Fastest Skateboard Wheels, Bearings, and Bearing Spacers
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ย. 2024
- Everything you didn't know about skateboard wheels, bearings, and bearing spacers.
We take a look at wheel hubs/centers, truck hangers, and bearing spacers.
Go to ratvision.com/ for more info.
The purpose of Rat Vision is to explain the differences between brands and products, and not to be bias. We are frequently asked what products we recommend. After testing and researching we have found Oust products to be superior.
www.oustbearing...
You'll discover:
1. What skateboard bearing spacers are.
2. What bearing spacers do.
3. How bearing spacers work and don't work
4. How wheels and spacers are the wrong size
5. How skateboard wheels and bearing spacers don't fit.
6. How skateboard wheels are made.
7. Why a skate wheel is crooked and slow.
8. How a skating wheel can create speed wobbles.
9. What bearing loads are.
10. How the hanger of a truck can slow down a bearing and the entire board.
11. How skate wheels can be made poorly.
12. How a manufacturer of both skate wheels and bearings make their products fit incorrectly.
This video shows in detail how bearing spacers and skate wheels are manufactured with conflicting sizes and rarely work in conjunction. You'll see how a bearing binds up and functions inefficiently.
You'll also see how skateboard wheel molds and tools can cause a wheel center to be crooked and effects skateboard wheel and bearing performance. We used a caliper to measure the wheel centers and hubs.
There is also information about how a skate truck hanger and axle also have a dramatic effect on the inside bearing and how it can slow an entire board down. This is caused by extra aluminum from the hanger getting on the axle.
After viewing this video you'll discover that skateboard manufacturing is not always precise or of high quality. It's time for skateboard consumers to look for quality over brand name. Don't settle for pop out products that brands know you'll buy. Avoid being brand-washed. Demand quality and stay away from pop out products.
This guy is the truest skate scientist.
no. no he is not. exact spacer size is really not a top priority. and if he is willing to rant about the casting quality of trucks. than he can get his ass up, and go get ronins or aeras for top dollar. and zealous ceramic bearings for about 30 bucks. also the only spacer related problem i can think of is under sized spacers.
Daniel Hawryschuk yeah aight
@@daniel_hawryschuk i mean the issue of a pinched bearing is still going to be the end result though and at high speeds hes right. Any kind of mechanical/design flaw that causes an accident at those speeds should be avoided at all costs.
*engineer
Yes it did take a ton of research and testing. So, much work went into it that Concrete Wave magazine called us while we were in the process and asked us to do an article on bearings. It was published in the 2012 Concrete Wave Buyers Guide, and in 2012 (winter/spring) AXS Longboard Retail magazine. Our videos have been very appreciated by other industry experts. Thanks for your acknowledgement.
so...... would be better NOT to use spacers??
@@ricardogalvao3603 I use em- you just need to get lucky with your equipment.
I did and it’s a worlds difference in the speed of my board now
This all just made me really insecure about my board lol
Hey wonder if you still skate
@@jamesvisto for the most part no. I stopped skating when I tore my alc and meniscus a week before a Judo tournament. I still fight and don't want anything interfering with it
We have been contacted by companies and they absolutely love how accurate all the information is. Thank you for the comment.
Bill Nye the skateboard guy
Bill!bill!bill! Bill NYSE the skating guy
+Aidibug Games "that just makes no fucking sense" - Bill Nye the science guy
Machinist Guy
BILL BILL BILL BILL
Some men aren't looking for anything logical ... Some men just wanna watch the hold world burn ... While it learns
I'll be bearing this in mind next time I'm getting a new setup
coke426 ayyy
Pun city
Wheel funny..
Super interesting.
When no one notices you :P
+Josh Katz ur the best josh katz just keep riding with a helmet;)
+Josh Katz why don't you show this to Andy, if he want's force wheels to get big then he should know this stuff, right? Or is he just churning out crap with a logo on for quick cash?
