Outdoor Wheel/Bearing Selection

[Konig von Kuhlem 0]

Excuse my ignorance when it comes to roller hocker, I've only ever played on ice. There's probably some topics on this, but it is a bit overwhelming. I decided for a project to keep me in shape during the off season I would get a TUUK rocker chassis and convert an ice hockey boot. That's all fine, but little did I realize the amount of options out there for bearings and wheels. I was looking for higher end quality products for durability & performance.

I plan on skating outdoors on concrete. I want bearings that are relatively resistant to dirt and can handle higher lateral loads. Also, what are some good options for outdoor wheels? Is durability and performance a trade-off? I'm assuming that the more durable wheels (harder durometer material) will be less grippy.

Also what is the difference between ABEC and Swiss bearings?

I'm not to familiar with the different companies that make wheels and bearings. Any help sorting out the options that would be best for my outdoor hockey application would be much appreciated.

[notorious#29 0]

I would recommend Hyper 250 outdoor wheels. They are an 84a durometer and wear very well, especially if you rotate them often. My set from last summer still have some life left, and I skated on them almost everyday. The Rink Rat World Cups wheels are also a good choice. They seem grip better then the Hyper 250s but mine did not last as long as my 250s did.

07' Hyper 250s

http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...ategory_rn=4924

07' Rink Rat World Cups

http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...ategory_rn=4924

As for bearings, I just skate on ABEC 5s since my outdoor bearings tend to get dirty pretty quick.

[hockey_is_hard 0]

I have bought two sets of World Cups.. The first set from last year lasted me an unbelievable amount of time (6-7 months skating on them twice a week). This pair I have now i have only had for about a month and a half and they have worn down incredibly fast. I dont know if my skating style changed, or if this year's model of the World Cups are a little weaker, or what... But I think next time I am trying the 150's or 250's

[kukakid 0]

I really like my Rink Rat World Cups, so far mine have held up pretty well. I have also heard good things about the hypers though. Another option is the Revision Axis Ghost Outdoor wheel. I use Revisions for my indoor skates and love them, I haven't tried the outdoor wheels, but judging by the indoor Variants performance I would bet they are pretty decent. Any of these wheels would be good performance and durability wise. From my experience, grip outdoors is highly dependent on material (concrete, blacktop, asphalt, etc.) and conditions (wet, dry, dusty, leaves, etc.) so a lot of times that is the biggest factor on grip and not the particular wheels you have.

As for bearings I would just go with some BSB abec 5s or abec 3s. Skating outdoor, having great bearing isn't going to help you a whole lot since the rolling resistance provided by the bearing is going to be pretty small relative to the rolling resistance of the wheels on the cement, concrete, etc.

Also if I remember correctly the BSB abec 5s and 3s are packed with grease rather than oiled like the abec 7s and swiss bearing. The grease should hold up better against dirt, and any water you encounter outdoors. One more thing about the 3s and 5s is that they are cheap, if you do ruin a few (although you shouldn't have a problem) you won't be out $70 bucks.

Also since you are going to be taking ice boots and converting them, you might want to check out the Sprung chassis instead of the TUUK rocker(there is a 74 page thread in these same forums in fact). I haven't tried them yet (I will be this summer) but it seems that a lot of converted ice hockey players have really fell in love with them.

Also you should be able to find everything I referenced here on www.inlinewarehouse.com or www.epuck.com. I'm sure there are other retailers but these are my personal favorites for roller hockey equipment.

[Konig von Kuhlem 0]

Thanks for the wheel and bearing advice. Those 07' Rink Rat World Cups wheels definitely look interesting. As for bearings, I see your point about using the ABEC 5 bearings. I was wondering, though, how would the BSB Swiss bearings last for skating outdoors? They caught my eye as the EPuck describes them as being able to handle more side ways loads than other bearings.

BSB Swiss Bearings at EPuck

[kukakid 0]

I personally use the bsb swiss bearing on my indoor skates right now and love them. They may work good for outdoors too but I have not every tried.

The only thing that might make me worry about them is the fact that the bearing really only have one solid shield. One side is solid aluminum but the other side is open for the most part with just a red plastic sleeve that fits other the actual ball bearings inside (This is the part you see on the epuck product picture). On most other bearing there is a solid shield of both sides. The open side part of the bearing obviously goes in the wheel so that it is facing inside, where ideally no dust, dirt, moisture gets. However this may not always be the case. Having the open side would pretty much ensure that any foreign material that does make it inside the wheel (which potentially could be nothing) would clog up the bearings.

Also as I said earlier the swiss bearings are oiled and not greased, which theoretically means less friction and better performance but it also may breakdown sooner.

Now all that being said I have been using Mission swiss bearing (from an old set of D1 skates) on my outdoor skates and havent had any problems yet. These bearings are similar to the BSBs with the exception they DO have a full cover on both sides of the bearings. I am not sure how much this actually helps but so far they are working great.

The choice is up to you, I would still recommend the ABEC 5s just because I don't think you would notice a huge difference between them and the Swiss when skating outdoors. But if you have to be sure to have the best (like me!) then go for the Swiss. If you do go the swiss route I would at least make sure to check them out occasionally and make sure they are cleaned and lubed. If you hear a lot of noise or if they don't spin smoothly that is a sure sign of something being messed up.

EDIT: As for your question about sideways loading: I am sure the swiss bearing probably could hold up to more load than other bearings. However, I have skated on everything from ABEC 3s up to Swiss and never had a problem with sideways loading. Then again I am only 150 lbs soaking wet so your mileage may vary, although I would be willing to bet any bearing would be able to hold up pretty well under any sideways loading encountered in skating.

[piperclap 0]

Thanks for the wheel and bearing advice. Those 07' Rink Rat World Cups wheels definitely look interesting. As for bearings, I see your point about using the ABEC 5 bearings. I was wondering, though, how would the BSB Swiss bearings last for skating outdoors? They caught my eye as the EPuck describes them as being able to handle more side ways loads than other bearings.

BSB Swiss Bearings at EPuck

If you've never skated inline, you honestly won't notice the difference. I am an idiot and went out and got some Bones Swiss for my skates because apparently I had money to waste, and thought they were awesome. until I built some skates, threw the rather crappy ABEC 7s (or 9s, whatever, they are junk because the shield isn't removable so I can't clean 'em anyway) I took out of my old skates into them...and noticed no difference at all. In fact, the only benefit I got out of the swiss bearings is that the shields come off ever-so-easy, and the plastic bearing separator thingy is easy to pop out, so they are a cinch to clean. But as far as skating-I haven't seen a difference. Buy some cheaper bearings and spend the extra money on better wheels-from what I've noticed as a total noob, you'll notice the extra money spent on wheels more than you will on bearings.