Previously we talked about how you can revive your roller skate bearings by cleaning and lubing them. However, sometimes, the skate bearings can get damaged and require replacing. The common damages include rusted ball bearings, pitted ball bearings, or general wear and tear.
If you maintain your skates by regularly cleaning and lubing them, you will rarely need new set of bearings. But today I am going to tell you how to put bearings in roller skate wheels.
Buy correct replacement bearings for roller skates
Most roller skate bearings are similar in size. The standard 608 size bearings are used for quad skates, inline skates, and skateboards. It has 8 mm bore, 22 mm diameter and 7 mm wide. The skate bearings can be open, sealed or completely sealed.
I recommend going for sealed bearings. This way you can easily clean and relube it multiple times. If you don’t want to bother with maintenance then completely sealed bearings are good. The dirt doesn’t get inside completely sealed bearings but if the lube inside them dries out you have to buy a new set.
Remove the worn out bearings
Next step is to remove the worn out bearings from the skate wheels. How to remove bearings from roller skate wheels? This can be done using the bearing removal tool. Or you can also use the axle of the skate as a lever to pull out the bearings. Start with the inside bearing, stick axle rod halfway and push it side to side to pull the bearing out. Repeat this process for all the bearings.
Install new bearings in the skate wheels
Now, place the new bearing in the axle of the skate and press down with the wheel onto it. Press it firmly until the bearing is seated properly in the wheels. Do the same thing for other side and repeat the process for all the wheels.
Alternatively, you can also use an old bearing as a tool to tap new bearings in. Make sure you tap lightly so that bearings are not damaged.
That’s it. Now you should have new bearings installed on your roller skates.