Good to know

Roller skate bearings

The bearings are very important parts of your roller skates they make sure that your wheels rotate freely. In this category you can find all kind of bearings, from cheap industrial bearings (also recommended for skates) to special bearings designed to keep out water and dirt, thus making them more durable.

Rollers skate wheels and inline wheels need 2 bearings to rotate on the axle. A bearing can have a big influence on the speed and feeling of your riding/skating.
Regardless of the type of bearing you have, you should avoid sand, water, and humid conditions at any time, as this will shorten the lifespan of your bearings considerably.

Mounting bearings in roller skate wheels

A bearing can usually be pressed in with your thumbs; when the bearing is mounted correctly it is in line with the wheel core/hub. If it sticks out on one side it is not mounted correctly and will be destroyed upon skating it. If you have a metal core wheel it can be hard to mount the bearing, in this case, use a rubber hammer or a square piece of wood to knock it in.

Industrial standards

For most skate wheels, the bearings used are 608 bearings. The measurements of these bearings are:

• 22mm outer diameter
• 7mm width
• 8mm inside diameter

The precision is typically made after the Abec standard that goes from Abec1 to Abec9 the higher the number, the higher the precision in the bearing.

High precision bearings are usually used for Speed skating there you want the best spin possible. Lower precision bearings are used more for disciplines where the bearings are exposed to more impacts.