Josh Katz it Josh yaaaaaaa
force just wants money to be honest, they have amgrip, revive, whatever bearings that are overpriced, and force wheels along with whatever trucks that go along with the Braille team
Holy shit this 4 minute video just compounded like 6 months of knowledge into my brain all at once. I feel like my i.q. went up just by watching this video. I didn't realize there was a whole science behind skateboarding and not just that, all the way down to the bearings to the raceways to the ball bearings to the lubricants to the shape and size and molding. LOL Excellent video. I can learn a lot from TH-cam University
Right??? Lol
Dude u r next level 😂😂😂
+Mike Green static.batanga.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/curiosidades.batanga.com/files/15-cosas-que-debes-saber-sobre-los-Illuminati-15.jpg?itok=kErmjZwH brah'
Now I'm all sketched out about what to buy
Forreal he should've given examples of efficient manufacturers
Michael Miller Definitely. Now I'm going to be self-conscious the entire time I ride :(
SuperSaltyFries buy zealous, or anything else with bulit in spacers
Right
But even if you buy bearings with built in spacers then you still dont know the inner gap(core) width of the wheels itself.
Some products are meant to wear out because of the desired performance results from the wear, they wear out simply from the material being used. Cost for manufacturers and consumers is also related to a product wearing out or breaking, because people may not want to pay really high prices for more quality. We're not talking about building indestructible products. We're talking about when you make something make it right, and make it the best quality you can do. Most brands don't seem to care.
Great,now i have another OCD.
Excellent post Rat Vision.
So naturally... the question is: what wheel manufacturer has the closest tolerances?
bump
@@Stign9 bump wheels?
@@bugs8054 not sure if you're joking or not, but bump (online) means someone is trying to keep this at top of attention (commenting on it brings it back to the top of a comments section, making it more likely that someone might answer it).
@@busyboxst7 👊 bump
bump
We plan on doing a video on how to make the best set up for each type of person, riding condition, and style/genre. We can't throw out what the best set up is for you because we don't know anything about you. If you skate a lot then you probably have a good idea of what you like. If you understand this video then you know a bit more on how to make things better. You need to know your wheel center dimensions to get the correct spacers. Wouldn't be nice if the manufacturer told you this?
how can i measure the wheel center dimensions without cutting them up?
caliper vernier enough smallA
Thank you for the great comment. We really appreciate it. Makes putting all the hard work in to the videos worth it.
This video is incredible. Probably one of the most informative and easy to understand videos I've ever seen.My question is, Are there any brands out there known for having extremely accurate wheels/bearings and spacers?
The only one we have come across is Oust. Bones is far from it.
Great reply. I was wondering if Bones would of raised their game since this video was done, alrhough Bones have been around for decades trading on a 'big name' question is are they any better (wheels, spacers and bearings?)
@@Crashed2023 So many brands spend too much on marketing and image. And we pay for it.
spacers and wheelsCuei
Congratulation, I am a mechanical engineer, and I agree with this video , there are many variables , however your video was very enlightening.
Rat Vision roasts Bones lmao
Nathan Chelf
Who uses spacers anyways 😂
watt
The Shape I don’t use them
Haha
I know you not used to hearing the truth regardless of what it is. Most people love lies.
Sounds like you're a mechanical engineer, too! Thanks for putting this video out. Funny; but I think mass market skateboarding is still just aimed at looking cool versus producing high end precision components. Glad Independent Trucks at least has a record of safe molds.
stevebean1234 Yes with precision comes cost. Have any tips for company's that run tight tolerances other than Indy trucks?
My response to his comment was not meant as insult or negative. I simply told him things he may not be aware of. There is a lot of hype, gimmicks, and false information all throughout the skate industry. People believe everything they hear. So, I told him information that he may want to know about the bearings, in his opinion, are the best. And I know it meant a lot for you to share that you ride Bones. I appreciate it, and I am proud of you. I think you and I could be great friends some day.
Thank you for the comment. Glad you learned stuff. Sure, a lot of people may not care about the information we present but at least they know how things should be. That's exactly what happened in your case. You may not care but you know how things should be and you'r open to trying new things. Awesome.
I'm so high rn
5 years ago and are you still high?
