What Size Are Skateboard Bearings? [An Ultimate Guide]

Written by Christine Ryan

Updated October 09, 2023

Do you know that the bearing size can affect your skateboarding speed and performance? So, what size are skateboard bearings? Not many skaters know the exact answer.

So, our article will show you the answer to assist you in selecting the finest size for your skateboard.

Skateboard Bearings Size

Steel Vs. Ceramic Bearings

When choosing the best skateboard bearing, among the most crucial factors to consider is these balls. While longboarding, you’ll need a high-quality one to guarantee you have plenty of speed, spin, and precision.

The interchangeable spaces, inner and exterior diameters, and thickness between ceramic and steel bearings are geometrically the same. The only true major difference is their clearance.

These ball materials have advantages and disadvantages, and it is essential to select what best suits you for your downhill racing, cruising, or riding through sand and terrain area.

Steel

Almost all board covers have been standardized to ensure compatibility across all wheels and bearing brands. Thus, the steel bearings size of the skateboard is always 8 mm in diameter inside.

These steel balls are the ideal option when you’re on a tight budget or a novice. Steel bearings generate heat whenever you ride to improve their flexibility under severe loads. They are also impervious to cracking.

The Steel Skateboard Bearing

Ceramic

The ceramic bearings are lighter than steel bearings, although they come with the same size. Ceramics are less dense than steel (steel, for example, has a 60% higher density than silicon nitride).

When you like racing downhill or searching for a perfect bearing, which will outlive your board, then the one with ceramic balls is a good choice.

Because ceramic ball bearings weren’t affected by temperature, skaters can’t use them safely while downhill racing. But one disadvantage is that this type could be significantly more costly than steel bearings.

Ceramic Bearings

ABEC Rate

Annular Bearing Engineers Committee (ABEC) rating is a generic rating scale more applicable to industrial bearings than a longboard and skateboard bearings. The larger the ABEC, the higher the wheel’s rotation each minute.

ABEC 1: It is the crudest, least accurate, longest lasting, and the lowest price.

ABEC 3: It is by far the most inexpensive complete skateboard, especially Chinese skateboards. For many skateboarding, an ABEC 3 bearing functions but will not roll particularly smoothly or quickly.

ABEC 5: In skateboarding, an ABEC 5 bearing is indeed the norm. You achieve decent speed at an affordable price.

ABEC 7: A bearing for ABEC 7 would be incredibly quick and smooth, but quite costly. Moreover, if you ride hard or violently, you risk unnecessarily injuring them. Remember that this grade might not be worth certain cheap foreign-created ABEC 7 bearings.

ABEC 9: It and above roller skates would be absurd to put on a skateboard unless you ride downhill or somewhere where you want to go crazily quickly. Do not believe that you are indeed ABEC 9, when you’re not paying money on them.

Are Skateboard Bearings All The Same Size?

The answer is that there is no difference. Whatever the wheel’s size or style of the board you have, their bearing size is similar. The bearing spacer’s dimension is the only factor you have to pay close attention to.

Skateboard Bearings

The distance bearing offers two sizes, one with axle diameter and the other with a total width. As with most trucks, the initial measurement, of its axle diameter is usually 8 mm, whether intended for skating or longboarding.

However, you need to be aware of its second measurement, the total spacing width, to ensure you have an excellent fit. For mostly skateboard bearing spacers, a normal total width is generally 8mm, whereas a 10mm spacing is suitable for bigger wheels.

It also goes with integrated rooms. If you purchase them for your smaller wheels, you can pick 8×8 mm, and the measurements should also be 8×10 mm for bigger wheels when you skate on typical trucks.

What Skateboard Bearings Should I Get?

For Beginner

The quickest and strongest bearing versions on the market might be a costly overkill if you are only a novice and do not feel safe. Instead, it would be best to choose a relatively fast bearing at a reasonable price.

ABEC7 or ABEC5 ratings are a great deal for intermediate skaters. For most forms of skating, ABEC 5 is typical and will give you an inexpensive, fast speed. ABEC 7 is quite fast, smooth, and somewhat more expensive because they function more efficiently than goods with low ABEC rates.

They can take you on a superb trip with minimum vibration on passing minor breaks, gaps, or rocks on the surface. When you can feel your bearings, the pace is high, more appropriate for novices.

The industrial standard is steel bearings. They are highly accessible and an inexpensive choice. Higher-quality steel material is more durable and may even be compared to premium covers of excellent quality. So, if you’re a beginner, steel bearings are an appropriate alternative.

For Advanced

High-end bearings will assist you more when you are seasoned and know how to control a skateboard. Their superior quality parts will also last longer and help you to accelerate faster.

There was lots of attention and testing on the advantages of ceramic bearings over ordinary steel bearings. The majority of professional peloton prioritize ceramic bearings as they provide advantages over the other rivals.

Compared to comparable steel bearings, a well-made ceramic bearing will roll quicker, saving you power and allowing for faster sliding speeds. It is since the characteristics of ceramic allow for the production of smoother, rounder bearings.

A higher class or level entails greater efficiency, precision, and speed capacity.

As a result, ABEC 9 is the biggest scale, giving a bearing the highest precision, efficiency, and speed. ABEC 11 is a considerably superior model to other bearings, with quality that exceeds any typical level. That is why professionals prefer ABEC 9 and 11.

Conclusion

Nobody can build skateboard bearings exactly equally. You may sense a certain difference when you ride them. Therefore, choosing the right ones may dramatically change the speed, smoothness, and silence with which you drive your skateboard.

We hope our guide can assist you in understanding: What size are skateboard bearings? so that you can choose your perfect match now.

Thank you for reading. Have fun skating!