We wanted a bearing that would work well for skates. Not factories, not conveyor belts, but skates. We tracked down the manufacturer of an older bearing that was very popular with the speed skaters (we’re not allowed to say which one), described what we were looking for, and asked for samples. We looked over the samples, picked the best one, and then started tweaking it.

The lube on the bearing is a very thin coat of a special oil that was designed for military and aerospace applications. It doesn’t evaporate, but it can be wiped off the outside of the bearings or washed out if the bearings are subject to a solvent.  We call it Dry Lube, because that seems to make sense.

Cleaning can be done using any type of grease or oil solvent.  But you shouldn't need to clean these very often if you don't skate out in the rain or sand.  The shields are going to keep the insides clean, just make sure that the outsides aren't allowed to rust up on you.

The bearings are available in 608 (aka 8mm, aka 5/16") size for inlines and most quads and 627 (aka 7mm, aka 9/32") for the rest of the quads (Atlas, Snyder, Power Trac, Pro Line, and a few others).