How to Maintain Your Longboard

For the professional and hobbyist alike, cleaning and maintaining a longboard is instrumental to a good riding experience. After riding your longboard for extended periods of time, the wheel bearings accumulate dirt, dust and grime. Dirt accumulation eventually prevents the wheels from turning freely, which can cause your longboard to slow down. This poses a potential hazard as you ride the longboard on concrete because it causes the wheels to lock up when you hit a crack in a concrete slab.

Things You'll Need

  • 1/4-inch socket
  • Socket wrench
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Clean wash cloth
  • Lightweight mechanical oil
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the longboard on a sturdy work surface. Flip the longboard over so the wheels are facing up. Remove the 1/4-inch bolts mounting the wheel trucks to the bottom of the board. Lift the trucks off the longboard.

    • 2

      Unscrew the nut securing each wheel to the axle. Slide each wheel off the axle.

    • 3

      Look inside each wheel to locate the wheel bearings. Use a flat-head screwdriver to pry the bearing assembly out of each wheel.

    • 4

      Pour some rubbing alcohol into an empty container. Drop the bearings into the container and let the bearings soak for about an hour. Apply a few drops of lightweight mechanical lubricant to each set of bearings.

    • 5

      Remove the bearings from the alcohol and wipe each set of bearings down thoroughly with a clean washcloth. Slide each bearing into each wheel. Reattach each wheel to the axles, and reattach the wheel trucks to the bottom of the longboard.