Bearings Swiss vs Titanium

[Slipknot61]

I am in the market for some new bearings and i currently run Boss Swiss bearings and really like them, but i have been out of the roller sceen for a couple of years so i don't know the lastest products. which bearings are better the Boss Swiss or the Boss Titanium? What is the difference between the 2?
thanks in advance

[rlrhky13]

hope this helps your decisioon making...

Does ABEC affect the speed of your skates?
No. Not unless you are skating at 330 mph. That's based on a 608 bearing limiting speed of 32,000 rpm. Only in extremely high speed applications like ultra high speed motors and precision measuring instruments can bearings above ABEC 1 affect performance. Regardless of how fast you plan to go, speed is affected first and foremost by the choice of lubricant.

If we're going to talk about tolerances, the fit of your wheels and axles have a much greater effect on performance than ABEC rating. Wheels and axles for inline skates have extremely loose fits that allow you to press the bearings into the wheel by hand. This masks the benefits of a higher precision bearing by allowing it to slip on the axle or in the wheel. Slippage between the mating parts results in energy loss. Lost energy is lost speed.

[JASUPERSTAR6]

to comment on what rlrhky stated in his response, and on the question at hand. Sure he might be scientifically right about the abecs only affecting it if you were at such high rpm's but as you might have experienced like i have, when you have cheap bearings or lower grade abecs and you spin your wheels, you know that they sure as hell dont spin for as long or as fast as when you have the precision higher grade abec bearings in there, ex.abec 7's, swiss,etc... And i have had the unfortunate experience of using other peoples skates with crappy bearing and after you skate like hell to get to top speed it sucks when you it feels like you have some kind of braking system due to lower grade bearings bringing you back to cruising speed or even worse an almost complete halt.

PLAYMAKER, GOALSCORER, SUPERSTAR

[MDE3]

My son recieved a set of Boss Titaniums as a gift one time and switched back to the regular Boss Swiss - hard to say if they were really any better or worse - obviously they should have been lighter. As far as I can tell "Boss Swiss" are still as good as it gets for inline hockey.

[Slipknot61]

i agree with completely with you. for my indoor wheels (labeda dynasty) i use the boss swiss and for outdoor wheels i have killer bees abec 3 (really old and crappy, but i don't care since they are outdoor use). i can notice a major difference between the 2 sets of bearings. the swiss allow me to glide much longer than the abec's. i have to dig much harder to achieve the same performance as the swiss.

[Slipknot61]

but aren't the higher ratings like abec7 or swiss made with stronger materials for the balls versus abec1's? also the boss swiss have a better "cage" for holding the balls versus the other abec rating bearings.

[MDE3]

The ABEC ratings themselves have little to do with the quality of materials used, except that a harder material is usually desireable in order to get a finer grind or polish.

The abec ratings themselves do not address this directly, but only radial and lateral runout tolerances.

The Boss Swiss bearings do not carry an ABEC rating...Perhaps because it would be too low. The quality of these bearings however is definitely noticeable by how long and smoothly they roll. I believe that it may be the finish grind and materials used in the "Swiss" that are superior - and permit lower rolling drag - anyway it sure feels like it.

[JASUPERSTAR6]

Thats exactly what im talking about. I use similar setups when i switch from my indoor tournament wheels to my indoor house league wheels and my outdoor wheels. Anybody who has experienced it will have felt the differance. THE BOTTOM LINE IS DONT GO CHEAPO ON THE BEARINGS. GET THE ABEC 7'S OR THE SWISS. YOU CAN FIND SOME GOOD DEALS ON ABEC 7'S.

PLAYMAKER, GOALSCORER, SUPERSTAR

[Slipknot61]

i am not going to go cheapo on the bearings. my original question was which is better Boss Swiss or Titanium. but i will stick with what has worked for me the last 10 years and buy the swiss bearings.

[Titan55]

Simple....get swiss...nothing else needs to be said!

Phil Christie

[MDE3]

I think that's a good decision - titanium in sports is a big "fad" thing, and in some instances is can offer improvement. One thing about titanium is that it is a very difficult metal to "work", and so getting the perfect spherical shapes necessary for lowest drag will be more difficult - if any significant amount of "ti" is used - the chances of having a "poorer" bearing will be greatly increased.

[JMUDukes26]

The issue doesn't really come down to ABEC rating as much as it comes down to build quality. The reason Boss Swiss bearings are so great, is because the materials, attention to detail, and overall build quality are superior to crappy bearings. Only the finest materials go into Swiss bearings, including lubricants and metals. A cheap pair of ABEC 9's will still suck relative to a good set of Swiss's even though they are only like ABEC 3 or 5 (as I recall).

Thats the story. learn to like it.

Gary LaBelle
President
JMU Roller Hockey
ECRHA PR Director
ECRHA DI ACC Rep

[MDE3]

Boss Swiss are NOT Abec rated - they may in fact be as low as a one. This is just to support your point.