The over looked but important part of the skate!

Hey again, its Coco! As I said last week, the topic I'll be talking about will be bearings. Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of derby girls I know who don't know what bearings are. Bearings are what make your wheels turn for all you shameful skaters who don't know what they are. In your wheels if you look, you have a nut, if you were to unscrew that nut and take of the wheel, there is something inside the wheel that is removable. The first time taking them out, have someone else do it because some bearings are very fragile and you can break them if you don't get them out properly. In each of your 8 wheels there is two bearings so you have 16 bearings in your skates. THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO SKATE MAINTAINENCE. The A-BECK system: This is something that I hadn't understood until a friend of mine did some research. The A-BECK system is a way to rate bearings. A-BECK 1's are the best for learners, they don't spin as much so you don't have to worry about getting faster then you are ready for. I have A-BECK 7s on my own skates and they work lovely for me. A-BECK 9's are the best, I don't believe it goes up any higher then that but if I think that the 7's are good, then you can bet good money that the 9's are REALLY good. Bone Swiss: Okay, another type of bearing brand are the Bone Swiss which are pretty much the top of the line bearings. They don't follow the A-BECK system because they would rate much higher then the 9's. I know people who have Bone Swiss bearings and they just fly they are smooth and wonderful and the next time I get new bearings they are what I will be begging for. The best bearings that are out there, in my opinion and a lot of other peoples' too, are the Bone Swiss Ceramic bearings. Never again would you need new bearings because these last forever and are wonderful. They are also expensive. But these bearings are the best, they don't break because of the ceramic that they are made out of. I know some people right now are really bored, but when you are serious about skating you do need to know your skate anatomy. Bearings are one of the parts of a skate that are left out all the time. Everyone knows about the wheels and the trucks and the boot and the toe stop. Those are the easy ones, but the stuff that makes the skates really work such as the bearings and the plates and the axles are often forgotten. You really know that you are a derby girl when you get excited about the types of bearings you are getting for Christmas. Anyway, thanks for reading and I more will be coming soon. Next time I'll try for something that more of you will read more. Fact of the week: Don't ever skate in water unless you are suicidal. Remember, it's good to be a Brat! Coco Pow