Spacers

[deft1 0]

Hey guys, does anyone know what kind of spacers I should get for a Mission HE950 chassis? I am guessing that they are standardized, but I used to have some Bauers that were not and I want to be sure. Thanks!

[captainnifty 0]

Were the Bauer spacers the ones that had the screws that screwed into the spacer itself? I believe that was the hop-up kit. If I'm not mistaken, I think most skate manufacturers went away from those, and they were a pain in the ass once the middle portion where you'd put the allen wrench got stripped. Plus the hop-up kit is not at all compatable with the Mg chassis (I have the 950's myself).

I'd just stick with the stock aluminum spacers, or get more of that exact same type if you're looking to have an extra set of wheels. I know BSB made stainless steel versions of them, but they're kind of heavy.

[alvinator 0]

if i'm not mistaken, i believe most of the newer chassis use floating spacers....

similar to this: http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=SFBS

correct me if i'm wrong.

[captainnifty 0]

I wouldn't say most, but I won't disagree.

The spacers for the He950's however use standard spacers. The spacers one would use fr their chassis would greatly depend in the hardware that the chassis requires though. The Mg frame on the 950 uses the "trapped head" bolt design which is basically a proprietary version of the standard bolt that only requires one tool to dismantle.

Floating spacers I'm sure are required for chassis where the bolts actually screw INTO the chassis itself.

I'm not too sure which is more common nowadays, but every chassis has its quirks.

I was messing with my buddy's tuuk rocker chassis the other night and for some reason the bolt was like a micron thicker than the bolt on my Mg chassis. It was just enough to where the standard spacer didn't accept the rocker bolt. But now I'm just rambling...

[alvinator 0]

Floating spacers I'm sure are required for chassis where the bolts actually screw INTO the chassis itself.

i've got a pair of chassis that are single tooled (not single axle) that take the floating spacers. so i can tell you that some chassis using a single tooled design use floating spacers as well.

they are the tour redline chassis off of a pair of fishbones.

[sdcopp 1]

it depends on the diameter of the axle. 8mm will use the floating spacer, 6mm will use a standard sleeve spacer. Best way to test is grab a wheel, put some bearings in and put it on the skate. See if you can clank the wheel around because there's too much room, or if it feels right. If the wheel is flopping all over, go get standard spacers, if not get floating ones.

[Justin 1933 134]

Not floating center spacers....We stopped using those 3 or so years ago...Too many issues with wheels clicking

[Hoffer 0]

Not floating center spacers....We stopped using those 3 or so years ago...Too many issues with wheels clicking

So those are the reasons why when I have my wheels as tight as possible and they still click?

[Justin 1933 134]

Because all wheel manufacturers cannot keep the measurements universal...Every wheel seems to have a slightly different internal measurement...Not just from different companies, but wheels from the same company have these issues...

Unfortunately we would need to carry thousands of different center spacers to completely eliminate all clicking...

We do the best we can to eliminate as much clicking as possible, without causing the wheels to bind....

[alvinator 0]

not to threadjack, but if floating spacers are used...why are they there in the first place? it seems as if the wheels and/or bearings will do fine without those spacers in the wheel, anyone care to enlighten me?

[sdcopp 1]

basically, the bearing needs structure on both sides to spin correctly. Without the floating spacer, it only has pressure and structure on one side, causing them to not spin well when tightened down properly.

[logan 0]

Spacers prevent the bearings from compressing into the wheel when you tighten the bolts. They contact the center ring on the bearings and "space" them apart.

Without them, you'll put too much transverse pressure on them, as a lot of skating (turns and push offs) require the bearings to spin at an angle.

[sdcopp 1]

Spacers prevent the bearings from compressing into the wheel when you tighten the bolts. They contact the center ring on the bearings and "space" them apart.

Without them, you'll put too much transverse pressure on them, as a lot of skating (turns and push offs) require the bearings to spin at an angle.

Logan, thank you for your elegance of explanation. It's one of those things that I understand but can't explain without pictures.

[Ron 0]

w/ floating spacers and bearings that fit tight into the wheels, how do you get the bearings out? the spacers don't float enough to get a bearing pushing tool in...

[Joker518 0]

Ron, I service a lot of skates and find that floating spacers are actually EASIER to work with than the sort that are in the bearings themselves.

To remove the bearings from a wheel you simply take out the axle and use either a flathead screw driver or a hex wrench and insert it into the wheel on an angle to catch the seam between the bearing and the spacer. Because they "float" its usually pretty easy to wedge the tool in there and pressure the bearing out from inside the hub. How much pressure you need to apply varies from wheel hub to hub but they always pop up easier other kinds of spacers IMO.

[Ron 0]

thx foolboy, i'll give that a shot for future reference

[MDE3 0]

Because all wheel manufacturers cannot keep the measurements universal...Every wheel seems to have a slightly different internal measurement...Not just from different companies, but wheels from the same company have these issues...

Unfortunately we would need to carry thousands of different center spacers to completely eliminate all clicking...

We do the best we can to eliminate as much clicking as possible, without causing the wheels to bind....

Actually I was only happy when the wheels could "click". That meant that they were not binding...and we were talking what..maybe .002" - .004" play? If I could not "pop" the wheels I knew they would be binding when tightened.

The real problem was when the wheel hub inner shoulders were too wide....greater than .400" in width (the precise width of the floating aluminum spacer)..then the wheels would bind up, because the bearings were compressed from pushing the inner races sideways before the assembly was snug between the chassis bosses....Hence you had bearing bind.

I think a lot of hub manufacturers (as distinct from the wheel manufacurers) got their tolerances wrong for the wheel hub shoulder specs...I think they were using .400" +.004"/ -.000"...instead of .400" -.004"/ +.000"