Last time I wrote about skateboarding I promised to continue writing about cleaning the bearings. Well, we did that by a very unecological and cheap method. We bought gasoline (technický benzín [cz]) in a shop selling dyes. It probably cost less than 50 CZK, don’t remember exactly. The process of cleaning is quite easy. Just pluck the bearings out of the wheels, put into gasoline, shake, dry. The old bearings were damaged, cleaning and lubricating did not help. I have decided to buy Bones Redz for 350 CZK at a local skate shop. It was a bargain. Another local shop sells them for 490 CZK. Overpriced, isn’t it. Everyone recommends those Redz due to quality-price ratio. It comes in a little black box which contains 8 bearings, instructions and a sticker. I’d be happy to obey save-the-nature advice unfortunately a price of a citrus cleaner is a bit high compared to gasoline. Don’t even want to mention that it is not sold here.

This video shows how to put the bearings into the wheels. Easy but not for weak girls. It surely needs some strength.

After a lot of investigation I have finally got one second hand skateboard. Mesdames, Messieurs, here is the set up!

• deck - Blind - Creager Roulette (probably 2006 design, resin-8, concave: moster mold, size: 7.7×31.1)
• trucks - Local
• wheels - Spitfire
• bearings - HMEC 608ZZ ABEC-5 (terrible things!)
• soft pads - black, no idea about any other details
• bushings - yellow, no idea about any other details
• grip - no idea about any other details

The seller claimed to had bought it a bit more than one year ago. That can be true according to one US shop that mentioned in 2006 that this deck was to be in stock soon. Another source which showed me details about Creager Roulette was this Japanese website [link 1] [link 2]. Otherwise no info about the particular design is present on the internet nowadays.

Original price of the whole set up was around 3900 CZK which seems to be true. Just have a look at various skate shops and check the prices of Blind, Local, Spitfire parts. If this boy didn’t sell the set up, I’d think of World Industries or second hand Speed Demons or so. Not that it matters very much what skateboard a beginner has. In fact the monster mold thing is a disadvantage, I guess.

Grip looked good, no damage. In fact whole skateboard looked perfect except when having a closer look on the wheels and mainly bearings. I really feel it needs some cleaning or even new bearings. When removing the wheels, the damage of two bearings was visible. Someone too curious tried to get in I swear it was not me! (yet)

Second quite strange thing is that the bearings/trucks were overlubricated, yet the wheels did not spin almost at all. When reading articles and watching many youtube videos, I thought that bearings should be lubricated inside, not outside. Have to check it again.

My first skateboarding attempts were on this skateboard - but blue colour - borrowed from my youngest cousin. Do not remember exactly how old I was, but surely it was during basic school or earlier. All I tried at that time was pushing of course! The real premiere took place on Saturday the 28th of March 2009. Next on Monday (March 31st), because it has been raining..

What have I learned so far? Bit of pushing, bit of turning and finally bit of tic tac. Turning right is easier for me. Turning left is more like scratching the poor wheels unfortunately. I’m always pretty joyful when turning more than 90 degrees.

Guess what. Stupid me. I already managed to make two holes in my trousers while carrying skateboard with really harsh grip scratching my thigh

I hope it will speed up after cleaning. It’s strange to push a lot and move a little. Wish to manage going in the circles by doing just tic tacs. Will describe the cleaning process next time.

Conclusion: Spring is here, love is in the air and what do I do? Date with a skateboard. Well No offence, my dear sk8.

Yesterday I’ve come across an article with tips for Americans concerning skateboarding in Europe. It made me laugh. Let’s comment on some of their 10 commandments.

1. Complete can be bought even for 95 U.S. dollars or less - World Industries, Speed Demons *cough*
2. Beer in McDonald’s? Whaaat? Never seen, never heard of.
3. Yeah yeah, black passengers beware or run away quickly…
4. Really that bad reputation?
5. Unfortunatelly! This is probably one of the little things which should be like in the U.S. If you don’t believe that smoke kills, see this video *lach*
6. -
7. Exactly! But we there in Europe do have internet nowadays
8. Except few shopping centers which aren’t interesting at all.
9. Fingerboard?
10. Saying thank you is as normal as waking up every day.