K
hi man are u still high after 9 years. Just checking up
@@stageiiwappie950 still high bro, always
@@eddief1111 lmfao
We actually are going to come out with an online shop that only supplies high quality precision parts that meet our standards. Thank you for your nice compliment.
I've been looking for info like this ever since I started skating. This would explain why I lose control at higher speeds. Learned the hard way and got banged up pretty good. My spacers rattle around between my bearings, and one wheel always seems slower no matter what I do. Glad we know what to look for now 🤙
If you are going to skateboard on "thick, rough" roads you will need a wheel that is above 70mm and 83a or softer. Harder wheels will not absorb the shock in the road. Harder wheels will go slower. Go soft, but also big so the wheel can roll faster. Good bearings are important too. We like Oust.
You rock thanks
a very well done video explaining the engineering and how mistakes affect the overall performance
We've been recommending Ricta wheels lately. We still have more tests to do before we have a better answer.
You are definitely on some next level shit. Respect.
3D animations and all
You guys really need to hurry up and adopt the metric system. thousandths of an inch and fractions are just a total mindfuck compared to a decimal metric amount like 5.5mm
Nah. It's cool.
+Rat Vision - Skateboard Tech I love this reply so simple yet hilarious. got em
Ro Stan
DEEZ NUTS!
+Alex Paulsen that's exactly who u remind me of
Ehhh i get what you mean, but it's really not that hard. I enjoy the conversion challenge.
We get a lot of great comments, but this one could certainly be the best. Thank you for your awesome comment. It makes putting all the hard work into these videos completely worth it. Thank you
All of your videos are excellent, and you explain your material clearly and in a way easy-to-understand by anyone... especially these "scientific" videos with visual descriptions. Please continue making more videos!
Thanks for the really nice comment. We are currently working on new videos.
I was hoping that you recommend a brand of wheels and spacers that go well together
Bronson Speed Co. bearings and Spitfire wheels. Especially Formula Fours without bullshittery.
andrew deveaux me readint his having just ordered bronsons🤑😳😍
@@andrewdeveaux4578 fr?? I just ordered some bronson g3s and spitfires formula four 54mm so will they go nice together?
Omg thank you for explaining in such great detail! Answered all my questions. 🙌
Awesome! If you have any additional questions, ask away!
This channel is so helpful for skateboarding also could you do a wheel buying guide???
I stumbled upon this video as I'm trying to do a bearing assignment for class... Well done man excellent video, very thorough.
Our videos are obviously meant to educate skaters, so we don't mention which brands to choose. We don't want to be bias. We get the same questions that you asked all the time. Almost all brands aren't making their own products anymore. It's all about branding and marketing, and little to do with quality. This is why we have these inconsistencies. We are still doing testing to give people wheel/spacer sizes. do you longboard or skate street?
The absolute most perfect setup, which doesn't exist in skateboarding, is to use a pair of angular contact bearings calibrated for a specific amount of preload, with precision matched spacers, which are precisely matched to the width of the seating surfaces inside the wheel, and the axle nut is torqued to a defined specification. That's possible but your set of bearings would cost 400 bucks.
We recommend Oust.
Also, bearings have slightly different widths from brand to brand and any given batch. Which companies fit each other so these things aren't a problem?
I was genuinely not expecting something so high production and well made. This is great
All bearings work, but obviously some are better than others. There are 2 great things about mini-logos. They are 2 closures (rubber seal and metal shield), and the price is very low. If you're not trying to reach high speeds and don't like to take care of your bearings, these are probably perfect for you.
Really interesting. So what brands have you found that have the engineering down right?
Wow, this was a great video, you really know your skateboards, I like you, you're smart, thanks.
I don't see how my wheels could shift while riding because I RIDE THE FIRE
I'm a longboarder and I live in a town with some decent hills and lately I've been seeking out progressively larger hills to ride. Watching your videos has made me much more conscious of my wheels and bearings and I want the components in my board functioning as efficiently as possible so I have found your bearing maintenance videos to be quite helpful. I'm wondering if you could shed some insight on how often to replace bearings and if there are any telltale signs that new bearings are needed.
