Skate PSA: Why you should use bearing spacers (and truck washers) on your skateboard
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2021
- Bearing spacers? What the heck are they? What's the point of them? Who uses them? Do I need them?
In this video I answer all these questions and more. Check it out to learn how to achieve the most effective roll with your setup. - Спорт
In 1997 I tossed the spacers and washers also! Until I watched this video, I had believed they were to be used with an abnormal size/shape of wheel that accepts same bearing. Thank you so much for posting this, glad to found you, subbed! I quit in 2003, and just picked it back up a month ago and I'm 39, I didn't keep up with the scene, and I regret that. Finding your channel made my day amigo, I dig your content.
I've got a few years on ya, George. My advice: Take it slow, pace yourself and start with the basics again. We're not spring chickens anymore. And wear pads and a helmet. I wear knee, elbow and wrist...and even got some hip/tailbone pads a few months back made by Turtle Pads. Did a vid on them here. Skate safe and skate again.
@@prodigaljess You're the best! I still use a hackey sack 20 mins or so to warm up, now it's strictly flatground and box/flat rail, the muscle memory is still there, just have a lot of polishing to do, and build the stabilizer muscles in ankle and calf back up....yeah no more stairs/gaps.... flatground and the box still have my heart, cheers man! Dinosaur friends lol.
@@georgel.1776 Stick with it. Skateboarding is a blessing for sure. Wishing you many years of safe and satisfying roll. Dinosaur bros for sure! Haha. God bless, man.
Never really understood what spacers were for until I got to about 2 minutes into this video, and then it clicked. Great explanation! Makes total sense.
I immediately hit pause to go grab my board and checked to see if I still had the spacers that came with my last bearing change. Fortunately, I did, so I popped them in while I watched the rest of the video. Gonna make sure I have spacers from now on.
Nice! Thanks for the feedback!
Only 10k views…. More people need to see this. I’m amazed how many people ride without spacers and have their axle nuts loose.
Wow! I didn't know ANY of my videos had that many views. Isn't UA-cam supposed to send me a plaque or something? Oh, haha...that's SUBSCRIBERS. Well...still a ways to go there, I guess. Thank you for checking in. Your callout on my view count made my day. Please sub if you like my content. More to come.
I love the technical terminology like this video.
Great video! I have been telling people this same thing for years! I alternate between Bones Race Reds (they don't require washers or spacers according to their literature) and Bones Swiss which I Definitely use washers and spacers.
Thank you so much for this video, finally got some answers about spacers 😃🙏🏻
Glad to help, bro!
i use spacers and washers too, but never crank the nuts all the way down. this video makes a lot more sense to me.
btw, for bearings, you can check out for some high-end factory bearings (model 608dd/608rs depends on which factory),
and they're usually cheaper than the cheapest skate brand bearings, but last a lot longer. i.g. nsk skf koyo
i'm currently using NSK ones
I don't crank them down super tight...or they won't turn at all...but you can generally snug them up pretty good and still roll if you have spacers.
Seen your comment on Ben Degros video, and it brought me here to watch your take on spacers. Btw your hair is fantastic!
Thanks for dropping by, Paulie! Appreciate the support!
Also one thing I found is that if you don't use bearing spacers after a long time you will see rust or discoloration in that space between the bearings on the axle.
good explaination. ive always used the spacers and washers and if used correctly, tightened completely down with now side to side play. but alot of wheel cores arent consistant so some wheels wont allow me to use them. i wont buy bearings without spacers. idk why bones reds or big balls dont come with spacers but bones super reds do.
Started skating in 2020. Fav bearings I've tried so far are Bronson G2s. Cheap, Fast, durable and come with spacers. I'll be trying bearings that have built in spacers sometime soon. Rider Approved Designs, Sector 9 Blaze Bearings (AKA Gullwing Truck Co), Bones Race Red's are the one I wanna try.
My son has the RAD bearings they seem to work nicely from what I've seen.
Here's wishing you and your son years of safe and stoked skating, bro. What an awesome thing to bond over!
I have a set of bones racing reds.. beware! they don't fit very well on independent axles! I bought a new pair of 159s and put on wheels with bones racing reds (with built in spacers) and the nylon ring on the lock nut is barely screwed on and engages.. you almost have to crank the nut down to ensure it wont fall off. If you're a person who likes the small wiggle room of your wheels on your axles maybe look at another bearing set. Let me know what you've experienced!
@@RideBonesSwiss Hmmm...sounds like QC issue with the Indys more than anything (and not surprising since they offshored to China...they've had a number of quality issues in recent years from what I've heard). Any top-brand skateboard truck should have enough room on the axle for a standard, top-brand wheel with bearings (including a spacer) as well as with one axle nut on each side. NHS has historically been good about dealing with quality issues (Back in the day, you could send in a broken hanger or baseplate and they would send you a replacement). I would see if it's covered under warranty if you haven't sent them back to where you bought them. Good luck, bro.
Thank you for sharing very informative! :-)
Appreciate it, Daniel.
Thanks Jesse
Thanks for dropping by, Philip!
