Skateboard Bearing Spacers - What's the point? 

This is the only video on the World Wide Web that actually explains bearing spacers properly. I found Bones and Bronson bearing spacers are the only ones that are consistently the correct width to properly connect the inner races of the bearings. Whenever I use them in Bones or Spitfire wheels they give the proper amount of width. Really the wheel manufacturers should probably include spacers with the wheels and make sure they are within spec.

The skateboard industry in general has always been a little hazy on finer points like this, bushing size and even really important things like deck companies not giving the wheel base of decks! Spot on advice about bearing spacers, great stuff. I also found bearing spacers help to keep the two bearings parallel to each other also helping them run smoother. Wheels are pretty good in general but over the years I have had wheels with less than ideal tolerances and the spacer helped correct that! Washer - bearing - spacer - bearing - washer - nut every time!

Long video but very informative, the fact that you measured and tried with many different wheel brands is awesome, thank you a lot. Now it still have to somewhat find spacers somewhere because no shop sell them ahah

This explanation of the usefulness and application of spacers was extraordinarily informative and educational-very much so-though the final demonstration of the concept done whilst sitting seiza on an circular Indy mat with a board on a wood floor just about broke my heart with warmth and kinship… That was just lovely. I hope all is well over there :)

Thank you, sir!! I'm 47 yrs old & sk8nng since age 12. Not using spacers is a new concept i hear some talking about and IS CRAZY 2 ME. OVER🎯

My father shared a glimpse of his knowledge with me, since then I use bearing spacers and clean and grease my bearings. Unless you use some weird cleaning product they last forever. I was unable to explain the reasoning behind the use of spacers beyond an sliding axle, now I can share this vid and problem solved. Thanks a lot, now I have an excuse to check my wheels and spacers and to clean and grease my bearings.

Mad vid bro . I didn’t bother putting spacers on that came with my new modus titanium bearings but I’m gonna put them on now for sure . Cheers

Good vid, very informative and clearly explained. I think I used spacers back in the day but never really knew how to select the correct ones so they always ended up rattling.

Thank you so much for the explanation. It makes perfect sense. I'm 50 and getting back into street skating after a 10 year layoff. It's tremendous fun trying to get back all of the tricks I use to be able to do. Thumbs up for the video!

Totally worth it. When I was a dumb kid I ditched my Reds spacer, great bearings unfortunately sold them without the spacers lol. I was curious what the heck the spacers function actually was, will definitely be running them if I get another skateboard.

This is the best video I’ve seen explaining exactly how spacers work, it’s such a minefield of misinformation especially from stores. I can’t help thinking that a simple way to test the length of the spacer would be to push one bearing in, drop the spacer in and check to ensure it sits above the wheel inner hub as a simple method for stores who are fitting these to peoples boards and not setting them up correctly.

Thank you SOO much for this video and the others you've done! I've been skating for about 5 years now now never even knew about bearing spacers!! I'm excited to see if I can feel a difference next time I skate:)

I’m so glad someone explained this succinctly. All the best!

Totally made sense. I am setting a board for learning. Trying to educate as much as possible first. I was wondering if they were mandatory. I happened to have some with the bearings. I've put them on but I felt that something was wrong. Mine do not touch the bearings enough I guess now. I can't press the nut to the maximum without getting the bearing stuck. I am already happy with the speed of my wheels for now but they do not rotate as freely as yours. People should leave the past behind and try new things !

Awesome! Great video keep it up!!!! It looks so fun!!!!!!

Great explanation now I can deal with bearings with confidence that I know what I’m doing and get rid of that pesky wheel rattle, now when I hear that rattling I will know my nut is loose !

Absolutely amazing video explanation was good and gave me information about spacers I wouldn't of thought of in the first place like how there supposed be a certain size for the wheels thanks a lot 👍

This is very helpful, and it explains a lot. I want my bearings to last. Thank you for this.