I had the leftover aluminum on my axlerod for my skateboard. It caused forced pressure to lock it into place along with the washer,and my wheels inward barring so when I took the wheel off the barring stuck to the axle. Used two pennies, wedged it between the beginning of the axle to the barring to gain massive leverage, and popped right off. Used a tip of the knife to wedge the washer out. Scraped and sanded the axle lightly after, to make sure it doesn't stick again. I find it awesome your putting this info out there, let it be known!
So what wheels come with spacers that are actually precise??
+adam heeley None. This is the problem.
Rat Vision - Skateboard Tech that sucks, well my boss hawg red's and oust 7's still work good enough for now. thanks
could you use sandpaper to slightly grind away a little bit of material to fit better?
RC Buggies if the wheels are smaller but I have only experience them bigger so you would have to close the gaps somehow.
adam heeley well in the video most of the wheels are smaller size in the .395 range so you could probably do it, the only thing is it wouldn't be perfectly flat and parallel to the other side.
Aren't they for cheap wheels?
Never used spacers except on a mountainboard... I'm just a longboard bomber, tho.
I do know that a loaded pintail/landyactz 852/seismic blast waves=pure heaven!!!
I'll say that cruisers especially can get real results by following this advise. The street skaters with the harder durometers are not going to notice this much or at all. Softer cruiser type wheels and downhill rigs will benefit the most.
Risk dying every time I get on a skateboard. haha
Welcome to Downhill
+Mitchell Ellero Or skating rails, gaps, stairs, mega ramp, etc
Artificial Dissonance True, but none of those dangers live up to something like downhill. Where your screwed to avoid cars. Your speed is too high
+Mitchell Ellero I just wanted to mention other alternatives. Bombing hills is deadly as fuck. San Fran hills are pure death.
+Artificial Dissonance Definently. Props for pointing it out still. Have you gotten on the Colorado roads? It's a stereotypical place for perfect roads, but it's true.
We have been working on another project, but hopefully we will release new videos later this summer. We will cover everything you mentioned. If you have any questions we will be happy to answer them in a private message through our channel. Thank you for the kind comment.
We are working on that information and putting it in a report for everyone. It takes a lot of work to go through each brand.
how can i fix the problem of having wheels and spacers that don't fit?
+Sam Kercher At the moment there is no fix for this problem. You need the right tools to measure.
+Rat Vision - Skateboard Tech thanks
+Sam Kercher just don't use bearing spacers
BandaidPaintball lol then the bearing won't roll at all because the inner race needs to be pushed against something (like a bearing spacer) so the outer race can spin efficiently. There wouldn't be such thing as bearing spacers if you didn't need them
+Sam Kercher maybe file the spacer down ? use a caliper for the right measure ment , you could also use sand paper made for metals that could shave the spacers down
Should I buy bearing spacers for my new board? Or are they not much of a necessity?
Spacers, if the correct size, with aid in bearings performance and longevity.
Thanks for your response, but are there spacers designed for e.g 53mm wheels & bones reds? Or do most bearing spacers fit well for most wheels?
All spacers are supposed to fit all wheels. The standard is .400" of an inch, but manufacturers stopped caring. All they do now is supply spacers in whatever size they get. Wheel companies don't care about the spacers fitting properly or they would have the correct size center/hub. In most cases it's better to have spacers inside. Obviously you can still skate without them, but you do lose performance and durability/longevity. I can't tell you what to get, and if I did you'd need the right tools to measure wheels and spacers.
Okay that makes more sense, thank you!
Great illustration bruh.
We did some research a while back and measured as many wheels as we could get our hands on. Orangatang wheels measured at .398" of an inch for the wheel center. That is the size spacer we would recommend. That doesn't mean there won't be a wheel that measures at .397 or .399.
Great video. Would love to see some comparisons for wheels, bearings and trucks with precision being the gold standard.
I applaud the video (for being informative) but after reading the comments i think people are taking this WAYY too seriously... I 100% garuntee that 90% of pros dont give 2craps about half the stuff in this video... it's just there to be informative. Use whatever you can afford... Cheap stuff is manufactured with cheap quality control thats just the way it is. Whatever you use now to skateboard will be fine until you can do a triple impossible (minus wallmart quality)
Well said. Thanks
I've never used spacers in my life and my board skates fine
but almost no one uses bearing spacers in street skating anymore
why?
