WHEEL BEARINGS
If you want to learn something about freestyle scooter wheel bearings, first and foremost, you must be willing to engage in a nearly forgotten activity – reading.
Freestyle scooter wheel bearings have a standardized size. This applies to most wheels on the market.
Recently, a new bearing standard has emerged, known as the 12 standard. 12STD bearings (and the wheels themselves) have larger dimensions. The axle has a diameter of 12 mm (hence the name 12STD).
How do I know if they are 12STD bearings? This fact is always stated in the product name itself (12 standard or 12 STD) or in the product specifications.
The vast majority of wheels are supplied with pre-installed bearings. When replacing bearings, it is necessary to remove the old ones and install the new ones.
For wheels with plastic cores, replacing the bearings is easy. You only need one finger. Use that finger to push out the old bearings and then use the same finger to insert the new ones.
For wheels with aluminum cores, replacing the bearings is more difficult. You can watch the correct procedure, including the installation of spacers, in this video:
The vast majority of bearings are supplied with so-called spacers, which are absolutely essential for the proper functioning of the bearings. If you do not use spacers, the bearings will be compressed when you tighten the wheel, they will not spin, and they will be destroyed. It is always a good idea to keep the spacers from the original wheels (more in the Wheels chapter)
ABEC RATING (ANNULAR BEARING ENGINEERING COMMITTEE)
This rating tells you almost nothing about the bearings' resistance to impact. The ABEC value indicates manufacturing precision. The higher the number, the more precise the bearing is, there is less friction inside the bearing, and the bearing is faster. However, this does not mean that an ABEC9 bearing will be more durable than an ABEC7 one. That is why some manufacturers do not use the ABEC parameter at all.
The bearing is covered on the sides by a plastic dust cap. A plastic cover can be used on one side only = RS, or on both sides = 2RS.
Most bearings have an outer diameter of 22 mm and an axle diameter of 8 mm = type 608. 12 standard bearings have an outer diameter of 28 mm and an axle diameter of 12 mm = type 6001.
HOW TO EXTEND BEARING LIFE
a) Avoid contact with water. Do not ride in the wet.
b) Do not ride on dusty paths.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BEARINGS
- Avoid buying bearings from stores that sell inline skates. Inline skates have 4 times as many wheels as a freestyle scooter and are intended primarily for fast, smooth riding on flat tracks. They are definitely not built to withstand the high impacts that occur when riding a scooter. Expensive ceramic ABEC11 bearings can very easily be broken after the first jump.
- It is advisable, though not always feasible, to choose bearings by manufacturer/brand. If you have Ethic wheels, choose Ethic bearings. The point is that spacers supplied with bearings sometimes differ (+- 0.1 mm) depending on the width of the wheel hub. If you choose the same manufacturer/brand for both wheels and bearings, you are guaranteed to get the correct size spacers.