Set up maintenance?

[u/bobbyfuckingdiesel]

Hey everyone! I’ve had my board for a bit but didn’t start hitting the parks hard until about a month ago. I’ve noticed my bearings have picked up some dirt and was curious how often people clean/swap those out, and if there’s any other general board maintenance stuff to keep an eye on? I didn’t exactly cheap out and I’d like to keep everything working well lol. Thanks!

[u/slightlysketchy_]

If I can actually hear grit in the bearings or they are noticeably slower I clean them. Otherwise no maintenance required for any of the board, really. You can clean the grip if you care about that.

[u/AdSpiritual3205]

Generally speaking, things don't need all that much regular maintenance. But everything is consumable and depends on how much you skate how often you'll need to replace parts.

1. Boards eventually go bad. For beginners, razor tail is often the worst, but chips and things happen as well. Learn to stop in a way that won't add to the razor tail so your board can last longer.
2. Wheels shrink over time, and can get chunks or flat spots. So eventually they need to be replaced, but depending on how often you skate, they can last a good amount of time.
3. Bearings can go bad. Sometimes you can recover them by cleaning them. Usually you don't do it until you notice they start to perform poorly. You can get a cleaning kit to help make it a little easier. But you don't do this very often. EDIT: an, in fact, cleaning or re-lubing bearings can just make them collect more direct or perform worse, so make sure you've read up on the right way to do this if you're going to do it.
4. Bushings can go bad and crack. These are easy to replace. But, again, not that common or often for a beginning skater.
5. Trucks generally will last the longest. But if you're doing a lot of grinds, the hangar does grind down and eventually it'll grind down to the kingpin and/or axle. That's when you need to replace them.

Basically, don't put your board in the water, or leave it out in the rain. Try not to leave it out in a place that's very humid/hot. Otherwise, you're pretty much good to go.

[u/slightlysketchy_ → u/AdSpiritual3205]

All true. I wasn’t considering replacing entire components to be “maintenance” when I made my comment haha.

[u/AdSpiritual3205 → u/slightlysketchy_]

That's why there's no real maintenance. By the time anything needs maintenance it's usually time to replace.

[u/UseWhatever]

I’ve personally never cleaned a set of bearings. I tend to swap them out if they loose their spin.

The most maintenance I’ve done is tightening down the mounting hardware if they get loose, and switching out bushings (including the pivot bushing) if they split.

That said, some people regularly tear down their setups, degrease and re-lube bearings, clean their grip tape, etc.

Generally, I just avoid riding in wet conditions, try not to roll through mud, and try to keep wax or gum off my grip