This just helped me a ton! I legit just upgraded my bearings and deiceded to give them a run. After watching this I installed them perfectly and I'm kinda stoked! First time in 30 years...

Great video. Well explained & more useful info than any other bearing vid out there. I measured my 10mm spacers after watching this & found they varied up to 1.2mm either side of 10mm. Manufacturing quality mostly, but something to factor in is any spacer made of aluminium can be squashed & deformed if overtightened.

When I get home imma check my spacer size!! Thanks for the info. Gonna subscribe!

For the first time in seven years I've tightened the bearing nuts. Thank you!

So obvious but some skaters still believe spacers have no use (some think it is an old timers thing that was proved wrong). Thank you for the video. Another thing that pisses me off today is the standard wheels that don't cover the truck's axles nuts, which I think is crazy since the wheel's offset would protect the axles and bolts from being damaged in falls.

Top notch Sir, much obliged for the insight.

If the spacers are too small for your wheel you can just add an extra speed washer

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

If I put a longer spacer in my wheel that may be 1mm more than my core, when I tighten up all the way, I can actually see my wheel moving a bit over the set up, it's not loose but the wheel seems to move a bit side to side even if tightened all the way, as if you don't have an exact match to the core there's movement even when tightened all the way? Great video, really well explained, mate, cheers.

Outstanding video, never thought about the core space size for the spacer before and it possibly binding in there. Please keep making more informative videos, also heads up i cracked the inner race of my bearing by overtightening the axle nut on one wheel and a chunk fell off i used the spacers that came with my bearings, i noticed we have the same bearings, i think, super swiss 6. i didnt go much past snug but it was enough pressure to crack it, it still rolls luckily.

Wheel manufactures should supply the correct spacers with the wheels. I've always had issues with spitfire wheels. This video made sense of why I was having issues. Skateshops here in SA don't keep different size spacers. I always use spacers. Bearings last longer , spin and ride better

Thanks for such a great video that properly explains this. Is there such a thing as too tight though? Because whenever I tighten the nut all the way with my spacers in the wheels don't seem to spin well at all. In theory shouldn't you be able to tighten them as much as possible? Could this mean more speed rings are required to make sure the wheel isn't being squeezed onto the end of the truck?

You can put your hand behind small objects to help your camera auto focus lock onto the object rather than the background

Thank you

Great stuff.👍 I have found the exact same thing as what you're saying. Due to manufacturing variances in tolerances I've had spacers of ever so slightly different lengths from the same batch. I tend to buy a few sets of spacers so I can measure them to find a good match for whatever set of wheels I plan on running. Too short and the bearing will bind when the nut it tightened. Too long and the wheel can slide/slip back and forth on the bearings.

Hey! Thank you so much for this video. I never understood why some skaters use spacers and others don't, but now I know. 🙏 One question. Could you please tell me the exact spacer measurements you use for those SF F4 wheels and the Bones bearings? My setup will be very similar, the only difference will be the bearings. I will use the normal Bones Reds. Thank you in advance.

Does it matter if the spacer is too big and stuck inside the wheel core (like you showed in the video) if you have the axle nut not tightened fully on the axle? would it just act as a washer then? Regards.

I have only one set of wheels where the spacers fit the wheel / length correctly. Other attempts all failed. I like the set I have that work.

Hey, where did you get the steel spacers? They are so much more durable than the aluminium ones you usually see in shops.

Hi mate, Ive got some rollerbones wheels, and the core is too shallow for my 8mm spacers, so my bearings stick out a bit, any advice, because I cant find spacers that are less than 8mm, thanks Ant.

I have a question, I keep trying to install my spacers but some wheels free spin perfectly while others will slow down 3x faster with the same items used, I installed all spacers properly but I feel like I’m still doing something wrong, everything is cleaned recently so nothing is dirty preventing performance, any advice from anyone would be appreciated.

