Are all Swiss bearings the same?

[MThockeydad 469]

Not a lot of hockey shops in Montana, definitely no roller hockey shops.

I hit the local skate board shop in the mall to buy some bearing upgrades. Skater salesperson told me she absolutely loved her Swiss Bones, so I bought a set for $50.

Got home and realized she'd sold me a set of 8. Good enough for one foot. :lol:
Need to return them, $100 is too much for bearings for as much as I skate, so I looked around for similar priced sets.

HockeyMonkey.com has Mission HiLo Swiss LE bearings for $59 and Labeda Swiss Lite bearings for $46.99. Are these significantly worse than the Bones?

Any other brands I might find at a local board shop? I don't mind buying locally; after shipping, the Internet isn't always an exceptional deal--I just don't want to spend $100.

My XR5's have the Swiss LE bearings, I love them....just need a similarly decent set for my street/exercise skates.

[Invert 13]

The Labeda Swiss Lites should be great for you. They aren't too different from the HiLo Swiss LE bearings, and are both a quality bearing, built off the Swiss specifications in Asia. The Bones Swiss bearings are legitimately awesome, they are manufactured to Swiss specs in Switzerland, but, because of where they are manufactured, they cost a premium.

[MThockeydad 469]

Thank you!

Would the Labedas be better than the Missions? $10 is nothing for a set of serviceable bearings.

$100 seems like a lot, but compared to automotive bearings, $6.25/ea for a premium bearing is really pretty cheap; just need 16 at a time.

[Invert 13]

I'd go with the Labeda ones, but that probably doesn't help because I work there. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were manufactured in the same place.

[sjs0433 15]

Honestly clean bones reds are awesome bearings and you're only looking at $40.

[Souldriver 64]

Read my thoughts. I think bones swiss are the best and can be had for about $60 for a full set for inline hockey skates.
http://modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/63995-bearing-suggestions/?hl=bearings

[mickz 107]

If you are using these skates outdoors I wouldn't worry about the rating too much. Once all the grit and gunk from the road gets onto the bearings you won't really notice a difference among different grades of bearings. For outdoors I'd even go with a ABEC 7 set.

[aldoraines 0]

+1 Bones swiss. I have the super six they're great.

Don't bother with other "swiss".

If 60 bucks is too much, buy bones reds and keep em clean.

[sjs0433 15]

It's not that hard to clean them either. I clean mine maybe every 3-5 games. Sometimes only a few need cleaning. You don't even really need to use anything special.

[MThockeydad 469]

Thank you Souldriver, that was exactly the kind of discussion I was looking for. My search-fu failed!!

Where can the Bones Swiss be had for $60?

I'll probably go with the Redz if I can't get into the Swiss for under $70.

[aeriches10 3]

Inlinewarehouse.com for $75

[sjs0433 15]

And considering they always have some kind of sale you can probably get them a little less.

[aeriches10 3]

They have 20% for members but they now have price restrictions on bones...

[savethechief2011 0]

MT?!?! I just moved from billings. The entire 2 years I was there i couldn't find roller hockey!!! Where do you play?!?!

[MThockeydad 469]

Kalispell. Local roller rink is available for $200/2hr but I haven't gotten enough people together to justify it.

Mostly skating for exercise in the off-season.

I did get to skate in one of the fairgrounds buildings on Saturday and played with my daughter. The waxed/polished concrete felt greasy!