Abec 9 Vs. Swiss/ Cleaning?

**Brianh** · 10-15-2006, 11:03 PM

I skate on abec 9 bearings and have never owned Swiss or Titanium bearings. Can anyone tell me if there is a noticeable difference? Also, will these bearing last longer. I never clean my bearings, I usually just toss them after a year or so and buy new ones. I also skate on soft wheels (74 or 76A). I weigh 200 pounds. Someone told me to skate 78A. Any thoughts on this? Any wisdom would be appreciated.

**bobbradley** · 11-04-2006, 06:46 PM

Bearings are a matter of choice.... Most manufacturers will tell you without a doubt that their bearings are the best. I went to a bearing seminar back in 1976. You would be amazed at how many bearings are in your house right now...(appliances etc.) The one thing I learned that stuck with me was ABEC 1,3,5,7,9...... simply signifies the spec tolerence that they are machined to. Most young kids think they will go faster if only their daddy's will pay $100 or so for ABEC 9's.
I remember my team winning platinum at Narch in 1976. They were all eleven years old ( from Brantford,Ontario..Canada) Wow, what an eye opener. A bearing executive from Toronto just happened to be in Chicago on business and watched our final game. He was impressed with our team and offered sponsorship. He gave each kid two sets of bearings, and me some cash for a three year term. The bearings are SKF greenshield maintenance free. All the years I had to remove that little clip and clean bearings....(pain in my big butt) and now some guy gives me maintenance free bearings....
My son and his friends, to this day have never changed their bearings. He is 23 years old now and had played three years of Junior"A" inline. He is now retired but his wheels are still rolling just fine. Most of the kids in Junior were 200 pounders. If your bearings are maintenance free and you keep your wheels clean...and DRY, why are you throwing them away after one season?
Good quality bearings are hard too find regardless of what the manufacturers tell you. If and when you find one, stick with it and keep them clean.
In my opinion, none are even close to SKF GREENSHIELDS.
They are hard to find, but it's worth the effort.