Skateboard Bearings Information

Skateboard bearings inside the wheels enable your board to roll. A standard skateboard has eight bearings. A plastic or metal ball retainer covers the bearings to protect from dirt and moisture. Remove the cover to clean your bearings or add oil to make them faster. Swiss engineers produce the fastest and most durable skateboard bearings. The Annular Bearing Engineer's Committee rates skateboard bearings based on speed

  1. History

    • In the early 1980s, you could not find top quality skateboard bearings in the United States. Thriving U.S. companies could not compete with Japanese manufactures who produced low cost bearings in mass quantities. Although the Japanese produced quality bearings, skaters demanded bearings that produced more speed. High quality bearings made in the U.S. didn't come onto the market until the early 1990s.

    Types

    • Bearings produced in the U.S. are rated based on speed. The rating system known as the ABEC scale has 1, 3, 5 and 7 rankings with 1 the slowest. High quality bearings produced by Swiss engineers are rated 7 and should only be used by experienced skateboarders.

    Function

    • Each of the four wheels has two bearings inserted into the circular indention of the skateboard wheel. The bearings allow the skateboard to reach its optimum speed with only a few pushes from the skater. Skateboarders turn their boards sideways in a "power slide" to slow down after reaching a top speed.

    Prevention/Solution

    • Moisture causes bearings to rust, so store your skateboard in a dry place. Dirt and dust will also slow you up. Remove the plastic bearing cover to expose the ball bearings and use a dry paper towel to gently scrub the ball bearings.

    Warning

    • Never skate outside of your skills. If the board reaches an uncomfortable speed, perform a few power slides to slow your momentum. Novice skaters can take their back foot off of the board and slide it across the ground to create resistance and slow your board. When the board starts to wobble, it has reached its optimum speed.