How To Change Your Roller Skate Bearings - Spacers, Washers & Light Up Wheels.

[@johnd4hl56]

Skatie you're a legend! I've been looking everywhere on any information about spacers! You are truly the only source of proper and deep knowledge about roller skates on the whole internet.

[@Skatie]

Thank you. I’m an equipment geek! 😂 love all the technical side too.

[@Buttercup_100]

This was such an awesome video! I was struggling with getting the bearings in without the tool but Katie made it so simple. Just started skating again at 45 so wish me luck😄

[@Skatie]

Have lots of fun xx. Glad the video helped.

[@jackie7656]

@Skatie, this video helped so much! Especially your tip to use a stack of bearings to make sure the outer bearings are seated properly - I was trying to put bearings on my new atom pulse outdoor wheels, and I felt like no matter how hard I pushed down, the bearing wasn’t fully inside the wheel! Once i placed down a bearing stack, it was so much easier to get the bearings in all the way. You definitely saved me from having a nasty fall!!!!

[@Skatie]

I’m so glad it helped. It’s those front bearings, are so tricky, as they’re so recessed. Glad the hack helped.

[@impibibi403]

I recently ordered my first pair of skates and your videos are so fantastic. They're so well put together and easy to follow, it really calms me down with all the jargon and new stuff to learn :) 🥰

[@Skatie]

It can definitely be really overwhelming. Always ask any questions you may have x

[@nellythree]

Hey how's it going,! Have you mastered it yet? I just ordered my first pair after my daughter got her first pair 🙌🏽

[@blacksmith77k17]

Hello you, I was born in 1977, rollerskating since 1987 and skateboarding since 1989. Since 1999 only on roller skates... I love this channel and katie's posts! Superbe videos as well, the technical background and the explanations about moves are fantastic! But: the best thing you can do for perfect running smoothness is to use spacers. I can't understand why so many are on the road with rattling wheels. you can hear immediately whether spacers are installed or not. So according to my limited experience: don't do without suitable spacers.

[@Skatie]

🛼🛼

[@amandinedrolez1231]

Thanks to you, I changed my wheels for the first time today!

[@Skatie]

Well done!! 🛞💪🏻💕⭐️😎🛼

[@kenetrawoods3634]

Thank you for this video, I was able to switch my wheels out so easily

[@Skatie]

🛼⭐️💕

[@aquaria1324]

I know this video is older, but is it okay to put the washer after the nut? Or is it necessary to put the washer behind the wheel?

[@Skatie]

The washer can go either behind the wheel or in front of the wheel. Whichever fixes your problems. If you’re getting wheels bite sometimes behind the wheel is better. If it’s just to take up some extra space the choice is yours.

[@aquaria1324]

@Skatie tysm for the response! Appreciate it 😊

[@andyb9994]

Greatest skate info online 💯....you may be a skate genius...we love you and the channel🎄⛄✌️

[@Skatie]

Thank you so much!! 💕⭐️🛼

[@andyb9994]

@@Skatie you have given has so much great info, tips and tricks....it's awesome thanks✌️💯🎉

[@vincenzoarieggiato120]

Best tutorial on yt

[@Skatie]

Thank you so much ⭐️⭐️🛼💕

[@KenJames9911]

Where do you buy axel washers for Roller Skates? I'm seeing them for skateboards but not for roller skates...

[@Skatie]

You can use washers from the hardware store as long as they’re the correct size for you axle. Most axels are 8mm.

[@christopherconkright1317]

The closed bearing has a c clamp around the outside to hold the shields on. It depends on the person but they can be simple to put back together.

[@Skatie]

That’s good to know. Thank you.

[@kathoh6855]

That’s almost what I did but the bearing stack idea would have really helped when I was putting bearings into my very hard new artistic wheels! I’ve invested in a bearing tool but not a press… too much money for something I don’t need that often!

[@Skatie]

Well done. The tools and presses are handy for some wheels. Happy rolling 🛼

[@KS-op5hb]

VERY HELPFUL. May I ask can you reuse bearings? like can I use them in one wheel set them pop them out and use in another wheel set?

