Abec 5?

It has little relevance to bicycle wheels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABEC_scale

It's the quality of the bearing... he wanted higher quality...

seems relevant.

The increased quality doesn't indicate any increase in durability or smoothness, just that they can spin with less oscillation at much higher RPMs than a bicycle wheel achieves.

Sure, but I don't think the guy cares.

He just wants to spend more money.

Just buy $50 bearings so you'll feel better about your bike, dude. You're the expert, right?

NoHandedJess is coming up quick but TheElitePoop is the expert.

Hhahahahaha!

If you want high quality bearings, get a set of SKF bearings.

Guys, guys, guys...

I just want to replace the crap/broken bearings with nice ones. That's all​.

The ones your mech told you to get are nice.

So whats the answer you want to hear so you feel good about buying something?

ok, let me rephrase. I want to replace the bearings with higher end bearings. Bearings that are known for being smooth, fast, and quiet.

I don't understand why you guys are having such a hard time with a simple question.

Loud bearings? wtf?


Enduro bearings are great.

Me too... and if you come to our shop and ask for ceramic bearings in our custom hubs we might toss you out the door.



Good bearings are all of $6.00 a side... go to a bearing supplier and not your local bike shop who will sell you the same bearings at a huge markup.

NTN bearings are suitable for industrial applications so are more than suitable for a low load application like a bicycle and I'd give anyone $100.00 if they could tell the difference between a hub with ceramic bearings and a hub with good quality steel bearings in a blind taste test.

Our hubs run out well beyond 30,000 km on quality steel bearings and have been used in Olympic cycling events.

For the same reason you're having such a hard time with understanding that buying expensive bearings just for the sake of it is stupid.

I'm not saying I want to go over board, just get NICE bearings. My LBS is giving me mediocre bearings. I'd rather have sweet ones. Maybe I am being silly here, but I remember when I used to skate, I have ABec 3's and ABec 7's and I could tell a huge​ difference.

I also skated for years and years, probably before you were born. Big deal. A bicycle is not a skateboard.

How long should we continue telling you that you're not going to notice a difference?

Why not just go to an LBS or bearing supply house and buy the most expensive bearing they have in the size you need?

You are being silly and are not listening to the people who have experience with such things.

Nice bearings do not cost that much... I can tell you, from experience, that people cannot tell the difference between grade 100 and grade 25 bearings and that most heavy industrial applications often only require a grade 40.

Get a set of NTN bearings from a bearing supply house and use the money you save to buy something nice for yourself or donate the excess to charity.

That sums it up, you have multiple mechanics (builders/fabricators/etc) telling you that what you are originally being sold by your mechanic is fine, that there will be no significant and absolutely no noticeable difference in higher end bearings. If you have this insatiable desire to spend money, spend it elsewhere.

Don't over think it.

Skateboard ≠ bike. You're definitely not going to even be able to tell whatever minuscule/ placebo difference there would be with better, more expensive bearings on a bicycle than a skateboard. The difference in weight between the two let alone is going to nullify whatever better "feel" you're dreaming of. Not to mention you're going to put these bearings in hubs for a fixed gear bike where there's no such thing as coasting, defeating the purpose all together!
~~~~~~IF you want better feel, you want to focus your income on tires. Lower rolling resistance is going to be your friend out of all of this.

And if you really skated, ABEC-BLA BLA BLA is ****. BONES SWISS.

I posted this thread expecting a response like:
"Enduro Abec 3's are fine, but for like 10 bucks you can get these sweet bearings that do this cool stuff."

I guess the more stupid posts I put up the more I'll learn, right?


Let me ask this last stupid question.. Why do people spend so much money on philwoods, paul, white ind., etc.?


And I did use bones swiss, I got the special editions that were rated Abec 9 just so they could boast about it.

Those guys deal in the high end. You can buy equally expensive and functional parts from, say, Shimano but they might not look as cool or "unique"