Choosing Bearings For Your Skates

There are many things to consider when buying bearings. Some skaters are looking for the fastest bearing possible or simply the highest ABEC rating. A beginner skater, or a street skater, may be more concerned with durability than speed. Here are few guidelines to help you choose the right bearings for skating street, fitness or hockey. Feel free to call our friendly staff any time for a recommendation on what bearing may suit your needs the best.

1. First look to see if you are using standard hub or micro hub wheels. This will determine whether you need standard (608) or micro (688) bearings. If youÍre getting micro hub wheels then, you must get micro bearings, and vice versa. Street/Aggressive skaters use standard hub wheels and bearings exclusively. See Common Lingo for more information on standard and micro bearings. Arguably, micro bearings are believed to have better precision and race. Most speed and/or 5-wheel skates come stock with micro bearings.
2. Choose an ABEC rating and brand you are comfortable with. Most skaters have a brand favorite due to past experiences. Most bearings are rated ABEC 1, 3, 5 or, 7, and you may even see a 9. Supposedly, the higher the ABEC rating the faster the bearing, but you may have read that anything over an ABEC 1 is pointless. Some bearings donÍt even have ABEC ratings (i.e.- Bones Swiss). This is where the confusion starts. ABEC 5 rated bearings, for example, will not feel the same from brand to brand. So is there something to the ABEC rating? Perhaps, but proper lubrication and brand recognition may be a better way to go, rather than basing your decision solely on their ABEC rating. We at Inline Warehouse each have our favorites and opinions as well. Feel free to call us for a recommendation.
3. No matter what bearing you choose, servicing your bearings is important. At Inline Warehouse, we recommend using Sonic Super Oil. The oil helps keep bearings lubed to spin freely and limits wear on the metal parts. Ceramic bearings generally are faster and lighter. However, lubrication may be needed more frequently with such bearings Tthe elements your bearings are forced to go through may determine how often your bearings need lubricant. Too much oil, may attract dust and dirt, so use sparingly.