wheels when you realize you've got nothing reasonable to skate on in an upcoming bout.
And ever since then, I've struggled with inadequate funds, poor planning, etc., and always have had just one set of usable wheels at any one time. I get new ones for a bout, and then those new ones are the only decent thing I have, so I keep skating on them, and then before I know it, they're worn out and I'm picking through my old ones trying to find at least 4 of the same kind that are usably not-bald. Ugh.
So I finally got myself a set of new Juke 2.0 wheels from Atom, and pulled my new-ish Bones Swiss Six bearings ($$$!!! But fast!) out of my new practice wheels (crappy Fugitives = exactly half the price of Jukes), and have them all set up to break in tonight and Thursday, so I can bout in them Saturday. Then Sunday I'll pull them back off my skates, wipe them down so they're clean, and put them into a box to pull out before the next bout.
My Fugis are newish enough to practice in for some time yet, and I have another old set of Jukes (the older version, a bit less nice than the new ones) with a set of decent-ish bearings, so I can rotate between those two as floor conditions change. (We have a wood floor that thinks it's alive. In the winter, like now, it's almost unbearably tight; in the summer it gets slower and grippier, and at every temperature change it tries to kill everyone who skates on it.)
I also ordered wheels for teammates, and since it took me forever to get off my duff and place the order, I figured I'd be nice and press the bearings into the wheels for them, so they can just put them on their skates tonight and have them broken in by Saturday.
I'm covered in grease and I've decided I'm not helping anybody maintain bearings that aren't a kind I'd use. I'm too confused by these Kwik and Bevo bearings-- the shields don't come off easy, they have weird roll cagey things inside, and screw it. I've ridden Bones from Day 1 and they're the only ones I know how to clean, so if you want me helping to clean your shite, it better be Bones.
Tho a teammate I respect recommended Qubes so I bought a set to have on hand and maybe replace some of these ancient Bones Reds I've had for years that are still ticking-- I've lost probably 6 or 7 bearings to rust since I started, and the rest are still going pretty strong, in outdoor wheels or some beat-to-shit practice wheels I keep on hand for emergencies. I took a peek at the Qubes and their shields are similarly shaped to the Bones-- so I guess I'll maintain those too, if people want help. But forget the rest of these ABEC-rated ones; I don't know how they work, their websites aren't informative, and I just can't be bothered trying to figure them out anymore. This set for my teammate came with lube, but if you can't dissasemble them-- I tried, on one, to see how it worked, and got nowhere-- then I'm not going to try. Forget it.