Just wondering which spacers you use on your spitfire wheels? Im using bones reds and formula 4s. Id like to order spacers online but dont want the wrong size 😅

where did you get those small black spacers? I have the spitfire conical fulls 53mm

hmm, goofy question. If I tighten down my wheels solid, they seem to slow down slightly. If I put a speed ring inside between the spacer and the bearing (so as to lengthen the spacer), tighten down, then pull the wheel out a tiny bit, it spins at full speed. is it normal for a wheel to rub slightly up against the bearing? They are somewhat soft wheels (new 93a dragons). I guess it's possible I tightened them down too much without spacers in them, or with too-short spacers in them, and maybe I made an indent in the edge of the inside of the wheel? kinda seems like a wheel needs to have its bearing seat either super flat or even a bit conical? and/or that the wheel needs to actually kind of hover and align on the bearings and not get knocked too far in/out? also, would it be weird to use speed rings inside next to the spacers, if I don't want to bother getting longer bearings? I know it would be annoying when taking stuff apart, but I'm thinking it should probably be fine during operation. Edit: if I don't want to get longer *spacers*, not longer bearings.

Can't thank you enough for making this. I recently started a thread in a forum complaining about the design of quad skate trucks. I have had two occasions in the last year where a wheel has come off the left side of a quad skate. First time I suffered a leg injury (almost a year ago) that is still painful. 2nd time I was LUCKY... it happened while I was standing still on grass. I have quad-skated 30+ years before a wheel came off. Right side truck nuts would seem to be safe, but left side, if you don't use spacers, can't have the truck nuts tightened beyond where they leave the bearings to rotate. Those nuts will experience frictional forces against the bearing shields that tend to unscrew the nuts and they can (and in some cases will!) work their way off the truck axle and the skater is thrown to the ground. You didn't address this point in the video, perhaps you were unaware of it. Anyway, I am now by virtue of this video in a position to order appropriate spacers and hope they act as you say, leave my wheels able to spin freely and have the truck nuts seriously tight. All the videos and extensive info at skate part sites never addressed this crucial information. My idea when I started the thread in the forum was that the left side axles on quad skates (I'd think skateboards too) should be reverse threaded to prevent the nuts from working their way off. However, assuming this video is correct, spacers should make that unnecessary. I'll add one more thing: I heard that king pins can simply snap! I heard this a few months ago from the x-ray technician who was photographing my hand. I explained to him that the king pin on my left skate had snapped (4 months after the wheel came off), and I was suffering a badly sprained finger... which still hasn't really healed. When that king pin snapped, the front wheels shot out 20 feet ahead of me and down I went. I don't know of a way to prevent king pins snapping other than, I suppose, changing them out with some frequency. Oh, one more thing... I was trying to place your accent. Are you Australian? Oh, another thing. I have thin speed washers at the inside of my axles but no not on the outside beneath the nut. Even without that extra washer the nuts don't allow any of the axle to protrude, IOW the axles seem not long enough. Yet another washer is going to make that worse. Tightening down the nuts (by virtue of using spacers), should make that unimportant, but I wonder why my axles seem not long enough. These are OEM Sure Grip trucks and lock nuts. BTW, I have always ridden Kryptonics 78A 70mm wheels (on the streets and occasionally the sidewalks).

Do you put 4 washers per wheel then? One inside, one outside and one on each end of the spacer? I swear I just saw an image of someone recommending that?

The spacers I see on Amazon are universal, with a smaller center to go over the axle, and the outer section.

My bearing spacers rattle when not fully tightened down but when i tighten it fully down there is no rattle and the wheels spin just fine. Wondering if its still okay .

Yeah but you ever notice the wheels it self shift side to side when tighten? I noticed when I put spacers they don't sit evenly in the wheels. I use the spacers that come with bearing sets I buy from the shop. I Tried it with spitfires, Bones an OJs an all the same

So a spacer thats too short ..say 1mm or .0878 mm or something is basically like having no spacer at all because no contact between bearing inner surfaces and spacer so when u tighten the bolt the spacer is non functional rattling around of wheel core??? Excellent video best you tube video out there explaining wheels and spacers

when do you know if you need to change the bearings on a longboard?

