No idea which bearings you need? Take a look at our buyer's guide video!
Without bearings, you’ll get stuck! In the skatedeluxe online skate shop, you can choose from different bearings from top brands like Bones, Bronson Speed Co., Andale and SK8DLX. Moreover, we will show you what ABEC means and how to mount and clean your bearings correctly.
Without bearings, your wheels wouldn’t spin and you would have to push constantly to get from point A to B. The movement of your bearings will make your wheels spin because the balls on the inside of your bearings will rotate, which makes your wheels move forward. Each wheel holds two bearings and everything is mounted on the axle of the truck. Skateboard bearings comprise two rings with a ball cage between them that holds the balls. The graphic depicts the construction of skateboard bearings.
The myth that skateboard bearings that have a high ABEC value are better and faster than others is pretty much as old as the hills. The ABEC value merely gives you information about the precision with which the balls of your bearings were produced.
The quality of ball bearings increases with the ABEC rating - ball bearings with ABEC 7 are thus more high-grade than ABEC 5 ball bearings. But since under normal circumstances, you won’t get as fast as you would need to in order to recognise a difference, you can ignore the ABEC value most of the time.
Many skateboard bearing manufacturers renounce the ABEC value now and use descriptions like „skate rated“ for their bearings. Those bearings have been made especially for skateboarding and are able to withstand a lot.
Nevertheless, there are high-end bearings that have components made from ceramic or titanium. These bearings are long-lasting and are particularly interesting for longboards. Many bearings that are designed for longboarding have integrated speedrings and spacers. That way you can’t lose those small parts. By the way, you will also find special bearings for axles that are 10 mm wide in our shop, that you’ll sometimes find in longboard trucks.
Spacers are the small cylinders made of metal, that are placed in between the bearings. They protect your bearings from damage that might occur when you tighten your axle nut too hard. It’s especially useful to mount spacers if you want to ride soft wheels because they will keep your bearings in place. The small washers that sit in between your bearings and the hanger or the axle nut of your truck are called speedrings. They minimise the friction produced when your wheels spin and therefore, make your wheels go faster. Fortunately, all skateboard trucks already include speedrings, when you buy them. In general, we highly recommend using spacers and speedrings.
Many sets of bearings that you can buy in the skatedeluxe online skate shop already include spacers and some also replacement-speedrings. Every product description mentions if they are included or not. If you need more supplies you can visit our small parts section.
Your new bearings have arrived, but you have no clue how to mount them? Our skateboard assembly instructions show you how to place your bearings correctly in your wheels. Our skateboard bearing wiki has further information for you, so you can’t do anything wrong. Over there, you can also learn how to maintain and clean your bearings properly. A little hint: you will find cleaning units and bearing oil in our shop in the small parts section. If you need help with anything, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our customer service team.
Unfortunately, we can't accept orders to Vereinigte Staaten. We only ship within Europe and to Japan. If your shipping address is in another country, just continue shopping as usual. Otherwise, maybe consider migrating!
