Frequently asked questions
Bearing oil is a critical part of every skater’s setup. If you properly lubricate your bearings regularly, you not only protect the critical moving elements inside of them but you extend their serviceable lifetime and performance.
Ionic Flux Black Steel is a lubricant engineered with a variety of additives. Most notably, our ionic liquid technology forms a protective tribo-layer on the steel surfaces of your bearings to reduce sliding friction across imperfect surfaces suffering from wear and protect against moisture that can oxidize the surface of your bearings (leading to rust). The nanoparticle technology in our lubricants helps restore bearings that have suffered from serious corrosion and rust through an abrasion technique while you ride. This technique restores surfaces to like-new condition and reduces rolling resistance.
One bottle of Ionic Flux Black Steel will last you a whole season or longer. You can lubricate your bearings (a set of eight) 10-12 times with one bottle. If you use our product only to unseize and restore rusty/corroded bearings, one bottle is good for up to 6 restoration processes.
If you’d like to become a dealer, please write us an e-mail sales@ionicflux.com for more details or sign up online.
We do. You can become a “flux rider” if you want to rep us and become a product ambassador. We will provide free product in exchange for content contribution (ie: social media posts, product reviews, youtube videos, etc.). If you wish to become a sponsored team rider, we’re looking for the competitive type. Please e-mail us for details at sales@ionicflux.com
Bearings are the metal rolling elements inside of your skateboard wheel. They are what allow your skate wheels to spin. They work by transferring forward momentum around a centrally located inner raceway attached to your truck axle. The bearing itself uses small balls inside a bigger housing (outer raceway) to transfer energy to the wheels with the least amount of friction possible.
There are literally hundreds of bearings to choose from. Sometimes it comes down to brand preference or price. The most common choice for skateboarding is the 608 size bearing. They come in a number of varieties: Abec ratings, removable/non-removable rubber or steel shields, some have built-in spacers or come with a separate spacer, or you can select a steel bearing, hybrid-ceramic bearing, and even some use new types of materials… the options are endless. At the end of the day, we always recommend a standard rubber shielded steel bearing, since it’s price point is usually lower and every skate bearing brand offers one. If you’re a more advanced skater, you’ll probably already know what you want.
Installing bearings is pretty simple. Place a bearing into the wheel, pop it in place against your truck, throw in the spacer (if you have one), turn the wheel around and repeat.
This can be tricky depending on your wheel. If you’re out skating and need to remove a bearing and you have a skate tool, you can remove the wheel nut, and pop the bearing out with the axle end of your truck. Turn the wheel around and repeat.
There are several ways to clean your bearings. We recommend removing the bearing from the wheel, take off the shield on each side, put them into a plastic jug filled with white spirit (aka: mineral spirits) and shake them for a few minutes. Remove them, clean them off with a towel, roll them back and forth in the palm of your hand or against a hard surface, and air dry them before lubing them up.
After you have cleaned your rusted and seized bearings, squeeze about 4-6 drops onto the bearing balls (with the shields removed) and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Put the shields back on, and put them in your wheels and mount them to the board. Then go and try to ride for 10-15 minutes. The ionic liquid and additives in our lubricant will break down the surface rust, and the nanoparticles will abrasively remove the rust and corrosion as you ride. Take them out, and clean them one more time. Lube them up with 2-3 drops and you should be ready to skate again.
NOTE: Some bearings have significant surface damage (especially from serious ball skid and raceway damage). If the mechanical integrity of your bearings is destroyed, this process may not work.
With shields removed, place 2-3 drops in each bearing, pop the shields back on, put them on your wheels and mount them to your board. You are ready to skate!
Drop us a message
Ionic Flux is part of the Tri Sesti Holding in Amsterdam under chamber of commerce number 60509503. The office is located at Kabelweg 44-A, 1014HM in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (this is our HQ, no store).