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Top Best Skateboard Bearing Options You Have

When it comes to skating, there are number of things one must consider to enhance the overall experience on the road. From choosing the right skateboard to keeping it in good condition, everything has to be managed in a proper way. Where maintenance of deck and wheels is important, bearings also play an essential role in providing smooth and flawless rides. Here I will provide you a quick guide to bearings of skateboards.

Top 5 Best skateboard bearing

How to Choose the Right Skateboard Bearings

Choose the Right Skateboard Bearings

To enjoy an improved performance of your skateboard, make sure you choose a right piece according to your skateboard’s model. Bearings basically enable boards to take turns around the corner without taking pauses. They help remove the friction caused between the metal inside the wheel and axle. Axle are fixed and don’t move at all hence it’s important that bearings move easily to allow wheels to roll. Bearings directly affect the performance of the wheels. If bearings are worn out, the wheels won’t roll or turn smoothly but if bearings are in good condition, you won’t face any trouble regarding turning or rolling of wheels.

Read more: Best Bearings for Longboards

1

What are ABEC ratings?

When it comes to deciding bearing for your skateboard model, it is always measured by an ABEC rating. The accuracy and preciseness of any bearing depends on how higher the ABEC rating is. The grades of ABEC rating ranges from 1 to 9.

There are many critical factors of bearings that are not specified by ABEC ratings. You cannot identify ball precision, load handling capabilities, noise and vibration. This is the reason why it’s is possible that a bearing with 8 ABEC rating may perform less than bearings with 3 or 4 ABEC rating.

ABEC ratings

If we come to each ABEC rating of bearings, the ABEC 1 bearings are quite inexpensive but poorly accurate as well. The quality of steel used in their making is also objectionable. ABEC 3 are also cheap but roll pretty bad. As far ABEC 5 is concerned, it’s affordable and worthy buying as well. Bearings with this rating provide fast speed and better rides. For professional level skating, ABEC 7 bearings are totally a good choice. But if you want to enjoy true taste of downhill skating, prefer ABEC 9+ and have an insane experience.

You might come across some bearings with no ABEC rating because not every company follows this rating rule. They follow their own rating system to scale the bearing they make.

2

What Makes up a Skateboard Bearing?

You might think that skateboard bearings are smallest part hence don’t matter much but it’s totally wrong to even think that. Skateboard bearings can make or break the overall performance of a product. They are small but extremely complex to understand. When you see a bearing, you think of it as one part of the skateboard but when it comes to maintenance, you come to know about its structure. Bearings are split into two halves for proper cleaning and lubrication.

Bearings are comprised of seven small parts. The first part is called C-ring. It’s a ring shaped part that fits into the groove on the outside of the bearing and locks the shields in right place. Next comes the bearing shield. It’s also a ring in medium size that is used to prevent the ball bearing from getting any dust particle or dirty substance. The outer ring is the exterior round part made up of metal. All other parts of a bearing fit into it. In the outer ring, you can find a smaller metal ring that is called inner ring. Inner ring helps the axle to fit through and allow wheels to setup onto.

makes up a skateboard bearingThe most important part of a bearing is its set of steel balls. There are usually 6 to 7 balls made up of steel or ceramic that rest in the ball retainer.Steels balls basically allow bearing casing to spin around easily. Ball retainer is the part that allows each ball to stay in its place while spinning smoothly without any disruption. The final covering of the whole bearing interior is done with rubber seal. This part shields entire interior from debris and dirt that may cause corrosion.

If you want to enjoy the best performance of a skateboard bearing, make sure it’s every part is working perfectly. Clean bearings regularly to keep them in a good working condition.

3

MATERIALS

STEEL

If you’re into skateboards, you must have seen circular shaped bearings with flat sides. Such bearings have around 7 to 8 lubricated balls. These balls are basically designed to disperse the pressure and tension between wheels and axle. Steel is used for these balls to make them durable and affordable. It’s most commonly used and works pretty fine for most of the skateboarders. There is only problem with steel bearing. Heavy friction between axle and wheels causes energy that expands the metal and makes it ineffective.

CERAMIC

To deal with the problem of heat energy that causes expansion of steel bearings, ceramic bearings are being introduced by skateboard manufacturers. A compound called silicon nitride is used in the making of ceramic bearings that are smoother and reliable in comparison to steel bearings. As ceramic doesn’t get affected by heat energy, there is no expansion or change in the overall performance. To cut long story short, ceramic bearings are totally worth buying stuff!