Because the cheap bearings don't come with spacers
@@naturalhumanminority9241 That makes sense.
NaturalHuman Minority I buy 10$ bearings with spacers tho
These must be the best videos out there on skakeboarding mechanics. Hats off
We recommend Oust a lot because they seem to be the only brand that actually cares to make their products correctly to ensure everything works perfectly. They don't make street wheels anymore. We haven't had a chance to test a bunch of street wheels yet. Currently we recommend Ricta wheels. However, I am not sure what size spacer to use at the moment.
Dude, that´s some fucked up shit right there. I never knew!
ya we want to live not die
I wonder if this guy can blink
Sure there is a difference. You're dealing with different rebound times because of the amount of material being compressed. You raised good questions we plan to discuss in new videos. There is difference between bushing shapes. Turn the bushings around one day and see what you feel. You'll learn really quickly how bushings change the way your board feels, moves, and responds.
Those little details have so much impact on riding speed then.
Thank you for the eye opener!
Nice video but who the hell pays attention to this
Nobody outside of professionals or competition level boarders, who dont watch these videos. Mostly just interesting shit to keep in mind when making purchasing decisions
+Osvaldo Perdomo Those who demand the best.
+clicking on rocks EXACTLY! See how smart your are?
+Osvaldo Perdomo The point is to call attention to it so that more people /will/ pay attention to this, since they probably never even thought to think about it before.
+Osvaldo Perdomo - I do.
So what's the fucking solution then????
+Taylor Stracqualursi same
+noah this means we probably have to buy calipers And measure our stuff and file them down if they are too big.. buy wheels from different brands cut them open and measure the gaps... I guess we litterally have to tune up our own set ups..
😂😂😂😂
+JRLM Buy zealous built ins
yeah zealous is nice. there also are precision spacers that are supposed to be the exact size but I don't know if they really are or not.
GOOD. Don't stop. At least you know more about what happens to products and certain things to look for.
To really get things perfect you will need to get a depth micrometer and a regular micrometer. You'll be able to figure out exactly what size bearing spacer to use by measure each side of the wheel. Basically it will measure the distance from the bearing stop to the outside of the wheel. Measure both depths and then subtract them both from the total width. That's how you'll get the bearing spacer length for that wheel.
Crazy to see that people still watch this I remember watching this way back in the day
came here to learn about bearings for a belt sander I'm going to make, was deliberating whether to buy, or build my own bearing system, thank you for helping me to decide I'm going to have my grandad help me learn to use his lathe to manufacture them to perfect tolerancing.
Bother us all you want! I don't have links on hand. Just google search "precision bearing spacers" You should find a few companies.
this is so useful!! i was trying to figure out what size bearing spacers to get for my quad skates and i didn’t really understand what the difference in size meant. i’m still not quite sure because there isn’t a lot of info that i can find right now, but this has helped a lot.
Well explained and illustrated. I learned a lot. Thank you
As long as you maintain bearings you won't need to place them as often as others do. Bearings need about 15-20 hours. Basically, the surfaces of the balls are getting familiar with the raceway surface in the rings. The metal surfaces actually change and get smoother. A telltale sign for bearing that need to be clean is how they sound. You'll hear crunching sounds from junk in the bearings. Almost as if sand was in them. You can always send questions to us in a private message thru our channel.
Rat Vision super videos are deep, simple and proficient - a beginner's paradise of new practical knowledge and wisdom. Well Done, too...
This is the best video I've seen that explains the relationship between bearing spacers and wheel design. I would like to see an improvement in quality control on the design/production level; then the products we buy would do what they claim. I want my board to be faster, but I don't want speed wobbles caused by the nonuniform wheel assembly specs.
I understand where you are coming from. all i'm saying is that they are good bearings and most of the time they are priced decently. i appreciate what you are doing. not a lot of people would take the time to do what you do.
I'm a mechanical engineering student who just got into longboards. I love this Video and this Channel
8 years counting and this information is so valid and accurate. Glad I saw this.