[@Skatie]

Absolutely! If you’re changing wheels regularly it’s easier to have two sets of bearings but if it’s just occasionally no reason not to use the same bearings.

[@gabyf001]

Great tips. Thank you!

[@Skatie]

Thank you x 🛼

[@ANG3L1CL4NA]

Is there any possible replacements for bearings if i lost one from one of my wheels without any extra ones?

[@Skatie]

You can pick up a set of 10 from Amazon pretty cheaply. You may be able to buy them individually from more industrial sites or perhaps eBay.

[@towdjumper5]

Great stuff. THX.

[@Skatie]

Thank you

[@bluejeans98]

So you buy new set of skates. What are the first things you should do with them. Should things be tightened or loosened. Please a guide on this would be very useful. I've seen some comments about loosen trucks. ?????????

[@Skatie]

Good idea. Definitely check your wheels roll like in this video. And yes you can absolutely loosen the trucks. In fact our next video is going to be bubbles and how to loosen the trucks to help skaters achieve a bubble.

[@VisionQuest7]

Hello Skatie Thank you for your informative videos. I'm a new skater so I tightened the wheels in an effort to slow my roll. These are new skates, Slades. On the right skate ok to tighten, but on the left back wheel I can not tighten it to the point of slowing down the wheel movement. Might it be a bad ballbearing you think? Thanks

[@Skatie]

It could just that the be the wheel fits within the unthreaded section of the axel so no amount of tightening will slow the wheels.

[@VisionQuest7]

@@Skatie Yes, this seems to be the problem. You mentioned using a washer to tighten so I placed a thin hard rubber washer on the wheel to take up some of the space. So far so good! Thank You

[@meghan7816]

Hi Katie- thanks for this video and all the others!! I’m new to skating and your videos have been soo helpful. I just bought new wheels and bearings for my skates. For three of the wheels, my bearings won’t set into the inner hub. They’re too loose, hub seems slightly too big and the bearings just fall out. I emailed the owner of the skate shop I got them from and he’s telling me this is typical and that it’ll be fine once I tighten the locknut. This sounds sketchy to me but I don’t have any experience with this. Can you tell me if that’s really a good solution?

[@Skatie]

Some wheels can have looser hubs than others. As long as the bearings are the correct size the skate shop are correct. However I’d definitely check the wheel once it’s on the axel you definitely don’t want to lose a wheel whilst skating.The wheel should have a smaller hole in the middle which should stop the wheel coming off.

[@meghan7816]

Thanks so much for your input!

[@brookelyn23g]

What brand of bearings are a good brand to buy?

[@Skatie]

I tend to buy cheapies but if you want to invest roller bones are good too. amzn.to/3Oy34U5

[@LindaBrett]

Do you recommend those skate boots? Are they ice skate boots? Intrigued...

[@Skatie]

Hi. I skate on an artistic setup, as you correctly say, similar to ice skates. I wear Risport but I can also highly recommend Edea. Recreational skates or beginners would do well in an entry level boot. The higher level boots are quite stiff for a beginner to break in but good for jumps etc.

[@gathercreatelivewithleslie8340]

I was wondering about the spacers. They make it so hard to use the bearing tool. I had a wheel come off the other day at the rink and I don't understand why. They are new skates, I put on light up wheels and tightened everything down before I went and checked for roll. About a half our into skating it popped right off. Should I just put all of my nuts upside down so they lock on?

[@Skatie]

The light up wheels unfortunately still need spacers but yes if you find the axels isn’t showing above the top of the nut then the locking system isn’t engaged. Id definitely recommend to try using the nut upside down so the locking piece is on the axel. Stay safe x

[@rochellearivera]

Does you have tips on how to remove the bearings on light up wheels without a bearing press? I noticed my bearing puller can’t catch the bearing since there is no space between the battery & bearing.

[@Skatie]

I use the same method of removing them with the axel but you have to be sure to only go into the wheel a little way so you don’t catch the spacer too. It takes a bit of practice.

[@rochellearivera]

@@Skatie Okay, I’ll try that out. Thanks!

