Bearing spacers why do we need them ???
Whether your a pro or a beginer skater your skate gear needs to function correctly fact is if your skate gear is not correct it is more difficult to skate.
Bearing spacers are extremely important to take side load off your bearings and at the same time allowing you to quickly and properly tighten the wheel nuts to correct firm tension, and still maintain 100% a free-spinning roll with no axle chatter.
The exact size of spacers is the most important within .25 of a millimetre to get the perfect roll, If the spacer is too small the axle nuts would need to be loose to enable free rolling it would be the same effect as no spacers at all, too big would push the bearing out of the inner seat causing the wheel to move the gap distance of the bearing out of seat making a clicking noise.
To round up the
- The bearing should be snug into the wheel seat
- The spacer size should be exactly the gap distance of the two bearings centres
- You should be able to tighten wheel nuts firm with 100% free rolling bearings with no sloppy movement in the wheel.
- Remember the higher the ABEC the lower the tolerance which means the bearing is more snug into its own casing yet has very little slop in its own casing, but do not misunderstand what ABEC is it is a rating for machining accuracy, whether you run ABEC 1 or 9 will not change how fast you will roll the only advantage of a higher ABEC, in theory, is the bearing should roll smoother, and without too much confusion there are bearing manufacturers these days who prefer not to use the ABEC rating but prefer to use skate rated bearings as more attention to sideload rather than trying to go at impossible speeds.
- Side load generated by G forces on the sides of the bearings it what causes more bearing failure than any other situation, this gets back to the reason for bearing spacers as spacers help align the bearing to reduce side load pressure.
- On top of that, the only way to run without spacers is to rely on the nylon thread lock which means have loosened nuts that could cause you injury when your wheels fall off.
Bearing spacers are extremely important to take side load off your bearings
We do see many customers who have been misled thinking that their wheels should spin for an exact amount of minutes and seconds and to achieve this it would be ok to have loose wheel nuts no spacers.
This, in fact, will cause premature wear, bearing chatter, or bearing lock possible damage to the axles, plus your wheels could vibrate off possibly causing injury to the user,
All bearings fit into a recess and the gap between the two recess points this is your exact spacer width thus allowing you to tighten the retaining nut nice and firm putting absolutely no pressure on the side of the bearings allowing the bearing 100% free spinning.
One thing to remember new bearings that are pre-lubricated will take a few days to run freely, the higher the abec the higher tolerances as in smoothness and firmness of the bearing, plus the higher the abec does not mean will spin faster, in fact, abec one or abec eleven can all do the same revolutions per minute but the higher abec due to there higher quality will run cooler and smoother as the machining tolerances are more exact.
For any more feedback contact
Ed @ amproskates.com.au over 45 years of Mechanical engineering experience.
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ampro skates was established in 2015 & the original store was in Ellenbrook in Perth’s northern suburbs & moved to the Malaga Market’s complex in 2018. We are first and foremost a scooter, skate shop for skaters, in whatever form that takes, by skaters. Being highly dedicated to supporting family priced products rather than higher end competition level items.
We are a non-franchised family business with more than 40 years of retail, mechanical and skating knowledge going back to 1973. and due to having a fully qualified mechanical technician on-site who can do most repair jobs on-site while you wait.
ampro skates stocks scooters suitable for casual riders as well as park users, both two and three-wheelers. Roller skates, inline skates & skateboards for all budgets. We stock a great range of accessories and spare parts.
Always free fitting if products are purchased from us. We’re also happy to work with you if you would like a custom build at labour free as well.
ampro skates is very safety conscious and stocks a wide variety of safety gear aimed at both the enthusiastic beginner right through to the pro skater which is always up to 20% off RRP every day.
Generally, ampro skates does not do sales as we try and give our customers the best products at the very best prices, every day causing less chance of upsetting regular customers furthermore ampro skates does not sell variety store/supermarket disposable toys or electrical products.
We try and stock a little of everything, including Claudius CV, Envy, Fasen, Ethic, Flavor, Unfair, Globber, Bont, Chaya, Impala, Micro, Riedell, 187, 888, S One, Trinity, Samurai, Protec, Fox, Sacrifice, Syndicate, Venice & Versatyl.
We at ampro skates look forward to meeting you in-store. We’re open Wednesdays to Sundays inclusive, 9-5, Public Holidays 9-4, and trade 7 days a week at school holiday times. Give us a call on 0450 330 640
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ampro skates Malaga markets Western Australia you can call or text Ellen or Ed any time for advice 7 am till 9 pm 7 days per week 0450 330 640 or if you prefer email sales@amproskates.com.au