Your thoughts about bearings with built in spacers .. Zealous, Tekton ...ect, ect ??
I know this is old but apparently from the video the bearings should have spacers and be built into a wheel designed for them and even then there's a high chance not everything matches.
We definitely plan on releasing that information. It might be through an exclusive membership though. It would be a webinar, about certian products, and you'd also get either free product or discounts online as a member. We haven't quite come up with a price, but it will be between $15-25 per month. If we did 2 webinars a month, you'd probably end up getting more in free product and discounts than the cost of the membership. What do you think?
If are using a skateboard as transportation to school then a longboard with big wheels will get you there quicker, but you can still use a short board with big soft wheels rather than hard street skating wheels. For skating around school I'd recommend a short cruiser.
I got a nice call from NHS Dist. (Flip, Santa Cruz,etc), and talked to Frank who is the head of their Research and Development over 30 years. Couple of guys said to hire me. It was nice. He said everything in the video is 100% true! I have written a couple articles for Concrete Wave magazine. The truth is most companies don't care about quality. Most of the stuff these days is made in China or Mexico. Skaters care a lot about the brand so that's what the companies focus on the most- branding.
That's up to you to decide. They are 2 sides to the same coin. Like boogie boarding or surfing, skiing or snowboarding.
Cores are made the same way as shown in the video. Few may be injection molded. However, the standard of .400" of an inch cores is clearly lost in skateboard wheel and bearing spacer manufacturing. So, regardless of how a core is made, the wheel assembly is most likely not fitting tightly together. If a brand came out with metal cores that measured .400", you still have to make sure that your spacers are .400"
This is the best video i have seen on wheels and bearings.
I'm old! early 40's and a few of us just got back skating after many years so these vids are cool.
Some of us (admittedly probably not many) are just getting back into skating (and skiing) and are quite a bit older than you. We won't be going as fast, but our bones and ligaments are not as good as they used to be either, and we want to treat them as best we can.
Damn! This channel is pure gold! Bravo!
Well what type of skating? Any trucks with "faced" flat hangers where the axle rod comes out are good, like Bear Grizzly or gun metal. The only brand that we know of that actually makes spacers to perfectly fit their wheels is Oust, but if you send us a private message through our channel we can tell you what size spacer goes in the wheels you get. We recommend Oust bearings.
It's a deck that will work, but it really depends on how you want it to work for you. Is it the right board for what skating you do? That's what you want to ask yourself when you know what you want to do with it. Some guys want a board to bomb hills, cruise around their college campus, carve hills, or zip around town. This board can be used for all those, but if you are focused on one thing then there is a board that might be more specific for your needs.
I can't remember which ones do off hand, but some label their boards as using resin. Most people don't know the difference at all. It certainly matters. This is one of the price differences between blanks and brands. Price goes up for pro models because the pros need to make a living, branding/marketing, the extra labor for slapping on graphic, and resin. This doesn't mean that blanks do not have resin. There is a way to test a deck for resin but that has to be shown in a video.
Thank you for the nice comment.
That is a good question. We are working on discovering what brands actually have the best quality boards. Most decks come from China or Mexico. Any deck will work for you, but obviously some are better than others. If you want to know what shape we recommend, well, that depends what skating you like to do.
The main point was not to sell you something. This was purely information to educate you on how wheels and bearings should fit on a truck, and how they normally don't fit properly. It was not the main point to recommend anything. We recommend Oust Bearings, and Ricta wheels.
The best we tested were Oust Uber bushings. They are very new and a little hard to find and a little pricey. Independent bushings that are sold separately are better than the ones that come in the trucks.
Thank you for your comment.
What size wheels do you have now, and what size are you thinking of getting? What do you want or what do you expect from bigger wheels? Maybe you only need a slightly higher durometer.
You can find companies online that supply bearing spacers at the size you need. They can be expensive at about $12-16 a full set. Huge price for something so completely cheap to make.
This video is not about supplying a brand name for you. This video is about educating you on what it takes for bearings, wheels, and spacers to function optimally. That's the point. So, go find the the right stuff.