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| Bearing Reviews (4976 Posts)
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Route 70 spacer problem
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On 7/16/1999 Lono
wrote in from
(205.215.nnn.nnn)
It's the Route 70 (& 65) that have a shorter space between the bearings. I think it's 8mm as opposed to the 'skateboard standard' of 10mm.
They are actually made for quad roller skates! So if you put in the regilar spacers there will be play between the wheel ans the bearings. I haven't been able to find any 8mm spacers, including skate shops. If anyone knows where to get some please post it.
Keep spacin'.
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Bones Swiss Blacksheilds
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On 7/11/1999 Station Bohemebvleck
wrote in from
(12.13.nnn.nnn)
I just spent $31 on Some Bones Swiss bearings , WHAT WAS I THINKING......................................... ......................................Waiting so damn long, man these things tottally rock. It is completely worth the change.
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8ball bearings
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On 7/10/1999
steve
wrote in from
(152.163.nnn.nnn)
I've heard that 8-ball bearings suck. I know this should go in the bearing page. Oh yeah, I got spacers and washers today, and I cleaned my bearings and greased them and hit my XT A/T's with Armor All and boy do they ride smooth and quick now. I can get from my house out to the start of the big run without kicking now. What a difference $1.95 makes!
steve
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Spacers and Wheels: Today's Project
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On 7/10/1999 NH Slalom Joe
wrote in from
(199.0.nnn.nnn)
I went out to my local skate shop and bought a couple sets
of 10mm spacers/washers (all they had), and a set of china bones
(which came with 10mm spacers as well); probably should
have waited and bought 8 ball bearings instead (see
www.flexdex.com; harry ball brand)... but anyway...
I installed them on my FlexDex Pro 41 and Rippey 36 (they
have 8 balls already and Kryptonic 65s:>) and man, immediate improvement. Less chatter, hard to describe but better feel overall... So naturally I want to also install them on my G&S Pintail 44, which has "okay" no name bearings (the reason I bought the china bones) and Kryptonics Route 65. Well, darn, the Route 65's have an 8mm spacing inside. No joy there. So, when the wheels/bearings die (or piss me off), they're getting the $2 treatment as well. Definitely a good move to do. My antique Hobie-Flex even has 10mm spacers in it. How come most completes don't have proper hardware now? *grin*
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NMB
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On 7/9/1999 Mule
wrote in from
(209.63.nnn.nnn)
Have to agree with Bob on the NMB's with spacers- they work like a million bucks.
In fact any bearing with right spacers willl probably work better than the
highest quality bearing without them.
Keep Spacing!
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bearing spacers
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On 7/7/1999
Bob
wrote in from
(192.73.nnn.nnn)
Thanks to Adam for the cool link to my bearing spacers page.
A little more info...
Deluxe Distribution sells the Lucky Accelerator Kit, which includes 4 spacers and 8 speed washers.
Pig Bearings sells a set of Abec 3 bearings in a package with 4 spacers. I bought the package, and then noticed that the spacers are about 1mm wider than the Lucky spacers.
This may seem like nothing, but it actually is a big difference. I think the wider ones may come in handy some time. Perhapes they are made for the internal dimensions of Pig Wheels?
Anyway, the Pig Abec 3's were no better (at $15.95) than my $8.00 NMBs. The NMBs, when set up correctly, kicked their asses.
Other note: Use a little butter to help get the bearings all the way in today's super hard wheels. This will insure that the spacers and speed washers can do their jobs. I've found that without a little lube, its just too hard to get 'em in good. Even when they may seem to be in the wheel all the way, they are a little off, and the spacers don't work correctly.
Rich's notes about checking the spacer width is right on.
Its really a shame that the skateboard industry does not bother to educate young skaters on how to set up a board.
Later,
Bob
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Bearings
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On 7/6/1999
Chis
wrote in from
(152.163.nnn.nnn)
What my point is not to worry sooo much about ABEC ratings and concentrate more on finding a good bearing. ABEC realy meens nothing in terms of skateboarding. so don't waste your ca$h.
