The Truth About ABEC Ratings

Working with Skateboards, Longboards and Scooters we are always hearing and asked various things about bearing ABEC ratings and what they mean.

ABEC is an acronym for Annular Bearing Engineering Committee of the AFBMA (Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association Inc). The ABEC grades of bearings is a set of standards for the manufacturing tolerances of bearings. All quality manufacturers around the world manufacture to at least ABEC 1 standard.

Bearings rated with the ABEC rating system typically have five ratings in the class scale that range from the widest tolerances to the tightest tolerances of the bearings with rating numbers of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Each number corresponds to a degree of roundness in the outer and inner races of a bearing. The higher the rating number of bearings, the tighter the component parts for tolerance, meaning that a higher ABEC grade is assigned to a ball bearing manufactured against a higher standard of precision. For instance, a ball bearing rated at a grade of 9 provides the highest precision and efficiency.

Will higher ABEC rated bearings make me go faster?

No. Not unless you are skating at 330 mph. That’s based on a 608 bearing limiting speed of 32,000 rpm. Only in extremely high speed applications like ultra high speed motors and precision measuring instruments can bearings above ABEC 1 affect performance. Regardless of how fast you plan to go, speed is affected first and foremost by the choice of lubricant and how hard you push 😉

If we’re going to talk about tolerances, the fit of your wheels and axles have a much greater effect on performance than ABEC rating. Wheels and axles for skateboards and scooters skates sometimes have loose fits that allow you to press the bearings into the wheel by hand. This masks the benefits of a higher precision bearing by allowing it to slip on the axle or in the wheel. Slippage between the mating parts results in energy loss. Lost energy is lost speed.

ABEC isn’t the only way to rate skateboard bearings, by the way. There is also the International Standards Organisation (ISO) system and the [German National Standards Organisation (DIN) system. Here is a chart to help you compare: