Bones Bearings: Swiss, the beginning

Part 1: Swiss, the beginning
Part 2: ABEC vs Skate Rated

Bones: since 1983, the name in high-performance Skate Bearings. Not miniature ball bearings for electric motors and industrial applications - but sport-specific bearings. The first Bones, Bones 'Swiss', were designed from the ground up by George A. Powell (of Powell-Peralta corporation) with a Swiss custom bearing manufacturer to be the best possible bearing for roller sports.

The first Bones bearings changed from a standard stamped-metal ball retainer to a high speed precision molded plastic one that could be removed by skaters to allow better cleaning of the bearing. They left one shield off so skaters could get to the inside of the bearing without any tools to clean and re-lubricate it. Next, they adjusted the tolerances and clearances to allow the bearing to take the combination side and vertical loads imposed by skating better than normal bearings do. Finally, the usual lubricant was replaced with a specially-developed one they named Speed Cream™.



Bones SWISS: setting the standard in precision skate bearings since 1983

Engineering this bearing for skating produced the fastest, most sought after, most successful bearing in the history of skateboarding, and its engineered success quickly translated to pro choice for Speed Skating. In fact, testing from Powell and his teams confirms it is still the fastest bearing you can buy for skating even after all these years and after many other companies have packaged and sold ABEC-1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 'super bearings' under a range of names and marketing campaigns.

Powell test all these bearings with custom equipment we have made to compare the important qualities of bearings like drag and vibration at high speeds and extended roll at low and medium speeds. Then have their team ride the bearings until the bearings die to see how long they will last and how they perform in actual skating environments. To quote Powell himself, "Some bearings are junk and some are pretty good, but no bearing we have ever tested has equalled the performance of Bones Swiss."

...Bones are finally distributed in Europe by CadoMotus, so check back to Pure Skating News to learn more about Bones Bearings and what they can do for your speed skating

Part 1: Swiss, the beginning
Part 2: ABEC vs Skate Rated