Keep it rollin'- Chis
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RE: Steve, bearings
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On 7/5/1999
Doug
wrote in from
(216.77.nnn.nnn)
Very well put....! And for whatever it's worth, I love my
China Bones! Happy Riding.... - Doug
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bearings
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On 7/4/1999
Steve
wrote in from
(205.188.nnn.nnn)
Yeah, worry more about how well-made a bearing is. How do you find out? Well, you have to try some out for long periods (like months) or just talk to people and ride boards that have aged bearings in them. I have some China Bones ("just" abec 3) and they're rolling smooth and quiet after a year and a half of riding through mud and rain. What seems to be a really good measure of how well-made a bearing is is the sound it makes. If it's silent, that means it's running smoothly and is therefore well-made. If you get crappy bearings then they'll make noise. Noise means friction. Friction means slowing down. Slowing down is bad! So maintain your bearings, and buy high quality well-made bearings and ignore the abec measure.
steve
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ABEC Rating (All Bad Enginering Crap)
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On 7/4/1999
Chis hardley
wrote in from
(152.163.nnn.nnn)
Skateboarders must read this-
The only mesurment of bearing is the ABEC rating. Although this doesn't mesure quality- It mesures various tolarences in a bearing.ABEC means Annular Bearing Engenering Committee not (All Bad Enginering Crap). This Committee uses odd numbers fom 1-9. "Wow" you say"then I need ABEC 9's!" Well not really. Heres why,the ABEC rating mesures tolerances like the bore diamiter (the size of the hole in the inner bearing race, Width variation (Parralellism) radial raceway runout, and more. Say what? raceway runout? Parralellism? Do I care? No you don't really need to know all of the specs for bearings.
These mesurements are for machines and electric motors and whatnot. These bearings are made to go thousands of times faster than skateboards wheels. They are made to go in one direction and one plane. This is called the radial load. Skateboards also place on the side, or axial load on a bearing turns, carves, slides or anything but roll straight foward or backwards. thye ABEC rating is made only fo radial load. You want bearing quality not the level of bearing precision for it to run well on a skateboard. also Bearings on the skateboard market have no ABEC rating that carry an axial load. So when you bye bearings look over the ABEC rating and look for bearings that say they are made for skateboards
Keep it rollin' Chis-
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Lucky Bearings
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On 7/4/1999
Kyle
wrote in from
(152.163.nnn.nnn)
I'd just like to say that Lucky bearings are the best ever. They are smooth and fast and they last for a long time. The best ones they make are Lucky Sevens. They have an abec 7 rating. If anyone has anything to say just email me.
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sorry
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On 7/1/1999 dan
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
sorry for the repeat messages my computer was tweaking
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fafners
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On 7/1/1999 Dan
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
J,
I have never seen these bearings in a skate shop for sale. I probably wouldn't even know about them, except a friend of mine has some,and they spin faster for a longer amount of time than any other bearing I've seen. and when you get some weight on them and take them down a hill they do even better. I'm sure that there are some faster bearings out there that are all tricked out with the latest stuff and cost a hundred bucks a bearing. I don't know how many other people agree with me on how good these bearings are, or even know about these bearings, but as far as I am concerned these are the best. If you know of some bearings that are better for about th same price, or just slightly higher, and know where I could get some, let me know.
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fafners
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On 7/1/1999 J
wrote in from
(207.41.nnn.nnn)
Dan, Not putting anyone down. I get a lot of people involved in skating and when I tell them to pick up some bearings or wheels in a shop the store clerks always say these are the fastest or these wheels rule.Sure its all fun and most stuff works but there is a big line between the best products and such, things I have tried over skating all of my life. Do these shops just want to make quick sales or what?And its not that shops sell bad stuff generally it is good but the best?the fastest? based on the 17 year olds skate history? Cacth my drift? Being a world class racer doesnt toot my horn. The euros are still faster but being at that level you learn a lot of new stuff.To get to that level you do a lot of trial and error on all equipment. A learning experience. What works the best for me may work like shit for someone else. Just keep skating and the answers reveal themselves through performanse.
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bearing test?
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On 7/1/1999 herb n at skatewerks n.j.
wrote in from
(207.198.nnn.nnn)
wow! some people are really passionate about their bearings,damn! Has anybody tried a real life test? I got a hill thats nice and straight reasonably smooth and not to busy, good for 45mph on 62mm wheels (worn down from 65) 92a spitfires. I figure I'll get some sector 9 cored( for consistant bear seating) 78a speed wheels and then take one set of each type of bearing that I have in the shop;china abec3,china bones,swiss bones,bsb german abec5 lucky 3 ,lucky5,pig 3,pig 5,quickies,panthers,magnum 44,halos 3,5 and 7 and those cool looking reflex abec5s thats 16 types of bearings. I figure, one swerving run to seat the bearings and one straight down followed by a car with a digital speedo bring a caliper to keep track of the slightest wear retesting the top five to see if the test is accurate and settle this once and for all (yeah right)Thats 37 runs ,even if I don't get busted I know I'll be bored by the end,well maybe not. I think I looked into buying bearings once from an industrial supplier once or twice and I think they might have been FAFNIR bearings and they cost a bundle but most bearing supply places overcharge walkin customers. The skate industry buys large quantities and gets industial pricing. A skater who walks into a bearing distributer and plunks down much cash on an obscure abec whatever may just be rolling on the emporers new bearings;maybe not, show me a test.
