Post-Rain Bearing Maintenance: Checking and Cleaning Inline Skate (Rollerblade) Bearings After a Wet Skate

If it weren't for the hassle of cleaning bearings, skating in the rain would be pretty fun.  However, knowing that you have a pretty big chore ahead of you when you get done takes a lot of the enjoyment out of it.  Still, if you're training for an event like Tour to Tanglewood or Athens to Atlanta, I do recommend getting at least one "rain skate" in if you've never done it.  You don't want your first time in the rain to be the day of the event!  The specifics of skating in the rain is a topic for another time, though.  What I want to talk about now is what to do *after* you've been out in the rain.

Without maintenance, most bearings will be ruined after a skate.  I've heard of some bearings that claim to be waterproof, but I'm fairly skeptical that they really could be.  If you know ahead of time that you'll be skating in the rain, there are a couple things you should do:

1. Use greased bearings (instead of oiled).  The heavier grease will keep more water out of the bearings and keep them spinning better, longer.  The downside to grease is that it makes them harder to clean, and the bearings spin marginally slower.  (Most people will not notice a difference in speed though.)
2. You should switch to softer wheels, or even wheels designed specifically for rain.  You'll have better grip on the pavement.

Regardless of what wheels & bearings you're using, you need to take action as soon as possible after the skate is done.  The quicker you act, the less damage will be done to your bearings.  Ideally, you would clean & re-lube them immediately.  But this is usually not practical.

The next best thing to do is to simply immerse the bearings in oil...  Even baby oil can be used for this.  The idea here is to displace the water from the bearings and also keep them from being exposed to air.  After being in the baby oil (or other type of oil) for a while, you can transfer them to a Ziploc baggie until you get home.

A final, last-resort, method is to submerse the bearings in water.  Yes - water.  If you have no better alternative, this will at least keep the air out and limit rust from forming.  You'll need to keep them submerged until you're ready to clean them.

During the 24-hour race in Montreal last year, we got rained on during the beginning part of the race.  My wheels felt like they had enough grip, and were spinning okay, so I did not stop to change them out.  When I finally did stop, I decided to try a "quick fix" instead of swapping out wheels & bearings.  I had a can of teflon-based spray lubricant that I bought from a bike shop.  It comes in a can like WD-40, with a little "straw" to direct the spray.  Without even taking the wheels out, I sprayed the lube into each bearing while slowly spinning the wheel.  I used up most of the can in the process, and got slightly high off the fumes, but it did work.  I was able to complete the 24-hour skate on those same wheels & bearings, without additional maintenance.

Anyway...  So now it's after the skate.  You may or may not have been able to take any immediate action on your bearings.  It's time to try to salvage them.  I've tried many different methods of cleaning bearings over the years.  My current method is as follows:

1. Take a mason jar (or any glass jar that can be sealed) and place the bearings in it.
2. Add enough mineral spirits to cover the bearings, and then some (I like having maybe 1/2"-1" liquid above the bearings)
3. Shake gently.  (You don't want to break the glass.)  I alternate between "shaking" and "swirling"...
4. Drain mineral spirits into a container (for later recycling -- don't dump it down the drain or in the grass.)
5. Add 99% isopropyl alcohol to the jar to rinse away any remaining mineral spirits.  Shake & swirl, then dump the alcohol out.
6. Remove the bearings and do a "spin test".  Odds are, they will still need some more cleaning after the first round.  The color of the mineral spirits & alcohol is a good indication -- if it's mostly clear, then there probably isn't any more cleaning required.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 until your bearings are spinning well, or until you decide to give up.  Sometimes you'll get some of the bearings that just won't spin again no matter what you do.  You can try to free up "stuck" bearings by forcing them to turn, then clean them again.  Sometimes that will work...
8. Once you're done cleaning & rinsing, the alcohol should evaporate within a few minutes.  Now it's time to re-lube them.
9. Lubing with oil is easy -- just add 3 drops of oil to each bearing, give it a good spin, and set it aside.  Repeat for the remaining bearings.  My current lube of choice is a teflon-based "dry" lube I bought from a bike shop.  (Not in the spray can, just in a small squeeze bottle.)
10. Lubing with grease is a pain, but necessary if you're making a set of "rain bearings".  In this case, I have a can of white lithium grease that I got from Home Depot.  (It's pretty cheap.)  I use a toothpick to scoop a little at a time and pack it in the bearing.  This is pretty time consuming, and I'm sure there are more efficient methods to do it.  (Please share them if you have them.) 

That's it...  I also usually clean all the crud off my wheels before putting bearings in them.  Just fill a sink (or bucket) with warm soapy water and use an old toothbrush.  Rinse the wheels off and let them dry completely before putting bearings in them.

As I mentioned in the beginning, bearing maintenance is a real pain, and now you can see why.  If your bearings sit too long after being wet, they may not be salvageable at all.  So quick action is key to being able to get them in working order again later.  Having a small bottle of baby oil in your skate bag can really help a lot.  A spray can of Teflon lubricant is another way to go, but it's more expensive and I recommend doing a thorough clean anyway...  So your results will probably be better if you simply immerse the bearings in oil, then do a proper cleaning when you get home

- SM -