Bearings go inside of the wheel and effects the speed. Bearings vary in cost from $5 a set to over $100 per set. The price has to do with what’s going on in the inside of the bearing. Don’t be fooled by colored shields, and pretty packaging.

While bearing information can get very technical, only some of it actually matters to skateboarding, and even less matters to you as a consumer, since companies don’t put everything on their packaging.

We will now discuss: ABEC Rating, Shields, Balls, Retainers, and Lubrication.

ABEC RATING:

The ABEC scale is a system for rating the manufacturing tolerances of precision bearings. The system was developed by the Annular Bearing Engineering Committee (ABEC). You will see ABEC 3, 5, 7, 9 and some even higher in the market place. Skate companies use ABEC to classify their bearings, but not as the true definition as above. Tolerance isn’t in the equation to making a good bearing for skating. Speed is the number one concern for skaters when buying bearings, companies use ABEC as a grading scale of their product. Un-fortunately one companies ABEC 3, doesn’t mean it’s equal to another’s ABEC 3. The raceways, finish on the balls, ball retainers, and quality/weight of the lubricant matter when it comes to speed.

Some companies such as Bones do not list an ABEC rating on their bearing, and use a different way to list their product levels.

SHIELDS:

Two types of shields are used on bearings: Steel, and Rubber. Steel shields can be either removable (serviceable) or non-removable (staked, non-serviceable). This means if you are able to remove the shields in order to clean the bearings. Better bearings are serviceable. Rubber shields remove easily, and are becoming the most popular amongst skaters.

BALLS:

Balls are normally made of steel, and have hardness’s which is on the Rockwell scale. Since no company lists the exact hardness of their balls, no sense on writing much about it. A cheaper bearing with soft metal used, will flat spot over time with impact and begin wearing away the inside of the bearing causing to be noisy and slow.

Ceramics Balls are on the market, and are harder then steel balls. Plus they don’t rust, but these can be very expensive, and not for average skater.

Most bearings have only 7 Balls, this places all impact and side load on only 1-2balls. Some bearings use 8 Balls to spread out the load, and create a longer lasting and stronger bearing.

RETAINER:

This is the piece inside of the bearing that holds the balls. Better bearings will use a Delrin Crown, or something that self-lubricates the bearing over time. Cheaper bearings use a metal retainer, or nylon which begins wearing the balls over time, and eventually ruining the bearing.

LUBRICATION:

Grease and Oil are types of lubrication used. Most skaters use oil because it allows the bearing  spin good right away. A greased bearing will be slow at first until the grease begins to break down, and “channel” into bearing making it faster and a longer lasting lubricant in the end.  Oiled bearings should be re-oiled after every couple of weeks of use. Make sure you use a light synthetic oil.