A skateboard never breaks all at once. It degrades part by part, quietly: bearings lose a little speed every week, wheels wear unevenly before you notice, and the bushings in your trucks stop returning to centre without you ever knowing when it happened.
Why this matters: maintenance is what decides whether spending 74 € on a set of wheels instead of 30 € makes any sense. High-end urethane that gets abused — flatspotted, running on rusted bearings — ends up skating worse than a well-kept entry-level set. On the comparator the median set of wheels costs 55 €, with the cheapest 10% at 29.99 € and the most expensive at 74 €: the gap between those two ends is something you decide yourself, with a rag and half an hour.
Water is the worst enemy
Moisture kills more skate parts than anything else. Bearings are steel with a very thin grease inside; water displaces the grease, leaves the steel bare, and rust shows up in days, not months. The deck has it worse: it is laminated wood, and water pries the plies apart. If you got caught in the rain, don’t leave it until tomorrow.
Cleaning your bearings, step by step
Bearings are all the same standard 608 size and there are eight per board, two per wheel. It is the maintenance job you notice most and the one fewest people do. The ABEC number on the box measures manufacturing tolerance, not speed: a dirty ABEC 9 bearing is slower than a clean ABEC 3.
- Take all four wheels off with your skate tool and drop the nuts and washers into a cup — they vanish on their own otherwise.
- Pop the bearings out. Slot the wheel halfway onto the end of the axle and lever it outwards. Watch out for the internal spacer.
- Take the shields off. If they are rubber, lever them out from the inner edge with a push pin. If they are fixed metal, don’t force them: that set can’t be cleaned properly.
- Soak them in solvent. Bones recommends pure or nearly pure isopropyl alcohol, carburettor cleaner or acetone, agitating them inside the jar. What does not work is soap and water.
- Dry them completely and immediately, with compressed air if you have it. A bearing that looks dry on the outside still has solvent inside.
- Lubricate. Two drops of proper bearing oil per steel bearing, one if they are ceramic. No more, and no thick grease: the excess attracts dust and you end up with abrasive paste inside.
- Reassemble and tighten the nut until the wheel spins freely but has no side play.
What is actually inside a bearing, and why ABEC says so little, is in the bearings guide; brands like Bones don’t even use it.
Rotating your wheels: why they wear unevenly
All four wheels never wear the same. You push with the same foot, slide on the same wheels, and the road is cambered towards the kerb. The usual result is coning: the wheel wears into a cone on its inner face and ends up with an asymmetric profile that robs you of grip in turns.
Rotate them in an X — front right with back left, and vice versa — and, above all, flip each wheel inside out. That second half is the part that counts: if you move them around but the worn face still points inwards, you have corrected nothing.
What rotation does not fix is a flatspot: the flat patch that appears when a wheel locks up and skids on the asphalt. Once it is there, there is no fix. This is exactly where hard, quality urethane pays for itself, because it resists it far better. Hardness and diameter are in the wheels guide.
Grip tape: when to change it and how to strip the old one
Grip tape isn’t replaced on a schedule, it is replaced when it stops doing its job, and the signs are visible: smooth, shiny patches under your front foot or on the tail, edges lifting, bubbles, or tape so worn that it holds water like a sponge.
To strip it, heat it with a hairdryer until the adhesive softens and pull from a corner, slowly and at a low angle. Pulling cold and fast risks tearing off the deck’s top ply, which is exactly how delamination starts. To lay a new sheet: stick it centred, score the edge by running a file around the rail, and cut from underneath with a sharp blade.
Trucks: bushings, kingpin and pivot cup
Trucks are the longest-lasting part of a board, and for a good reason: what wears out isn’t the body, it’s the few-euro parts inside it.
- The bushings (the rubbers). They crack and take a permanent set. The clear sign is that the truck no longer returns to centre when you stop leaning on it. New bushings change the feel far more than new trucks do.
- The kingpin, the central bolt. It is the free adjustment: loose turns more, tight rides more stable. Don’t crank it down until the bushings are crushed.
- The pivot cup, the plastic cup the hanger sits in. When it wears, the truck develops play.
That classic squeak almost always comes from here: a dry or worn pivot cup. Try a bit of wax or dry soap first; if it comes back two days later, replace it. Makers like Independent sell bushings and small parts separately precisely because they are the normal consumable. Heights and widths are in the hi and lo trucks guide.
The deck: delamination, razor tail and how to make it last
A deck is laminated maple, and it fails in three recognisable ways:
- Delamination. The plies separate: you’ll see it as a lip lifting at the rail, or hear it as a hollow sound when you slap the tail. It is the failure mode described for laminates in general, and it is terminal.
- Razor tail. From dragging the tail, it thins down until it is sharp as a knife. You lose pop gradually and end up with cracks running in from the edge.
- Dead pop. The wood loses stiffness without breaking: it responds flat and the concave feels shallower.
To make it last, don’t leave it outdoors or in a hot car boot, and keep the bolts tight: loose hardware cracks the wood around the holes. If you skate a lot of tail, a tail guard delays the wear noticeably.
Signs a part is finished
| Part | Sign it can’t be saved | Price reference |
|---|---|---|
| Bearings | Grinding or side play after cleaning them, visible rust | 20-25 € a mid-range set |
| Wheels | Flatspot, coning that rotation won’t fix, chipped urethane | 55 € median set |
| Bushings | Won’t return to centre, cracks, permanent shape | A few euros |
| Pivot cup | Play in the hanger and a squeak that keeps coming back | A few euros |
| Trucks | Hanger ground down near the axle, bent axle, stripped thread | 59.99 € median listing |
| Grip tape | Smooth patches with no bite, lifting, holds water | A few euros |
| Deck | Open plies, razor tail, cracks from the bolt holes | 74.90 € median |
The logic is always the same: before you replace an expensive part, replace the cheap one inside it.
Keep reading
- Why ABEC doesn’t measure speed: bearings guide.
- Hardness and diameter, which decide whether you get flatspots: wheels guide.
- Bushings, kingpin and widths: hi and lo trucks guide.
- What each part costs: price guide · catalogue.
- If you are just starting: beginners guide.
Frequently asked questions
How often should bearings be cleaned?
There is no reliable schedule, because it depends on the ground you skate. The test is observable: spin a wheel by hand. If it stops dead instead of slowing gradually, or you hear a dry grinding noise, it’s time. If you have skated through wet, do it the same day.
Can I clean bearings with soap and water?
No. Water displaces the grease and leaves the steel bare, and rust shows up within days. Use a solvent, dry them immediately, and always re-lubricate afterwards, because the solvent strips every trace of grease.
Is rotating wheels worth it?
Yes, and it’s free. Rotate them in an X and flip each wheel inside out; if you only swap positions, the coning carries on exactly as before.
Do squeaky trucks need replacing?
Almost never. The squeak and the play come from the pivot cup or the bushings, which cost a few euros and swap out in five minutes. The truck body lasts years and outlives several decks.
When should I replace the whole deck instead of just the grip?
Replace only the grip if the problem is that it slips or is peeling. Replace the deck once the plies have opened, once the tail is too thin to pop, or once cracks run out of the bolt holes. Those three don’t come back.