If you're an inline skating enthusiast, you've likely heard of bearing spacers. But what exactly are they and why are they important? In this blog post, we'll cover everything you need to know about bearing spacers, including what they are, why they're used, and how to choose the right ones for your inline skates.
So, what are bearing spacers? Simply put, bearing spacers are small cylindrical pieces of metal or plastic that sit between the bearings in your inline skate wheels. They help to keep the bearings in place and ensure that your skates roll smoothly and safely.
But why do we even need bearing spacers? Well, when you tighten the axle of your inline skates, there's a lot of pressure on the inner race of the bearings. This pressure is transferred to the balls inside the bearings, which can make them roll less smoothly. Bearing spacers help to alleviate this pressure by canceling it out. When you tighten the axle, the pressure is not transferred from the inner race to the balls, but rather to the spacer itself. This means there's no more pressure on the balls, allowing your skates to roll more smoothly.
So, what happens if you don't use bearing spacers? If you tighten the axle too much without a spacer, the wheel will stop rolling altogether. Some people might try to fix this by not tightening the axle enough, but this can be dangerous as the axle may come entirely loose while skating. Alternatively, you might notice that your wheels are making a lot of noise or vibrating while skating. This is also a sign that you might not be using bearing spacers.
Now that we've covered the basics of bearing spacers, let's talk about how to choose the right ones for your inline skates. In general, we recommend using cylindrical 8mm bearing spacers. These will fit most modern high quality or medium quality to high quality inline skates. However, if you have a really cheap skate that's under 150 euros, there's a chance they won't fit. And if you have a children's skate, there's a good chance they won't fit either and you will need a 6mm bearing spacer.
There are a few other things to consider when choosing bearing spacers, such as material and shape. Some spacers are made of metal, while others are made of plastic. Metal spacers are always the way to go. Plastic spacers just a way for the manufacturers to save some money, they are always wise to replace for metal ones.
So, to sum it up: bearing spacers are essential components of inline skates that help to ensure smooth and safe rolling. We recommend using cylindrical 8mm spacers for most inline skates, and if you have any questions about bearing spacers or inline skating in general, don't hesitate to reach out – we're always happy to help!
Check out all our bearings spacers in our webshop:
https://www.thisissoul.com/collections/bearing-spacers