Good cheap skateboard bearing review

With so many brands selling skateboard bearings it can be confusing to figure out what is right for you. Let’s start by taking a look at why skateboard bearings are so important. Then we’ll look at a few brands with a reputation for good cheap skateboard bearings. And finally we’ll let you know which bearings we chose to skate and offer with our complete skateboards.

Why are good cheap bearings so important?

First of all, if you do tricks, you want to avoid cheap, low quality bearings because they can blow out!

What’s a blowout?  Your bearings simply implode and fall apart on impact. Blow outs can happen if your bearings were not designed to withstand impact (like longboard bearings) and you’ll need to head back to the shop to grab a new, better quality pair.

Second, cheap bearings can lock up quickly.

Low quality bearings with cheap lubricants and oils can quickly get gummed up when dirt and other particles get into your bearings, causing them to slow or even lock up. Higher quality bearings have specialized lubricants that help them keep spinning smooth over time.

Lastly, you don’t want to pay a small fortune just to get some smooth bearings. So both quality and price matter.

Which brands make the best skateboard bearings?

After years of skateboarding and lots of experimentation, it’s become clear that there really isn’t that big of a difference between all the cheap bearing brands. All skate brands offer some variation of an entry level bearing, and with good maintenance, you will be able to get a decent life out of them.

When it comes to the most popular bearings, it’s easy to point to Bones Bearings and Bronson Bearings. Bone’s Reds have been the go to cheap bearing for most skaters for a long time.

Bronson offers their own version with the G2 bearings. But realistically, if any other reputable skate brands have bearings on sale or at a cheaper price, just go for it, you won’t notice much difference.

Quantum Bearing Science

Personally, Quantum Bearings, based out of North Carolina, is the only bearing company that I have been surprised by in recent years.

They are a comparatively new bearing company, but they are definitely shaking up the skateboard industry by using new technology. When it comes to speed and durability from a good cheap skateboard bearing, Quantum is hard to beat.

Their affordable bearings are made from ultra pure carbon steel, have reinforced cages and diamond finishing on their raceways and balls for extra speed.

Their good cheap bearings are lubricated with Quantum’s Graph Flo lube which infuses a ceramic nano-coating over the bearings to fill any imperfections and reduce friction to a minimum.

The result?  There is a difference in the feel of these bearings versus other cheaper brands.  They roll smoother and longer than the competitors at the same price point or even higher.

Bonus content:  Should you ride your precision bearings shieldless?

These days it seems like a lot of skaters are moving to shieldless bearings.  They do look cool!

But we spoke to the skater/engineers at the University of North Carolina, and they said:

Keep your shields in!

Dirt and dust will have a much easier time gunking up your bearings if you ride them shieldless.

Even though some riders believe that without shields, the dust and dirt will also fall out easier, we do not recommend it.  Once the dirt mixes with the oils and lubes it will generally gunk up rather than self clean.

Bonus content:  Should you skate spacers?

We spoke to skater/engineers at the University of North Carolina, and the answer is no!

In street skating, the small advantages of using spacers aren’t worth the risk of a misaligned spacer blowing out your bearings on impact!

Verdict:  Which are the best cheap bearings?

There is definitely more brand recognition with Bones and Bronson bearings versus Quantum.

Either three of these bearings should hold up pretty good for the price, but the performance for price offered by Quantum is in my opinion the best.

This is why we offer Quantum bearings on our site and as part of our complete skateboard packages.