Bones Bearings - Skater Reviews
Bones Bearings have been at the top of the skate bearing industry for the past 25 years thanks to proven performance and quality, and today represent the standard by which all other bearings are measured. Original 'Swiss' bearings were engineered by George Powell together with a Swiss custom bearing manufacturer to optimize materials, tolerances, clearances and lubricant for the forces and conditions unique to skating.
Some of the best inline skaters in the World use Bones Bearings when they want the best in performance and reliability, including the 2008 CadoMotus World Team. Real skaters, who have experienced real results using Bones bearings. The team, like many skaters, appreciate the 'out-of-the-box' performance that was pioneered by Bones:
"...when we can open the packet, put them in and immediately go racing."
Elma de Vries won the 2008 Engadine World Inline Cup on a solo breakaway, an attack and a finish so strong and surprising that few photographs exist of the win. Holding off the fast-finishing bunch over the final 2 kilometers to take a lone victory on Bones bearings, de Vries
"...felt no limit to the amount of roll I had available, even on such a long, downhill finish."
At the finale of the 2007 World Inline Cup in Berlin, Hilde Goovaerts won a hotly-contested field sprint on Bones bearings after 42 kilometers of racing in the rain,
"...when its so cold and extremely wet it makes it very difficult conditions to perform in,"
"...mechanically, my equipment was still perfect for the endsprint. After the race I checked my bearings and they were all still spinning freely and in really good condition."
CadoMotus team sprinter Bianca Roosenboom contested the distance events at the 2008 Dutch National Championships, where, in the 15-kilometer Elimination event, Roosenboom outsprinted the rest of the field using Bones bearings to take gold on the final lap,
"...normally my legs are becoming very tired after 1 kilometer in races such as this,"
"...but by the end of the race I really felt like I was rolling away from other skaters."
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2 Comments:
These are of course great bearings but we have to remember that those winning on them are the best of the best, with other occasions of not winning but using the same equipment.
You're right Yonatan, that is very true. Even the best athletes don't win all the time - even when they're on the best equipment.
But top skaters don't like to leave anything to chance when it comes to their equipment. There are a lot of bearings on the skate market, and a lot of good ones. Top skaters do a lot of testing, and can feel the slight and subtle differences between products - and they want to be using the materials that they are confident are the fastest for them when they race.
Even the best equipment is no guarantee of winning. But what the pro's can do is discern the differences between good, better and best materials - in part, because they are putting their materials through the most rigorous testing at the specific speeds of our sport's top competitions. They provide a good guide for the rest of us as to what materials we can rely on to get that bit extra from our performances, once we have practiced and prepared to the best of our ability.
>Mick
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