4

SIZES

608 STANDARD

If we talk about the size of bearings, 608 is the most common size used in almost every kind of skateboard. This size comes with 8mm core, 7mm width and 22mm outer diameter. This size easily suits to every skate wheel and allows proper spinning.

NON-STANDARD

There are many wheels that do not go well with standard sized bearings and require a non-standard size to set onto properly. Non-standard bearings are not commonly used. You cannot use them in any skateboard but need to buy the one with such requirement. So just make sure, when you buy bearings, their size.

Bones Bearings Reds Bearings

Bones Bearings Reds Bearings

Bones bearings Reds are one of the top choices skaters should make their first priority. They are affordable and durable. Featuring premium finish chromium steel balls and races, these bearings are pretty good in functioning as well. The Reds bearings have detachable ball retainer so you may clean them properly. In addition to high speed, these bearings also allow smooth rolling of wheels. They feature frictionless rubber shield and bones speed cream lubricant that improve the speed as well wheel performance. Such a combination of high class features create wonderful, high quality bearings that turn out to be quite durable and worth buying. Reds bearings are properly tested after making to ensure that nothing needs to be amended in the design and everything works fine. You can totally trust these bearings in terms of durability and performance.

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Yellow Jacket Premium Skateboard Bearings

Yellow Jacket Premium Skateboard Bearings

Yellow Jacket claims that they offer skaters far better bearings than Red Bones. Their bearings spin smoothly and do not stick unnecessarily. Customer reviews also support this brand in terms of performance and making quality. Material choice and composition both are incredible and offer a spectacular result together. With yellow jacket bearings, your skateboard’s wheels will spin much longer and you won’t face a problem of replacing them frequently. What makes these bearings a top choice of customers is the fact that they reduce friction between wheels and axle resulting in long lasting usage without any need of repair. All you need to do is just apply some effective lubricant regularly and you will be able to use the same yellow jacket bearings for years. There is no money back guarantee for Yellow Jacket bearings because they don’t need one and always turn out to be durable.

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Pro Skateboard Bearings

Pro Skateboard Bearings

For professionals, a high class pair of bearings is needed so they may enjoy skating to fullest without any restrictions. With these pro bearings, you will be able to experience efficient and faster rides. Whether you want bearings for your racer skateboard or cruiser, get these and enjoy a high quality performance. The price is also affordable and considering their durability, it worth every single penny. The heady shake professional skate bearings are much lighter and stronger than the onesmade up of steel. They don’t get corrode or stiff overtime. You just need to keep them cleaned and lubricated to enjoy their best performance for years. These bearings match almost all types of boards that professionals use for racing or drill tournaments and competitions. With these bearings you can roll good and perform incredible tricks!

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Zealous Bearings

Zealous Bearings

These steel made Zealous bearings are a good option for skateboards as well as longboards. With their great performance, you can enjoy thrilling rides and beat everybody with higher speed and faster roll. These bearings have 8mm axle fitting hole where axle can fix easily. They feature green rubber inner and outer seals that keep the entire interior well-protected from dust and dirt. During the process of testing, these bearings are well lubricated with Archoil Nanoceramic Grease that helps in prevention of breakage. This grease also helps reduce friction to much extent that you won’t be worrying about replacing the many time sooner. We suggest downhill skateboarders to try out these bearings especially if they want to enjoy fastest rides down the road and win the game. Its composition is great and performance and flawless.

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Bones Speed Cream

Bones Speed Cream

For bearings lubrication, you won’t find something better than this Bones speed cream. No matter how high quality bearing you purchase, they all need regular lubrication to work smoothly. With this cream, you can protect the bearings from getting any corrosion and working poorly. When bearings are well lubricated, they also perform satisfactorily. This cream is the best solution to use the same bearings for longer duration.

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May you like: How to Clean and Maintain Your Longboard Bearing

Conclusion

For skateboarders, it essentials to have sufficient knowledge of all parts involved in the making of a skateboard. Among many components, people usually pay least attention to the most important part called bearings because of their size. Available in standard and non-standard size, these smallest parts of skateboard play a vital role in enhancing rides. They are made with different materials so choose wisely and enjoy durable bearings with better speed.

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