Thank you Jesse Wolf, and yes 9:02 I was the one person who looked it up! Haha~
Nice! My work is not in vain!
Thinking about this 'drag' issue I guess an inner race that itself begins to spin about the axle (not the intended use: being metal on metal without an intervening ball bearing) would get hot and expand also melt out the lubricant. So the spacer allows all to be locked into position to prevent undesired inner race rotation.
for cleaning I simply put some graphite spray in there, spin the bearing in my hands a bit and then put some regular all purpose oil in there (or whatever its called in english) and my bearings spin non stop.
Wow...!!!! I never knew!!!!!
Bronson G3 all the way.
How do you like those grind kings? Looks like a great design to minimized hang ups on coping.
They are killer. They turn great, grind well in terms of both resiliency and give and are perfect for taller or more old-school setups. If you like low trucks, they probably aren't for you. I really love their turn radius, response and geometry, though. And the kingpins are durable and out of the way. Why it took 20+ years to address that little design issue is anyone's guess, but props to GK for jumping on it.
Very information here. Thanx, Jesse! I just got new wheels and a set of bearings, spacers and extra axelnuts. I have been using spacers from time to time and now on my new wheels i notice that when i put the new spacers the bearings don't get to the bottom of their bed, coz the inner circle is kind of a little shorter than the spacer. Is this normal? Other thing is that my wheels don't spin so fast now, but i guess the bearings need some time rolling to get faster. Should i tighten the axelnuts till the end with the spacers, coz before i used to let some space so the wheel can rattle a tiny bit and in this way it used to spin faster. Once again thanx for the good input and greetings from Bulgaria!
Great questions. So, a bearing press might help you get them seated properly...especially in ultra-hard wheels (harder than 99a). Hard wheels are difficult to get bearings into and one or both of them can seat slightly off from flat...causing drag on the axle. A bearing press helps get them in without damaging the wheel or the bearing and ensures that they seat properly. I don't think it's a dealbreaker if one of the bearings doesn't seat all the way down to the core in both sides of the wheel. They didn't in my Bones wheels and were fine. The main thing is that they're as deep as possible and secured straight in the wheel. The spacers help them roll better, but you have to have them snugged down (not too tight!) and you have to have good, clean, well-lubed bearings. I got that bottle kit from Bones and clean them with rubbing alcohol...let them air dry and then add their speed cream. Only takes a drop or two per bearing. Works great. So make sure they're clean, lubed, snugged, but not too tight. You should be good. Make sure you have a washer on either side of the outer parts of the bearing too. Those little things are important! If you don't have the washers, the edge of the truck and/or the axle nuts can press against both the inner race and the bearing cover and actually work like a brake. Thanks for checking in.
@@prodigaljess Thanx for the good advices :) Greetings!
@@xitsox Thanks for supporting my channel! Good luck and skate safe. God bless!
Hello. Thanks for the information
So regarding washers, the result of not having a washer on the axle means it creates drag ? Meaning it will stop movement going laterally?
I notice one of my wheels stops turning laterally and that wheel doesn’t have a washer on it
It provides a surface for the bearing race to press against without having the side of the bearing press against the same surface. The point of the washers and the spacers is to create a solid connection from the nut to the inside of the truck and to secure the inner races so the bearing spins around them (instead of the race slipping around the axle...which can cause drag itself).
As far as wheels getting tight on one side, that could be a truck issue. Some truck brands and models have real issues with axle slippage in the hanger. If this happens (say you land primo or your board tumbles and hits the axle), the axle can get knocked toward one side and cause what you're describing. The solution is, primarily better trucks that don't suffer from this problem. But modern wheels (which leave axle ends and nuts exposed outside of the wheel) are part of the problem too. A different wheel shape or an offset wheel like a freestyle wheel or the new Bones Nano Cubic, can help also by keeping the end of the axle protected from impact.
It's important to remember that not every part of skateboard design is functional. Or you may have a trade-off of one kind of functionality for another. It may be popular for other reasons (the wheels I describe above where designed more for weight reduction and a universally functional shape with a lot of styles of skateboarding, but that came at the price of axle issues and (as many on this comment thread have pointed out) bearing spacer fitment issues.
Thanks
Lol and a shop told me I didn't need spacers and one of the spacers I got from them was too small to fit on the axle.
Either way bought a 120 pack of spacers so I can put them on for myself and everyone I know.
There are divided opinions on them for sure...as this comments section will attest. Good on you for getting the word out with the spacer hookup for your homies. Appreciate you checking in!
Where to buy 120
Back in the day, the 80’s, bearings came with extended center races that effectively acted as the spacers.
Maybe some of the better ones...I couldn't say. I was a skater in the 80s and that wasn't the case with most of the cheaper bearings I used (which were cheap GMN German and another brand of lower-end bearings...SKB, I think?) But I've heard Bones Racing bearings had races like that. There may have been other brands too and I was just too poor to dig them or something, haha.
I apologize for my ignorance are the washers outside or inside the wheel?
The washers go outside the wheel, between the outer bearing and the nut and between the inner bearing and the wall of the hanger.
