When it comes to selecting skateboard bearings, choosing the best can be difficult.
Now I know a lot of you know things about bearings through marketing or shoptalk—that
can be hype or hearsay.
There are so many different features that go into bearings that make one better than
another that we need to know about.
There are ABEC ratings which are really common, there are now skate ratings, there are Swiss
and ceramic, metal shields, rubber seals, nylon retainers, metal cages—it just goes
on and on.
It makes this whole ordeal of choosing the best bearing really difficult!
And even when we think we’ve got the best bearings, we also need to know how to properly
maintain them to keep them clean and continue to roll fast—so be sure to check out the
video on how to clean bearings and video on lubricants.
Now, before we can put an end to all this confusion and madness, we need to know a bit
more about how bearings work and why we use them, so let’s get started.
In the early stages of the evolution of bearings, ancient civilizations used a type of bearing
in the form of log rollers to transport heavy objects.
Now, let’s fast forward to our modern time, we can see how we’ve modified their design
to arrive at the bearings we commonly use today.
Looks pretty familiar, doesn’t it?
If we didn’t use bearings, our wheels would have tremendous amounts of friction rubbing
on the axle.
With rolling-element ball bearings, we nearly eliminate all of the friction.
Let’s now get you familiar with the individual parts that create a bearing.
A searing holds a removable metal shield in place on the outer race or ring.
There’s also an inner race.
There’re typically seven steal balls that are spaced out by a nylon ball retainer or
sometimes a metal cage.
You’ll also find removable Buna rubber seals.
Now that you know all the parts that go into a bearing, we can now get into more detail
starting with the ABEC rating scale and other ratings.
So, what is ABEC and what does it do?
Maybe you’ve heard that it doesn’t apply to skateboarding.
Well, does it, or does it not apply to skateboarding?
First off, ABEC was started by the American Bearing Manufacturer’s Association to set
standards for dimensions.
Basically, what was happening in the past was that manufacturers that needed a bearing
would just make whatever sized bearing they needed in any dimension.
So eventually, this just created a huge mess of different sizes and dimensions out there,
so the ABMA created the annular bearing engineering committee to set standards for dimensions.
What they did is they told manufacturers who wanted to make bearings or needed a bearing,
“Here are the dimensions that you need for precision bearings, and if you want to know
the different ratings between them, here’s a scale that rates them.”
Now that we know what ABEC is, how does it work?
ABEC only rates tolerances.
You’re probably thinking, “Well, that’s great, what the hell are tolerances?”
Now, before I go into tolerances, the word ‘rating’ is probably not the best word
to use because ABEC doesn’t rate the bearings from worst to best, it’s more of a grade
or a class, but for the sake of conversation and this video, I’ll continue to use the
word “rating” because it’s already set in place.
Here are the dimensions and tolerances for an ABEC 3 rated bearing.
The outer diameter is 22mm.
Those tiny numbers mean that the parts needs to be no smaller than .0003” (three ten-thousandths)
of an inch.
The width is 7mm and the inside bore is 8mm; here’s where ABEC really comes in and rates
a bearing.
We’re looking for the distance between the balls and the inner ring and the outer ring,
and that measurement gives a bearing its rating—and other ABEC ratings have their own allowable
tolerances.
Now you know what tolerances are, what ABEC is, and what it does, and how its only purpose
is to set standards for sizes and dimensions.
So, how does ABEC affect performance?
Because that’s all we really care about, right?
Well, if ABEC only measures and rates tolerances, can an ABEC 3 be better than an ABEC 7?
Well, the answer is ‘yes,’ because ABEC only measures tolerances.
It does not rate speed, durability, ball sphericity, torsional loads, axial loads, surface finishes,
torque, lubricants—it only measures…I think you’re getting it!
So, the ABEC rating does not apply to skateboarding because of the tolerances set in the ABEC
scale, and what skaters do to bearings.
But that’s not to say that tolerances are not important to skateboarding, tolerances
are very crucial to skateboarding, and more so in longboard skateboard.
Tolerances need to be adjusted outside of the ABEC scale in order for bearings to really
be able to handle what skateboarders do to them.
Just because we use bearings in skateboarding doesn’t mean they’re actually made for
skateboarding.
So, some manufacturers have created their own skate-specific rating.
Now, although this is great for the industry, we still don’t know what this means for
consumers.
We don’t know if they’ve changed the tolerances to raceways, the steel grade or the hardness,
or even the surface finish (which is really important.)
But the most important besides all of those is probably the lubricant—but that’s another
video.
Anyway, as far as skate-ratings are concerned, we consumers are still left in the dark; we
still don’t know what they mean.
You know now what ABEC is and how it doesn’t apply to skateboarding, how important the
right tolerances are for bearings, and that a skate-rating can be vague or have no real
explanation at all.
Well, what’s good is that people are becoming more aware that ABEC doesn’t apply to skateboarding,
but because of this is there any wonder why companies are coming out with more Swiss bearings?
What is a Swiss bearing, and is there a misconception that Swiss is better than everything else?
Let’s find out.
Right away you’re probably wondering, “What does cheese have to do with bearings?”
Well, we can actually learn a lot from cheese.
Here, I’ve got cheddar and Swiss cheese.
Now, you might’ve noticed right away that this was Swiss cheese.