Guess I'm not getting those new Slappy Sti trucks. I mean, I can just get some new Ace Classic 55s for 44 bucks shipped! Stage 4s the reissues are fire too! 151s or larger only tho

I just got evolve AT wheels and bearing spacers are too long that I have, thus whole wheel slides left n right, time to get the dremel out? As not using spacers at moment due to side movement.

What do you do when your spacers are just a little bit longer than the inner core of your wheels, you tighten everything down, but the bearings still move side to side a little in the wheel? Like, after I land a 180, I can feel the wheel shift sideways a little.

Will bones spacers work with my Spitfire f4 wheels?

Thanks for this vid but im having some problems. I got a new set of 56mm 97a nano cubics and Bronson g3s which is how i found this. The spacers that came with the bronons seemto be the correct size, smaller diameter and longer depth, but when I tighten the axle nut down all the way the wheel barely spins. Even if i leave some play, the new set up doesnt spin as well as the 56mm 93a dragons i was replacing which i discovered were installed without spacers AND without even the speed rings. Any idea what the problem is here?

I don't think you should confuse with showing spacers that isn't skateboard spacers,then it's not at all that confusing. I normally only se shops selling all in the same and right size. And about having the axelnut tight does really slow down the performance on the wheel that I have tried.

It is ok I am mostly frustrated that my e-Vehicles that I bought over the years had no speed-Rings and I had to search a lot because I was doing the same as you show in your video and kept knowing there was something extremely wrong with my bearings...

Every spacer I find is 10.2mm. I’m trying to find ones that are 11mm for my bones rough riders 59mm. The 10.2’s aren’t long enough to hold the inner ring on the bearings.

👍🏽

About 7:30 everyone sighs in understanding 😅

This makes no sense because there is either one side or the other seizing up when tightning the nuts a lot( The spacer spins on the axle, the way you show at the end)

Your bearings don‘t even need to spin, without pressure. If you grease your bearings well they won‘t spin more than 2-3 rotations. I allways grease my bearings with Lithiumgrease , every winter, after cleaning with aceton. I use cheap SKF bearings- no special skateboardbearings: they are doing their Job for more than 10 years now.

It seems that manufacturers themselves don't know this. Buy any complete pro skateboard and you'll find that you can not fully tighten the bolts or the wheels will seize. Even expensive landyatchz cruisrrs. So it suggests that manufacturers don't know that the spacer must be longer than the core.

A little further information that is not being mentioned especially when he shows the three spacers side-by-side on the popsicle stick.... The smallest one on the right is for roller skate wheels and gets mistakenly mixed into skateboarding...... The width of the spacer and the amount of axle that protrudes from the hangar of a truck are a precision alignment that was decided and standardized in 1976.... There is no deviation, just poor quality and gimmicks....

How do I find the right spacers for every wheel? Most shops will have at most 2 kinds, if any in stock. Ordering online, you're not going to get a super precise measurement. Seems like the only way is to have a chest full of 20 different sized spacers, then measure each and every set of wheels you try, and then find the corresponding spacer from your $80 spacer toolchest? I think spacers are the single most maddening aspect of skateboard hardware and madness! Just say no to spacers, lol.

i don't get boutique brand bearings when there are perfectly good bearings from NTN, SKF, or Fischers Automatische Gusstahlkugelfabrik for less money where you only miss part of your money spent on marketing

At 21:09 you imply that they work bad and I suspect it is from your lack of using proper speed-Rings, not the nonsense of using faulty bearings to try to make a point on always using spacers

yeah until wheel companies start including them with the wheels, to be the perfect size to accommodate, I'm in the no spacers gang. It hurts to do so as a gear nerd. I know we should be using them but why if it's only going to fit in some wheels and not others, with great variance in sizes? