Hamboards Bearings SANO-O (Nylon/Grease)

SAN-O bearings are specially designed as “Turning Bearings”.  

These babys feature polished chrome balls, nylon cages and the very best synthetic bearing grease from Japan.  These are not considered “Speed Bearings” but they still get you going plenty fast.  It may be a bit counter-intuitive but we’ve found that this setup is far superior for making sweeping, carvy turns… smoothly and quietly.  

WHY SYNTHETIC GREASE rather than OIL?

Grease bearings aren’t any where near as commonly available as “Speed Bearings”.  It’s no secret that bearing manufacturers think that consumers assume that “More Speed” is “More Better” all the time.  That’s definitely true if you’re going straight, but not necessarily for a Hamboard that’s screaming to turn.  

Grease is thicker and more viscous than oil, which sounds like “drag”.  Engineers know that grease (rather than oil) is a superior lubricant for low and moderate speeds.  (There’s oil in your car engine that rotates ten-thousands of times a minute, but grease in the entire drive train which rotates hundreds of times a minute.)  There are all types of bearing grease out there, but specifically formulated synthetic bearing grease is vastly superior to oil based grease because of the very narrow molecular weight distribution (polymer physics “mumbojumbo”).  We’ve found the bearing grease winner and it’s specially formulated for ball bearings.  When this grease warms-up just a little bit it gives a buttery carve that really lasts.  

Bearings aren’t all that expensive, so we might as well use our brains and build the best for Hamboards.  That’s what SAN-O bearings are… the very best.  We hope you like them!  

Oh… and why SAN-O?  

Anyone who’s learned to surf in Southern California knows these favorite spots and the irony of surfing warm whitewater from the Nuclear Electric Power Plant sitting right on the beach.