All our roller skis have bearings from SKF. This bearing has sealing rings of the best quality and if the picture below shows, we also have a cover disc that protects the bearing from direct stress and any splashes. As a third fuse, there is a thin layer of protection between the bearing and washer that will also prevent the ingress of water.
Theoretically, a track ball bearing used in our roller skis should last almost 15000 hours in normal use and actually over 6000 hours at a continuous speed of over 50 km/hour. This means that nothing should ever happen to a ball bearing. We see this is true well during testing in optimal conditions in our test machine.
Why is the lifetime of a bearing reduced?
In most cases, it is because water or dirt gets in by sealing. The seal is a small rubber ring that protects the bearing from ingress while keeping conditions optimal inside the bearing. There is about 1 gram of fat inside the bearing and if this is lost, there will be mechanical contact and corrosion will start quickly.
In addition, we have run salt tests on all the different warehouses and see major differences here as well. If saline water enters the warehouse, the problems come quickly. This in turn means that places with harsher climates (salt etc.) are more prone to problems. SKF bearings are the most resistant.
It is during storage in autumn/winter that the first damage usually occurs. Many have experienced that the wheel is a little stuck during first use in the spring and that this has to be rolled loose. There has then been mechanical contact inside the warehouse and the damage has already occurred. There is also a great danger that this happens when stored in an environment with high humidity.
When flushing directly into the warehouse, there are also great opportunities for moisture penetration and the same problem will occur in case of lack of washing and maintenance.
Intrusion into bearings will eventually also affect the one-way bearing that sits in the middle of the wheel.