[@brandycewonderland1497]

Skatie, could you please help me? I'm buying the Sure-Grip Zombie wheels for derby and it says they need the Sure-Grip. 300 5/16 spacer. What in the world do those numbers mean and why are there so many different numbers for these things? The Sure-Grip ones are only sold on two different sites. Can we not inchange them? Do we need that specific number? For all of skater videos out there about wheels, you're the only one who even mentions them. They're important to maintaining good car of your axles, so why does nobody talk about them? I'm sorry there's so many questions. I've tried researching and sadly NOBODY talks about bearings spacers. Please help.

[@Skatie]

Hi. If you’re going to use spacers they need to be the correct size for the space between the bearings to do their job. In my experience the wheels tend to come with the correct size spacer. I tend to buy artistic wheels so I’ve not had experience with the derby brands. Can you contact the shop maybe to check. The spacer size must be exact so I’d expect them to ship with them if they’re giving a recommendation to use spacers. Let me know how you get on.

[@deannaranger6472]

I had this same problem, the axel size was correct but once I pressed the bearings into the wheel, the spacer was loose floating around in the wheel. I haven’t been able to find anyone talking about it either or if that shouldn’t be happening or not but I’m guessing not 😅🤷‍♀️ so now I’m waiting for a different type to arrive, we’ll see if these are the same or not!

[@Alexander-zl3er]

The Spacer was important for the old ones, so you won't be able to squash your Wheels when they had no core, like the old bel air blazers for example. But it's also good with the new ones, because the metall is not so moldable like the nylon of the core. The washer is not for the gap, it's for the freeness of the bearing. Without, the outer ring of the bearing, which will spinn, could get in contact with the Screw or with the axle, with a washer, it's only in contact with the standing still inner ring of the bearing, so the wheels could spinn easily. The ABEC rating isn't important, that's right but the quality, the materials they're made of and the lubricant wich were used for them when you use them out of the box could be important. Also what material is the cage ( of the bearing ) is made of. If the cage is made of nylon, you should never get in contact with alkaline or earthalkaline ( Li, Na, etc. ) saponified grease ( the best non synthetical gel like greases with a wide spreader temperature working range ) because the nylon is not resistant to it ( chemically !!! ). Gel like grease is good, because it will protect your bearings, let them spinn easily and won't drop out of them like the most of these highspeed lubricants which are mosetly be the same 0815 (motor) oil 🛢️with another new customized Logo. So you only spend up to 100 times of the real price ( really 🤯 ) for a cool logo but not a better product. It's the same thing with the overpriced Bearings... By the wa,, you should really use washers if you have led lighted wheels on your skates, because of the fact I wrote about the bearings. So the pressure goes on the inner ring of the bearings which are in direct contact with the "better ever still standing" dynamo spacer. If the dynamo spacer spinn up while you're skateing, it won't be able to generate energy and your Wheels won't light up 🙈

[@Skatie]

🛼😀⭐️

[@roylanzuriel7280]

Is the washer necessary for skates? I’m trying to set up my light up wheels but they only light up for 1-2 seconds when I roll it

[@Skatie]

Hi. Light up wheels can be really tricky. You don’t usually need a washer with light ups as they are a deep wheel so they don’t have space to slide up and down the axle with the nut tight. You need to play around with the tightness of the nut to make sure firstly that they won’t fall off if the nut isn’t on far enough and then you will need them tighter to make sure they light up but then, as you’ve found, they don’t have much roll.

[@c0linluvsu728]

Just put in new shells and bearings and when I either step down or skate they make sort off a clank noise nothing is loose or the wrong size just wondering if it’s supposed to do that or no

[@Skatie]

That sounds odd. If you give them a shake does it do the noise then or just when you’re skating?

[@c0linluvsu728]

@@Skatie just when I’m skating

[@tylerm124]

Spacers are to help with bearing longevity. If you habe them always use them. It also allows you to tighten the wheel nut all the way down and itll keep spinning so they wont come loose over time. When you turn you get a cross axial rotation force that wears on the races faster without the spacers. Use spacers they cost like 3$ to get a set and will make your bearings last like 10 times longer.

