Roller Skate Components Bearings
ABOUT BEARINGS & SPACERS
ABEC Rating
Number of Balls
Covers and Cleaning
Sizing
Bearing Spacers
Models
ABEC RATING
The five distinct ABEC classifications that Roll-Line bearings come in are 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The higher rating signifies tighter tolerances, greater precision, higher efficiency, faster speed capabilities of the bearing, and a longer roll. The higher number ABEC bearings are also quieter than lower number bearings.


NUMBER OF BALLS
Roll-Line bearings come in a seven or eight ball configuration. Eight smaller balls allow the outer race to be thicker, letting the bearing take higher loads with less deformation.
COVERS AND CLEANING
The Roll-Line Speed Max bearings are a shielded bearing that will stay clean longer than bearings without a cover. The metal covers should not be removed during the cleaning process. The plastic cover of the Roll-Line Speed Race bearings may be removed for cleaning purposes. Roll-Line bearings with no covers (open cages) need to be cleaned more often than the shielded bearings.


Sizing
BEARING SPACERS
When the axle lock nut is tightened down on the wheel that has bearing spacers, it creates an axle size that is effectively increased from 7mm to approximately 11mm. The increasing of the axle size greatly reduces the possibility of bending or breaking any axle. By locking the bearings and spacer down, it also assures that the center race of each bearing is not spinning on the axle, but that the balls of the bearings are doing the actual work that they are intended to do. Tightening of the axle lock nut on a wheel without a spacer may compress the inner races towards the center of the wheel and cause misalignment.
