Bearings - Bones REDS Review

     Picking the right bearings can be tough, especialy if you don't have a whole lot of money or are fairly new to skateboarding. You don't want cheap bearings that are going to jam up or break, but you may not want to dish out the bucks for top of the line. Bones Reds are a good choice for mid-range, but yet high quality bearings.
     When I bought my first set of bearings a wise old man at the skate shop suggested I take a look at Bones REDS. "Yes, they're a little more than the generics," he said, "but when it comes to getting the biggest bang for your buck, these are best." The skate shop owner had the right idea. Bones brand bearing have been around a long time, and are famous for the quality of their top of the line bearings, like Bones Swiss. But unfortunately, buying top of the line means spending a lot of money. For some skaters, that's no sweat, but for many, money's not so easy to come by.
     And besides money, if you are relatively new to skating, you probably shouldn't buy the best bearings out there anyway. You're probably going to get your wheels wet, or in sand, or something, and forget to clean them. That's what happened to me. About two months after getting fresh bearings on my board, I went skating for a week in Arizona. I got dirt and sand and who knows what in my bearings, and didn't think about cleaning them. In fact, I don't know if I knew how to! So sure enough, a few weeks later, my wheels weren't spinning quite right. When I finally did try to clean them, it was too late.
      But don't think that I'm suggesting that you buy these because they're cheap crap that you can miss-use and throw away! "Bones REDS bearings" are good, quality bearings. I've had a set inmycurrent board for several months, and they've held up great and kept their speed. REDS are "SkateRated" by Bones, a rating system that they take pride in. Most other brand bearings are ABEC rated, which is a system that doesn't even apply to the abuse that skate bearings go though.

       Furthermore, REDS come pre-lubricated and are easy to maintain.