You could pass off as Ryan Reynolds brother lol
Wait how is it that so many didn't know this
This is true
Thanks for the public service ! ☺️
Do the axle washer have to be a certain way on one side IV noticed it's like curved and on the other side it's like completely flat so was wondering which way on the axle they go
That's a great question. I'm not sure, but I always put the more curved side of the washer closer to the bearing and the flat side next to the truck or axle nut.
@@prodigaljess I only noticed as I bought new deck and bearings and truck and somehow one bearing blew I did use a spacer when that happened had my dad like chisel the bearing out as the shield had broke now I'll just not use a spacer
@@liggerz87 Sounds like you had a bad bearing. I would contact the manufacturer and see if you can send it back for a replacement. The fact that you were using a spacer was likely only incidental, rather than the cause of your issue.
what about use 2 washers before and later the bearings? I think it would be more precise, and avoid the bearings to touch the nuts
I'm not sure that's necessary, but feel free to experiment.
the washers are not exactly flat, one side flat and one side with a small bump. you have to put the flat side against the nut ? and then the side with a bump against the bearings ?
That's what I would do. The idea of the washers is to prevent friction caused by the bearing shield rubbing on the nut and to provide a solid point of contact between the nut and the inner race. You want that contact between the nut and the inner race because the rest of the bearing/wheel rotate around it, while the inner race is part of a stationary connection from nut to washer to inner race to spacer to inner race to washer to truck. The inner races should NOT rotate on the axle. They will work, but not efficiently and can create drag. Spacers help prevent that drag. Just don't over tighten. The nuts should be snug while still allowing the wheel to spin freely.
@@prodigaljess thanks ;-)
and dont pop your shields unless you soak them in rubbing alcohol or acetone to get the oil out of them first. but i dont recommend riding without sheilds.
Agreed.
If my bones reds come with I’m going to use them.
Reds don't unfortunately
Thanks! But no ))
I want my wheels to jiggle around - this makes powerslides easier and, most important, makes my wheels screech louder!
I don't care about longevity or efficiency that much. So for me spacers are only usable to fine tune my trucks width - usually I put them all inside or outside of the wheel based on trucks/board widths.
You might be confusing spacers (which go inside the wheel between the bearings) with axle washers (which go on either side of the wheel between the outside of each bearing and the hanger or nut). Anyway, you do you, bro.
Okay, okay, but one time in how many years?
Been doing this a long time too, axel washers, speedrings yes, always. But the spacers never fit right, and they make hella noise.... Idk.... either way.
Sad part is, not all wheels are made well enough to use spacers.
Bought some Bones bearings and Bones spacers and washers to put in my spitfire wheels. But the Bones spacers are wider than the gap in the middle of the wheels, stopping me from pushing the bearings all the way in 👎
You're not the first person to tell me this, Ez E, so I think there may be something to this, at least with some of the newer wheels. I don't know if it's non-standardized wheel sizes or manufacturing inconsistencies, but it def seems to be a thing. I guess I've been lucky with my Bones and Spitfire Wheels I've used them in (Lizzie Armanto and Classics, respectively).
@@prodigaljess yeah I was a little bummed when I bought bones race reds bearings with extended races just to realize they don't work right with most wheels. Then bought bones super reds and bones spacers, same thing. Tried a few other spacers, same thing. So I just use the washers since there doesn't seem many wheels that work with spacers 🤷♂️
@@eze8024 same problem here
Just following up. I've used a number of wheels now and not had a problem using spacers in any of them (Spitfire, Bones, Acid Chemical Co). I'm not saying there aren't brands out there where it's an issue. But the better makes of wheels seem to work fine with them.
I am a newbie and I fell for the spacer stuff. I notices right away that spacers would push one of the bearings almost out of the wheel if the spacer was too big and I never managed to make the bearing fit a similar position to the other bearing when I was preparing them, so I decided to drop spacers and only use the speed rings to protect the bearing. I skate without problems. Maybe I would use them for ease of mind if they made decently sized spacers and not spacers with cutting errors that made them way too big and thus forcing the bearing out of the wheel
Hmmm...ya. I hear you. I've always used Bones spacers and never had a problem. You can buy cheaper ones, but I can't speak for the quality. Better to pay for well-machined, quality ones...and you can reuse spacers even if you have to replace bearings.
@@prodigaljess Actually I use bones bearings and it happened with one of the spacers, maybe when I buy another set of bearings I will have 4 decent spacer, right now I am riding with spacers in three wheels because the fourth one has that problem so I had to drop it, I was afraid the bearing would come off the wheel
@@alpacamale2909 Hope you have better luck with the next set. I appreciate you chiming in on my channel. Thanks for your support!
My issue is the spacers being too small. I'll put them on and tighten the nut all the way and it doesn't spin freely :(
@@yeahkevinn Sometimes you have to back the nut off a quarter turn or so...just enough so they spin freely, but not so much that there's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on.
I never use spacers
Haha...I used to be just like you.
You also destroy a lot of bearings unnecessarily.
Bones v5 too wide for spacer
I have some Bones P5 Lizzie Armando wheels and spacers work fine in them.