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oops
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On 7/1/1999 pierre
wrote in from
(207.253.nnn.nnn)
I mean well said Dan, not john.
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fafner
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On 7/1/1999 pierre
wrote in from
(207.253.nnn.nnn)
Well said John, by the way, i didn't know about a world cup?
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fafners
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On 6/30/1999 Dan
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
John,
Dude, whats up? I cant agree with you more, Fafner bearings are the best I have ever seen. But you don't need to go putting all of us down just because there aren't enough fafners to go around. I could just about guarantee that if there were enough fafners to go arround, everyone would be riding them. And talk about a high opinion of yourself, I mean what does your being a world cup racer have to do with anything. Personnaly I like my cheap China bones just fine, since I am not a world cup racer and all. And who said anything bad about your bearings, if anyone did they have nothing to base their comments on, because fafners are the best. No offence dude, but whats up?
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Fafner bearings
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On 6/30/1999 John Gilmore
wrote in from
(207.41.nnn.nnn)
Fafner bearings are the fastest bearings if you can find them.The swiss bones or such have never placed in a world cup race. I have been racing world cup for years. So you all take your shitty bearings to a world cup race and we'll see how fast they really are. Wheel type along w' wind tunnel testing needs to be there for the speed too. Untill then, dont talk shit.
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Re: England bearings??
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On 6/30/1999 Dan
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
I think there is a rollerblade company called England, I don't know anything about them or if they even make bearings, all I can say is that "abec" means jack. Ive had abec 5 bearings that were slower and fell apart faster than abec 1 bearings. the only real way to tell if they are any good is to take them out and ride them.
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spacers II
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On 6/27/1999 Rich
wrote in from
(203.23.nnn.nnn)
Couldn't agree more with Adam !
But first timers (most complete setups don't come with spacers) beware, a lot of wheels say they have built in spacers .. this is crap the spacers should fit on the inside rim of the bearing. Also I have noted that longboard wheels often need a variety of spacer lengths ... usually 8 or 10 mm, using the wrong size is a waste of time and when using 10mm when you should be using 8mm means your wheels will slide on the bearings by 2mm !
Also the same wheel company sometimes uses different lenghts !! KRYPS are villains at this !
So be aware and check the size, put one bearing in and then a spacer, the spacer should come flush with the other bearing seat if it is the right size. If you have smaller ones than you need the spacer will rattle when you shale the wheel !
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Bearing Spacers
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On 6/27/1999 Adam
wrote in from
(208.151.nnn.nnn)
It's amazing what people forget in a couple of decades. I can't say enough on how these 25 cent parts can help your wheels spin properly! Don't waste your money on high ABEC ratings until you've tried a set of spacers! Back in the 70s they were de rigueur, but the rock-hard wheel era of the 80s made them extinct. What the hell am I going on about? Just check out the new link to "About Bearing Spacers" on the Links page. Then thank Bob for writing and illustrating it.
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England bearings??
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On 6/23/1999
j.a.g
wrote in from
(195.204.nnn.nnn)
Does anyone ever heard of "England Bearings"??? I bought myself a pair. It`s written england on them! I`ve never heard of them before. I really doesn`t know what abec they are, and if they are any good.
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Greaseball
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On 6/16/1999 Davis Jnr
wrote in from
(203.41.nnn.nnn)
Sick for crusin on the big hills like death mountian Victoria,
Australia, located somewhere in the heart of Templestowe
find it and prepare to be amazed.
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alternative bearing sizes
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On 6/16/1999
HERB
wrote in from
(207.198.nnn.nnn)
I used to have a set of green wheels with larger than normal bearings, then a friend of mine told me he used to have z bearing, which were smaller than normal, they were pressed in to machined cores that fit in just like regular, he said they were really fast but broke real easy. I was wondering if anybody out there has done a really thorough test on this angle of the great bearing debate. By the way I seriously doubt any bearing is specificly made for skating, maybe the plastic cages,but even that is unlikely
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