Well, what makes it Swiss cheese?
First off, the ingredients gives it its color and taste, and while its being made it gets
its world famous holes or bubbles in it, so without a doubt, this is Swiss cheese.
Now, cheddar cheese has different ingredients, colors and taste that separate it from Swiss
cheese.
Well, let’s say I wanted to call it ‘Swiss cheese.’
Would I be wrong?
Yes, because Swiss cheese has to be made a certain way in order to be called Swiss cheese.
Now, let’s take a look at so-called Swiss bearings.
Does there have to be a specific material to go into a bearing in order for it to be
called ‘Swiss?’
Does it have to function a certain way in order to be called ‘Swiss’?
Are the rules set by an agency, the Swiss government, which states that Swiss bearings
have to be made to an exact specification?
Is there something about Swiss bearings that make them better than American or Chinese
bearings?
No.
In my experience from doing all my testing and researching, no bearing is better than
one that is made in the USA, and Swiss bearings are not a category like Swiss cheese, and
are not of a higher ABEC rating than all other bearings.
You know, the word ‘Swiss’ for some reason has given the skateboard community the impression
that Swiss bearings are superior to all other bearings, and that’s just not true.
Swiss is basically a name to get you, the consumer, to buy these bearings.
It doesn’t matter where a bearing is made that makes it better.
A Chinese bearing can easily be better than a Swiss bearing.
What makes a bearing better than another is the quality of the material and the manufacturing
process.
Before I get into what a good bearing is, I should briefly talk about ceramic bearings.
What is the value of a ceramic material over steel?
Well, ceramic doesn’t rust, it can withstand higher temperatures, it’s lighter than steel
and it's harder than some steel grades.
So, is there an advantage to having ceramic balls over steel balls?
Well, I should first mention that ceramic bearings are actually hybrid bearings, meaning
that the balls are ceramic, but the inner and outer rings are still steel, which means
that ceramic bearings can rust.
Now, ceramic balls can surely withstand higher temperatures, but steel balls never get hot
enough to deform or affect performance.
Yes, ceramic balls are lighter than steel balls, but the weight difference is so minimal
that you won’t ever notice.
I should mention that ceramic material is more brittle than steel which means it can
crack, chip, and break.
Now, ceramic balls are harder than some steel balls, but not all—here’s a compression
test we did to prove it: What we used are two pieces of hardened tool
steel with little divots to hold the ball and pressed them in a psi press—if you look
closely, you can see this commonly found steel ball crack.
This ball failed at barely under 8,000lbs.
Now, here is the top of the line ceramic ball that failed at about 8,200lbs.
You can’t see much happening here with this American made-ball, but we were able to get
the press up to 22,000lbs before the ball failed.
As you can see, ceramic balls are not harder than steel balls and don’t really have an
advantage over steel, if any.
You also know what ABEC is and how important tolerances are, and that Swiss is basically
just a name and not better than all other bearings.
So now, let’s look into more detail about bearings and see what makes one bearing better
than another.
Here we have three different types of covers or closures: a rubber seal, a non-removable
metal shield, and a removable metal shield.
Despite what a lot of people believe, removing any of these does not make a bearing faster—because
one side of the bearing faces inside the wheel, bearing brands probably figured it wouldn’t
hurt the bearing to have one seal or shield.
They can save money by having only one seal or shield on the bearing, plus they can save
money on machining by only machining one side of the outer ring to hold the cover.
Whatever the reason, lubricants can still escape out of the bearing which can ruin the
bearings performance.
Contaminants like dirt and moisture can find their way into a bearing because the inner
bore of the inner ring does not fit tight on the axle.
I should also mention that very minimal amounts of lubricants or contaminants can enter or
escape between the inner ring and the cover.
Now you can see how important seals and shields are.
Another important attribute to be aware is how well a bearing can handle axial and torsional
loads.
While maneuvering a skateboard, bearings experience these loads and it can balance the balls in
raceways.
What happens is that as the wheels move, the balls can end up riding on the raceway and
if the loads are big enough, the balls and raceways can get scratched or indented.
To see if a bearing can handle axial or torsional loads, we need to look at raceway depths.
If you look closely, you can see that these two have slightly deeper raceways compared
to the others.
Deeper raceways with good tolerances make a bearing more solid, allowing the bearing
to operate more efficiently.
A shallow raceway does not cause less friction because a balls footprint remains the same
no matter where it touches in the raceway.
Although deeper raceways are better than skating, we can’t assume that bearings that have
them will function optimally because we still have to consider other important factors like
steel grade, material hardness, polishing and tolerances.
Speaking of polishing, you can actually see the different degrees of surface finishes
on the raceways.
Well-polished balls and raceways create smoother and harder contact surfaces.
This can result in higher achievable speeds, but again, other factors still need to apply
in order for a well-polished ball to operate optimally.
These are just some of the things that can make any bearing better than another—even
better than ceramic, Swiss, or ABEC 9 rated bearings.
Now you know the difference between Swiss, ceramic, and ABEC rated bearings and how one
bearing can be better than another.
From our testing and researching, our findings show that American steel-ball bearings and
far and away the best.
What you probably are not aware of is how much of an effect trucks, wheels, and bearing
spaces have on bearing performance.
So, be sure to check out the video on bearing spacers.