MiniBearings 16 - Skate - Hobby Information

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MiniBearings 16 - Skate - Hobby Information

Skate Bearings - Question 16

What other factors affect bearing performance?

The attributes of a bearing that affect its performance are many and varied, but the most important features that would affect the performance in a skating application are as follows ...

Lubricant type and quality - Heavier lubricants such as grease for longer life. Lighter lubricants such as oils for freer running.
Quality of the bearing steel - Bad quality steels can fail very quickly. (Stick with known bearing brands)
Internal axial and radial clearance (how much movement there is in both directions when the rings of the bearing are pushed in opposite directions). Too little or too much clearance can be detrimental to bearing performance. You can usually feel this movement with your fingers but you will not be able to determine whether it is within acceptable limits just by feel. Check the manufacturers specifications on the bearings and try to stay within the "MC3" range for normal skating applications. The terminology "MC3" will be recognised by most bearing suppliers. If you want more speed, you will want to use a higher internal clearance to allow the bearings to spin more freely. We have had some very good success supplying "MC5" clearance with a very light oil lubricant for speed skating. These are not available in a serviceable shield type though, and they will need replacing on a regular basis.
Manufacturing quality control and cleanliness.

(None of the above attributes are covered by ABEC grades).

The best way to ensure that you get a good bearing is to stick to the well known manufacturers, and by this we do not necessarily mean "well known skating brand names". If you are buying pre-packaged sets it can be beneficial to check if the actual bearing shows a bearing manufacturers name and country of manufacture. Of course, not having these details doesn't mean that the bearing is no good.

Skate Index

You can purchase online at Small Parts and Bearings.

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Miniature Bearings Australia offers over 100,000 products including small bearings, timing pulleys, timing belts, seals, o-rings, gears etc - see the full listing in the Online Catalogue. Our main business is through resellers including the online only distributor Small Parts and Bearings and the counter sales distributor H.E. Supplies (Hobby Engineering Supplies). Small Parts and Bearings online sales are located within our building in Dividend Street Mansfield. H.E. Supplies are located just around the corner at 186 Wecker Road Mansfield. There are many other distributors located throughout Australia and Worldwide so there are hundreds of places to buy our product. Using the links at the top of this page you will find extensive information including catalogues (Products and Store link), technical data, and other product specific information.

We sell our product worldwide through distributors. If you are a distributor of mechanical parts such as bearings and power transmission products, and you have an interest in becoming a distributor for Miniature Bearings Australia in your area/country please contact sales@minibearings.com.au with information about your company. Miniature Bearings Australia are a wholesale and OEM supply company only. There are some foreign language introductory pages in French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese available on our site.

If you wish to purchase product online, the Small Parts and Bearings online store is linked directly to the Miniature Bearings Australia online catalogue, so all new MBA products are added automatically to their store. Recent additions include full ceramic bearings in Silicon Nitride and Zirconia, and ceramic hybrid bearings for pushbikes and other applications. New products are being added every week. We also suggest that you may want to take a look at the technical information sites - Shafting Information, Couplings Information, Gearboxes Information and General Engineering Parts Information.

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