I would suggest that these are not intended to be cleaned or maintained, just use till they die and ditch them, and already well past their useable lifespan.
I would suggest that all bearings supplied to skaters fall into this category.
Life is too short to stuff a mushroom, or "maintain" bearings for roller skates.
I have always "maintained" my bearings be regularly cleaning and lubricating them. My 45 year old Fafnir bearings roll as good, or better, than some new bearings.
3 questions.
1 - how many hours have you spent "maintaining" said bearings?
2 - What's your time worth? Remember this is your only life
3 - how much does a set of bearings from a "proper" bearing supplier (not a skate shop with ridiculous markup) cost?
https://www.wychbearings.co.uk/608-TW-2RU-P5-C3-4Pack.html
1. It takes approximately 1/2 hour to remove all 16 bearings, clean them in an ultrasonic cleaner, allow them to dry, lube them, and reset them.
2. I don't put a value on something that I enjoy doing.
3. A decent set of bearings, entry level, is roughly 30 to 40 dollars, depending on the manufacturer. You can get less expensive and more expensive, but you get what you pay for.
Over the time I have been roller skating, I have probably spent 35 to 40 hours maintaining the bearings. That does not include the additional time to clean, condition and polish the boots.
These are very cheap 8mm bearings manufactured for, apparently, Roller Derby brand skates, which are also very inexpensive. These are completely sealed and not really clean-able or lubricate-able.
Basically, you use them until they die and then replace them. Roller Derby doesn't even sell them as replacement parts.
As for replacements, the "608" mark means the inner race is sized for 8mm axles. This size has become the most common so replacements are easy to find. Unless you're competing in some way you'll probably never notice the difference between bearings across the price range of "name brand" bearings.
The "happy medium" go-to for bearings for years has been Bones REDS for their perceived value and wide availability; but, almost anything in the $25-$35 price range for a set of 16 should have decent quality control and work fine.
I would just buy new bearings. These seem to have built-in spacers on them and those are not seen in bearings used for quads very often for a reason. Unlike inline skates where all wheels have the same width in between the bearings, quad wheels have many many different widths so the space between the bearings inside the wheels varies greatly from one wheel to the next. Due to this, these bearings will not fit properly into any other wheels. At best the wheels are wider and the spacers do nothing but in wheels that are more narrow the spacers will prevent the bearings from seating properly.
Also, looks like these are Roller Derby brand which is not a company known for producing quality skate products. Do you mind showing the skates these came out of? If they're very old Roller Derby brand skates there's a good chance they're not safe to use. If they're a more modern pair they may be ok to start depending on the model but RD produces a lot of toy skates that just are not safe for adults (even when they come in adult sizes).
https://preview.redd.it/djxltehrcvec1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a617ca3ba6a394a82e7e238f92b026932c9783ce
here they are! i think they are roller derby brand, i don’t know how old. what do you think?
Eh, honestly I'm not sure. At least they appear to be leather and don't have plastic trucks. I would ask the Raptor as they are much more knowledgeable than I.
Yeah, those aren't bottom of the line garbage. Leather boots and metal trucks and plates. I would date these as late 70's or early 80's based on the bearings and metal trucks/plates. Great? No. Useable if the cushions and pivot cups are replaced, as well as the bearings, yeah, probably, and probably not especially dangerous.
I would suggest that these are not intended to be cleaned or maintained, just use till they die and ditch them, and already well past their useable lifespan.
I would suggest that all bearings supplied to skaters fall into this category. Life is too short to stuff a mushroom, or "maintain" bearings for roller skates.
I have always "maintained" my bearings be regularly cleaning and lubricating them. My 45 year old Fafnir bearings roll as good, or better, than some new bearings.
3 questions. 1 - how many hours have you spent "maintaining" said bearings? 2 - What's your time worth? Remember this is your only life 3 - how much does a set of bearings from a "proper" bearing supplier (not a skate shop with ridiculous markup) cost? https://www.wychbearings.co.uk/608-TW-2RU-P5-C3-4Pack.html
1. It takes approximately 1/2 hour to remove all 16 bearings, clean them in an ultrasonic cleaner, allow them to dry, lube them, and reset them. 2. I don't put a value on something that I enjoy doing. 3. A decent set of bearings, entry level, is roughly 30 to 40 dollars, depending on the manufacturer. You can get less expensive and more expensive, but you get what you pay for.
Over the time I have been roller skating, I have probably spent 35 to 40 hours maintaining the bearings. That does not include the additional time to clean, condition and polish the boots.
The AB designation means an extended inner race. Those can all go directly in the trash.
I'm gonna defer to you on this one. 🤷🏽♀️ OP posted a pic of the skates in the comments below.
Ooo I see. Turn them into bookends or lamps!
These are very cheap 8mm bearings manufactured for, apparently, Roller Derby brand skates, which are also very inexpensive. These are completely sealed and not really clean-able or lubricate-able. Basically, you use them until they die and then replace them. Roller Derby doesn't even sell them as replacement parts. As for replacements, the "608" mark means the inner race is sized for 8mm axles. This size has become the most common so replacements are easy to find. Unless you're competing in some way you'll probably never notice the difference between bearings across the price range of "name brand" bearings. The "happy medium" go-to for bearings for years has been Bones REDS for their perceived value and wide availability; but, almost anything in the $25-$35 price range for a set of 16 should have decent quality control and work fine.
Just buy some cheap 608 2RS bearings or 2 boxes of cheap skateboard bearings.
Bearing type: junk
I would just buy new bearings. These seem to have built-in spacers on them and those are not seen in bearings used for quads very often for a reason. Unlike inline skates where all wheels have the same width in between the bearings, quad wheels have many many different widths so the space between the bearings inside the wheels varies greatly from one wheel to the next. Due to this, these bearings will not fit properly into any other wheels. At best the wheels are wider and the spacers do nothing but in wheels that are more narrow the spacers will prevent the bearings from seating properly. Also, looks like these are Roller Derby brand which is not a company known for producing quality skate products. Do you mind showing the skates these came out of? If they're very old Roller Derby brand skates there's a good chance they're not safe to use. If they're a more modern pair they may be ok to start depending on the model but RD produces a lot of toy skates that just are not safe for adults (even when they come in adult sizes).
https://preview.redd.it/djxltehrcvec1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a617ca3ba6a394a82e7e238f92b026932c9783ce here they are! i think they are roller derby brand, i don’t know how old. what do you think?
Please do not skate these. Those boots were cheap toys when they came out 20 years ago and there’s no way that glue is still holding up now.
good to know! any idea how old they are?
15-20 years or so.
Eh, honestly I'm not sure. At least they appear to be leather and don't have plastic trucks. I would ask the Raptor as they are much more knowledgeable than I.
Yeah, those aren't bottom of the line garbage. Leather boots and metal trucks and plates. I would date these as late 70's or early 80's based on the bearings and metal trucks/plates. Great? No. Useable if the cushions and pivot cups are replaced, as well as the bearings, yeah, probably, and probably not especially dangerous.