Roller wheels wear out as you roll. This negatively affects both the behavior of the skates and the durability of the rollers. In addition to replacing worn wheels, once or twice a season, it is also necessary to completely disassemble the bearings, clean them and lubricate them.
Changing wheels
Changing wheels on roller skates takes no more than 5 minutes or a little more for those who do it for the first time. Replacement of wheels along with maintenance of bearings - about half an hour. When removing wheels, try to remember carefully the order of removal of parts, so that then nothing "superfluous" remains and nothing is lost.
Take the rollers and flip them upside down. Unscrew the bolt securing the wheel to the frame with a hex wrench (or two wrenches) and remove it. Note that this mounting bolt is also responsible for wheel alignment. To change the height of an individual wheel, you need to turn the bolt in one direction or another.
To install the wheels, again take the roller skate with the frame up and distribute the wheels in their places so that the worn side (if the wheels are not new) is outside. Put the long axle that secures the standard brake exactly in its place.
Then use the hex bolt to adjust the height of each wheel so that all wheels are in the same plane.
Bearing maintenance
If it is necessary to change the maintenance of the bearing, remove and disassemble it. To do this, press with any hard blunt object on the edge of the sleeve so that it begins to move inward. You can act with the same key with which the wheel was unscrewed. Be careful not to let the wrench slip and damage the inside of the bushing. When the bushing begins to move, it will release the opposite bearing. The remaining bearing can be removed much more easily.
Disassemble the bearing. To do this, pry the edge of the metal ring that secures the bearing cover with a thin nail or a piece of hard wire. Typically, the ring has already been cut by the manufacturer so that there is a gap between both ends. Using pliers, pull on the end of the ring to gently pull it out. Try to deform it as little as possible. After removing the cap, you can see the bearing balls in the grease. If the wheel is not new, the grease will be dirty, therefore it is necessary to clean the bearing and replace the grease.
Examine all of the balls available. If they are intact, proceed to cleaning and lubricating. If at least one of them falls apart, it must be replaced with a ball from another, exactly the same bearing. Or replace the entire bearing. Use an unnecessary toothbrush or any other suitable object for cleaning. Very dirty bearings can be soaked in gasoline beforehand. Use lithol, grease or special grease for roller bearings as new grease.
To assemble the bearing, close it with a metal ring: push one end of the ring into its original place, put the other end to the edge of the ring and secure. If the ring becomes deformed during disassembly, place it on a hard, flat surface and straighten it with a hammer. Using the same hammer, press the bearings onto the wheel hub.
