If you are involved in skateboarding, you almost certainly have heard about ABEC ratings. You may want to know more about the ABEC rating system.
For example, people often ask if ABEC 7 bearings are good for skateboarding? Below is more information that may help.
More About ABEC Ratings
Bearings are used for many reasons, not just the wheels in your skateboard. The higher the rating on the ABEC scale, the more precise and accurate the bearing is. When organizations produce bearings, they may not put as much effort into it, which results in a lower rating.
On the other hand, some companies will spend more time and money on designing and producing the bearings. This will make them perform better.
When a set of bearings are used in vital and expensive machinery, companies will spend a lot more money on bearings because it needs to be much higher quality.
But a skateboard does not need bearings with that level of precision. All of the stops and starts and slamming with skateboarding would ruin expensive bearings.
ABEC 7 Bearings
ABEC 7 bearings are higher in quality in skateboards and usually are fast and smooth. But these bearings are much more expensive. You also run a higher risk of damaging them if you are an aggressive skater. Also keep in mind that some cheaper, off-shore ABEC 7 bearings may not warrant this rating.
Most less expensive skateboards come with ABEC 3 rating bearings, and some come with ABEC 5.
ABEC 9 bearings would be far too expensive for most skateboarding applications, unless you are doing serious downhill skateboarding. If you do not spend big bucks on these bearings they are not ABEC 9.
How ABEC Rating Is Determined
The ABEC rating of bearings is determined by asking the following:
- How close is the bearing bore to 8 mm, measured in microns?
- How close is the bearing outer diameter to 22 measured in microns?
- How close is the bearing width to 7 mm measured in microns?
- What is the bearing’s rotating accuracy measured in microns?
It is important to note that not every skateboard bearing uses the ABEC rating system. Some manufacturers, such as Bones Bearings and Rockets, use their own systems to rate bearings. These companies build bearings made specifically for the skateboarder.
Hopefully, you now understand how good ABEC 7 bearings are, and this may tell you the type of bearings to buy in the future.