[@Skatie]

A lot of the high end wheels do ship with spacers but for beginner stuff they tend to ship with spacer just so the machine doesn’t over tighten the wheel nut. Often beginners will transfer spacers between wheels and cause the bearings to not sit in the hub flush and make the wheel too deep so the nut doesn’t stay put. So they can cause lots of extra problems ! 😂

[@Rebekahw]

My spacers are creating a rattling noise. My washers are stuck on and one has come loose

[@Skatie]

If you’re skating on quads it’s ok to remove the spacers. But for inlines you definitely need them. Have you managed to get the washers unstuck?

[@Rebekahw]

@@Skatie all sorted now :)

[@alexisguy9141]

How often should I replace my bearings?

[@Skatie]

I’m still rolling on bearings from the 90’s! 😂. Just be careful to avoid skating in the wet weather.

[@lwindy6305]

What diameter are the washers? I know the middle should be 8mm but not sure on the overall diameter.

[@Skatie]

To be honest I use all sorts. It’s good to have some of different widths too. I’d say you want to stay within the size of the outer bearing other wise you might get problems with the washer rubbing on the wheel itself.

[@binus3754]

which brand is the best bearing and wheel of roller skating (especially for rollerskating competition)pls reply

[@Skatie]

I would always recommend roll-line wheels. As for bearings; hybrids are good but not essential.

[@shawn.spencer]

But how do I tell bearings apart? Like how do I know which ones to buy to make my wheel turn more and not have this thick gummy lubricant like you said?

[@Skatie]

The ones that ship with skates tend to be gummy. I use cheap bearings but lots of people recommend rollerbones reds

[@302keys]

THANK YIOUUUUUUUU

[@Skatie]

⭐️🛼

[@robdennis5332]

Adding a touch of oil on the bearing and the bearing holder makes the process more fluid.

[@Skatie]

💪🏻😎🛼⭐️

[@oblivious_prime]

I have such weak hands that I just use the Bont bearing press/puller. It turned what was a 30 minute process into like a 5 minute process!

[@Skatie]

It does take a bit of welly to get those pesky bearings out. Some wheels just seem to be tricker than others. 😩

[@homestudioproductiontutorials]

spacers on roller skates !!! don't leave them out , cos you won't have even pressure on your bearings ,making them not roll as good !! also you can tighten them up so they don't rattle and sound like you are skating on play mobile skates !!! , on inline skates you simply cannot roll without them cos you have to tighten your wheels all the way up , so there is a reason for these , don't leave them out !!

[@Skatie]

Yup, You definitely cannot leave them out of inlines.

[@needsmorewisdom]

@@Skatie what if your spacers won't fit in your wheels anymore? I switched to outdoor wheels on my quads and now I have no room for my existing spacers. Are spacers necessary on quads?

[@Skatie]

@@needsmorewisdom you can definitely leave them out of quads. Each wheel will need a different size spacer so if they were not supplied with your new wheels it’s unlikely your old spacers will fit. It’s fine to leave them out.

[@joselynagoncillo8744]

@@Skatie I beg to disagree. Please, please, please. Do not leave out the spacers. If you have upgraded and the former spacers do not fit anymore, you have no recourse but to make them. What I usually do is buy lock washers 8mm. They are the split washers with an offset. I straighten them and grind the protrusions to make them flat. I use as many as needed, and, many times, they do the trick. But, please, don't leave out the spacers. I am a motorcycle mechanic, and the spacers in motorcycle wheels are the ones that are really holding the wheels in place. This is also true to simple wheelsets such as roller skates wheels. Bicycles also work on the same principle. If you remove the spacers in any of these, say goodbye to your bearings. The tendency is to tighten the nut every so often just to make the wheels run nicely. But, if the spacers are in place, there is never, ever, never a need to re-tighten roller skate wheels.

[@Doobieshoobie]

@@joselynagoncillo8744 My Riedell skates did not even have spacers in the wheels when I got them, if your bearings are in properly it does not make a notable difference at all