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question about new bearings (for skating)

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dionx

Diamond Member
So I have Mission inline hockey skates that I bought in 2000. They came with ABEC 7 bearings, and were pretty fast. I bought some BSB Swiss Lite bearings, that are supposed to be faster than the ABEC rated bearings. I open the package and give them a spin, but they don't spin as freely as the ABEC 7 bearings.

Do new bearings eventually get their speed from using them, or do they need lubrication? I do not want to install the new bearings if they do not give me the speed I need.
 
I wish someone would answer because I am going to go purchase some of those "BSB Swiss Lite Bearings" this evening. I do not know why I wish to purchase bearings that are not rated. It is most likely due to the marketing. Your post gives me reason to reconsider and purchase ABEC 7 or 9 bearings.
 
Do abec 7's or 9's make that noticeable of a difference? (I have abec 5's)
 
You might have screwed your wheels on too tight. You really need to fine tune to make them spin well. Make sure you lube the bearings up too
 
So without any additional lubrication, I went ahead and installed them on my wheels and gave them a spin. They definitely spin more freely compared to the used ABEC 7s. I think by trying to spin the bearing without the wheel, there is no momentum to keep the spin going therefore the spin dies pretty quick. By attaching the wheel, I add mass therefore increasing momentum of the wheel spinning.

Basically, Swiss Lite > ABEC 7 in terms of speed.
 
Originally posted by: dionx
So without any additional lubrication, I went ahead and installed them on my wheels and gave them a spin. They definitely spin more freely compared to the used ABEC 7s. I think by trying to spin the bearing without the wheel, there is no momentum to keep the spin going therefore the spin dies pretty quick. By attaching the wheel, I add mass therefore increasing momentum of the wheel spinning.

Basically, Swiss Lite > ABEC 7 in terms of speed.
Click to expand...

the higher the ABEC rating, the better the bearing.

I always thought abec 9 and swiss bearings were on the same level, so your conclusion makes sense..
 
Here are some links for reading regarding bearings and ratings.
I don't recall where I read it at the moment but ABEC rating is an engineering standard that really has little to do with inline skating performance. Not that there isn't a performance difference between the ratings; just that those ratings are not specifically intended to relate to inline skate performance.

Some bookmarks from my inline skate searching last year.
I purchased the '05 K2 VO2 Max long frames with ILQ9 bearings. When my ILQ's go I'm going to try some Bone Swiss as I hear they provide the performance of the ILQ's and the durability of the best ABEC ratings. That was last year though. Who know's what's hot now 🙂.

http://www.minibearings.com.au/hobby/skate.html

http://www.ninjaskate.com/skate_bearings.html

http://inlinenow.com/features/SwissOrAbec.htm

http://www.ilq9.com/

Googling ABEC vs ILQ9 or variations of ABEC and skates dredges up more info that you can shake a mouse at. Note the skate geek forums and peruse. They're just as obsessive about skate products (bearings in particular) as the AT hardware geeks are about their craft.

I do recall Bone Swiss being a popular name tossed around by the speed freaks but then there are those who sternly warn against ceramics in aggressive skates. Then there are ceramics built for aggressive use but they require maintenance which for those who don't intend to disassemble and clean all bearings after each use is a waste of scratch. If $50 per skate to slap in some bearings isn't pocket change for you then just spend some time googling some of the phrases above and read what the skate geeks recommend. Just don't get bearings meant for distance runs or that require regular reassembly and you'll probably be alright.

Cold unloaded spin (spinning the wheel w/skate off) isn't a good measure of how consistent or fast a bearing performs under load. Depending on the grease pack, some bearings perform better once warmed up. A free spin should however be an indication of how smoothly a bearing moves and if you feel or listen closely you can pick up on bearing degradation or debri catching in the movement.

If you're not so involved in your sport that you can't tell the difference in stride if one of your bearings is starting to flake then the difference of ABEC 5, 7 or 9 isn't going to do much more than take more out of your wallet. Most recreational skaters can't tell the difference between them. My brother on the other hand can just about tell w/out looking which bearing in a frame has just picked up a grain of sand. He also includes rebuilding his bearings as part of his skate routine so I wouldn't necessarily use his recommendations on hardware for the casual or skater.



 
Originally posted by: dionx
So without any additional lubrication, I went ahead and installed them on my wheels and gave them a spin. They definitely spin more freely compared to the used ABEC 7s. I think by trying to spin the bearing without the wheel, there is no momentum to keep the spin going therefore the spin dies pretty quick. By attaching the wheel, I add mass therefore increasing momentum of the wheel spinning.

Basically, Swiss Lite > ABEC 7 in terms of speed.
Click to expand...
You didn't add any mass, though.
 
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