Get To Know | SKF Bearings
SKF is short for Svenska Kullagerfabriken, which literally translates to 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory'. Founded in Gothengurg Sweden in 1907, SKF has since been manufacturing bearings for all kinds of industries such as aerospace, automotive, agriculture, and many others. The consesus: If these bearings can handle a plane, we think they will excel on a skateboard.
SKF has been in the skateboard market for a few decades, but they made a huge splash into the global skateboarding scene in 2022 when they assembled a powerhouse skate team, including Ishod Wair, Louie Lopez, Oskar Rozenberg, Alexis Sablone, Tiago Lemos, Rayssa Leal, and Kader Sylla to name a few.
SKF Standard Bearings
SKF Bearings Specs:
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High quality industrial steel.
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Fiberglass reinforced polyamide ball cages.
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Specially designed low friction grease.
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Low friction protective shield.
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Made in Italy
For an entry level bearing, SKF Standard bearings are top quality. They provide that perfect combination of speed and smoothness. Here's a few observations we had about SKF bearings; The wheels don't spin freely for very long, but with the weight of a human they rolled longer than most bearings. The bearings are super greasy. We popped the shield off of one of the bearings and saw that it is full of greasy lubrication, which explains why they don't spin on their own for very long. The grease in SKF's specially formulated lubrication is designed to stay in there for the entire life of the bearing. Which means you don't have to worry about lubing up your bearings, but you also need to keep the shields on.
The bearings took about two weeks to break-in to peak performance. Initally the interior grease gave them a muffled "creased" sound, but they gradually sounded more normal as they broke-in. We also noticed that the bearings seemed to roll faster in warmer temperatures than cold in temperatures. As temperatures decreased, the grease become more viscous and felt slightly slower. Not enough to throw us off, but it was noticable.
After skating the bearings for six months, there were no signs of damage or slowing down, making these bearings very dependable and long lasting.
SKF Ceramic
The SKF Ceramics are the most expensive skateboard bearings on the market, but their quality is unmatched. The difficulty of manufacturing makers them spendy, but they are worth the investment because of their longevity and resistance to corrosion. A set of ceramic bearings can last over a decade when treated properly, because the ceramic ball bearings don't rust, even when riding through rain and dirt. They're best suited for cruiser and commuting boards because ceramic is more brittle than steel and cannot withstand the impact of jumping.
The SKF Ceramics have been exceptionally fast and smooth so far. After 3 months of riding them, they've shown no sign of slowing down even after intentionally rolling through puddles, sand, and dirt. The prevous set oc ceramic bearings lasted over nine years, so I imagine these will last just as long if not longer.
