Skate Bearings
After many years of specialising in miniature bearings, thin-section bearings and corrosion resistant bearings now offer custom designed skate bearings (part numbers below) for roller skates, skateboards, inline skates and Heelys.
Have you ever tried to shop for skate bearings before? How many times have you been faced with a confusingly large range of skate bearings?We haven't given them fancy names to entice you and we won't offer you a dazzling range of different grades, lubricants etc.
We have used our extensive experience and knowledge of miniature bearings to produce four types of skate bearing to satisfy the most demanding skate and skateboard specifications. Our two most important design criteria were high performance and value for money. The only difference between our various specialized skate bearings are the material of the bearing rings and the ball material. Read the explanation below the part number table for more information on bearing technology.
What makes a good skate bearing?Abec rating? Lubrication? Seals? Cage/retainer? The answer is all of these. The problem is that some retailers will throw a lot of jargon at you to convince you that their bearings are superior. You have to decide what is relevant but, not being a bearing expert, how are you supposed to know? As experts, we will try to explain in plain simple language in the hope that you will go away with a better understanding of what to look for. For more details see our technical pages.
Material:
Rings: SAE52100 chrome steel is the most commonly used steel for bearings because it is hard wearing. It will corrode so if you skate in the wet, clean the bearings after use to avoid rust (see the section on cleaning below). 440 grade stainless steel is slightly softer but will still last a long time as, even if you are very heavy, the bearings are designed to take much greater loads than you.
We do offer stainless steel as an option for those who like the rain and it should not corrode unless subjected to salt water/salt spray or certain aggressive chemicals. See Technical Data - Bearing Material).
Balls: Chrome and stainless steel balls will take high loads and speeds and are absolutely fine for skaters. Silicon nitride (ceramic) balls are much lighter than steel balls and about twice as hard. These factors reduce running temperature and minimise wear meaning longer bearing life. The extra hardness of ceramic balls means they are less likely to be damaged if debris gets into the bearing. If used with a small amount of low torque grease, bearing life can be significantly extended.
These hybrid bearings (bearings with ceramic balls) are capable of higher speeds too but higher speeds are not necessary for skate use. As they are lighter and generate less friction, they require fractionally less effort to accelerate and maintain speed. However, this will not be a noticeable difference compared with, for example, using a stiff grease in your bearings.
