A fresh meat guide to bearings By Ace Vegas (Printed in Rink Rash Zine, June 2010)
What’s a bearing?
The bearings are the things you press into the middle of your wheel and sit between the skate axle and the wheel. There are two in each wheel, 16 all up per pair of skates.
Each bearing is made up of two metal rings with ball bearings in between them encased in a shield of either plastic or metal.
The bearing is an anti friction device working between the non moving skate alxe and the moving wheel.
What is this abec rating?
The ABEC scale is a system for rating the manufacturing tolerances of precision bearings. This scale is important for bearings that are used in machines from large earth moving equipment down to dentist drills. So what has this got to do with roller derby? The Scale measures the tolerance of the bearing to perform its job, which is how smooth it will roll. Bearings are usually rated from 1 to 9, the higher the number the higher the precision of the bearing, also the higher the number the more expensive
Bearings rated under the ABEC system are typically called “precision bearings”, and they are rated with a number from 1 to 9, with the higher number assigned to bearings manufactured against a higher standard of precision (high number = tighter tolerances = more expensive bearing).
The Swiss Bearing.
Bearings made in Switzerland have the best reputation, or at least those bearings labelled as “Swiss Bearings”. But not all Swiss bearings were actually made in Switzerland, they could be made in Japan or China or where ever for the matter. Some importers and distributors use the term “Swiss Bearings” to describe a manufacturing style.
What should I be using?
Totally depends what you are using it for. If your looking for a “fast” speed bearing try a Swiss bearing, for weekly training try bones reds, Swiss of even Abec 9. for outdoor use you can get away with a lower rated bearing 3,5,7 Abec is fine.
Ace Vegas - Owner and Skater - Skate Salvage - Oz first 100% Roller Derby store - Shop8-416 Logan rd Stones Corner QLD - www.skatesalvage.com
