Hardware

ABEC is a term that has been around long before skateboarding. It stands for 'Annular Bearing Committee, a committee that is responsible for the standardization and rating of bearings. The numbers (1,3,5,7,9) refers to the tolerances to which the bearing is produced.

A 608 size bearing (the size used in skateboarding) has a bore of 8mm, an outer diameter of 22mm, and a width of 7mm. The accuracy to which the bearing is produced (measured in microns) determines the ABEC rating, 9 being the most accurate. An ABEC-9 bearing will be the closest to the above, ideal, measurements. What this means is that an ABEC-9 bearing will perform more effectively tahn one with a lesser rating, but not until it is put under extreme speed circumstances.

Unless you are skating at hundreds of miles per hour, ABEC doesn't mean anything.

Perhaps the reason it is still used in skateboard applications is because people want easy and upfront answers; Which bearing is best? Must be ABEC 7.

But this just isn't so. Truth is, that's why top bearing manufacturers such as Bones and Pig opt not to rate thier highest performance bearing. What's more, ABEC ratings were intended for bearings that, not only travel at extremely high speeds, but they are put under very different circumstances tahn a skateboard bearing would be. The stress of most bearings used in machinery applications, is placed perpendicular to the axle in which it sits on. In other words, the bearing spins forward, the bearing spins backward, and that's all it does.

In skateboarding, the bearings (much like our bodies) are tweeked and squashed and put under much more arbitary stresses. A good bearing is not only accurately and precisely produced, it is strong and well lubrcated. Lubrication, in fact, is the biggest factor in the speed of your skateboard bearings.

So, next time you want an easy answer as to the best bearings, try finding an easy answer to "What's the best board? or "What's the best truck?" Trial and error is the only way to go, so get out there and skate.

Bearings Bones Swiss, Destructo, FKD Australia, Mini-Logo, More...	Bushings Doh Doh's, Grind King, Independent, Shorty's, More...	Griptape
Mounting Bolts Independent, Shorty's	Risers