BONES: The history of the brand

The BONES brand was created in the early 1980s by GEORGE A. POWELL, when skateboarding was not as successful as it is today. At that time, quality skateboard bearings were hard to come by. GEORGE A. POWELL had created a few years earlier the Powell-Peralta company, with one of the most popular skateboarders of the time, STACY PERALTA. The Powell-Peralta brand was specialized in the manufacture of products intended for skateboarding. It is still, today, a reference in the world of skateboarding.

Concerning the BONES brand, as mentioned before, it was created by GEORGE A. POWELL. It is a brand known in three different fields:

• Bones Wheels: brand for the manufacture of urethane skate wheels.
• Bones Bearings: brand dedicated to the manufacture of strong and fast skateboard bearings.
• Bones Brigade: A team of skaters who traveled the world at that time to promote this little known sport. For those in the know, this team included Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, Mike McGill, Ray Rodriguez, Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen, Tony Hawk, Per Welinder, Frankie Hill, Lance Mountain, Mike Vallely and Ray Barbee.

These 3 brands and Powell-Peralta are now part of the Skate One Corporation group.

What are the different types of skateboards?

There are several types of skateboards, each designed for a specific skateboarding style or discipline. The most common are the following:

• Skateboard : this is the most common and versatile board, suitable for all skateboarding disciplines. The skateboard can be used for street, bowl and tricks.
• Longboard : Longboards are longer, wider and heavier than standard skateboards. They are designed for speed and stability and are used for downhill, cruising and carving. In general, they are the ideal board to ride without pressure.
• Cruiser : Cruiser boards are similar to longboards, but shorter and lighter. They are designed for cruising and urban travel. This board is much lighter and more flexible than a longboard. It is also more difficult to handle which can be a disadvantage if you want to do tricks.
• Mini-cruiser or Penny : it is a plastic board smaller than the cruiser which is very light. It is mainly used for tight turns and carving.
• Freeboard : it is a board that has 6 wheels and not 4 as usually. These extra wheels allow to make 360° rotations while maintaining a fast speed.
• Mountainboard : as its name indicates, it is an all-terrain board that is adapted for use in the mountains, in the forest, on sand or any other uneven terrain. This board is wide enough and has 4 inflatable wheels to absorb shocks.
• Surfskate : this is a board that allows you to perform movements similar to those of surfing. The front truck of this board accepts lateral movements, which allows to take speed with the movements of the body. It is not necessary to put the most on the ground as for the standard skateboard.
• Hoverboard : it is a gyropod board with two wheels. The hoverboard can move thanks to an electric propulsion and it is intended for an urban use.
• Waveboard : it is a board composed of two plastic plates. They are linked together and have two wheels. The movements of your body (undulations) allow you to ride in urban areas. 

The products offered by BONES

BONES skateboard bearings are made in Switzerland. It should be noted that all brands of Trucks use 608 bearings, i.e. bearings compatible with 8mm axles. GEORGE A. POWELL and the manufacturer have optimized the bearings for skateboarding use. The standard metal ball retainer is replaced by a high speed precision molded plastic retainer. This new retainer can be removed by skateboarders to allow for better cleaning of the bearing. They also adjusted tolerances and clearances to allow the bearings to handle more of the combined lateral and vertical loads imposed by this practice. The bearings offered by BONES are mainly :

• 608 REDS bearings: these are the most popular bearings of the brand. They offer a very good quality/price ratio.
• 608 BIG BALLS REDS: These are bearings with fewer balls, but with larger dimensions.
• 608 SUPER REDS bearings: these are improved REDS bearings. The quality of the steel is better for the balls and the rings.
• 608 CERAMIC SUPER REDS bearings: these are bearings with high quality steel rings (SUPER REDS) with ceramic balls (Silicon Nitride Ceramic). These bearings have all the advantages of ceramics, which are: lightness, speed, reduced friction and resistance to corrosion.
• 608 RACE REDS bearings: Thanks to the integrated spacers, these bearings offer a perfect fit and additional protection against deformation when the bearing is inserted.
• 608 SWISS bearings: these are high precision bearings for skateboard competition. They allow to support more speed, durability and especially allow less maintenance.
• 608 SUPERS SWISS 6 bearings: these bearings have six balls with a larger diameter than the standard ones. The advantage is a higher speed, greater resistance and durability.

Why choose the BONES brand?

The BONES brand has been a leader in the field of skateboard bearings for many years. Their products are of excellent quality and also have the advantage of having been used by some of the greatest skateboarders in history, which makes them reliable and trustworthy. In addition, their bearings are very easy to maintain. All of these factors make BONES bearings an excellent choice for any skater.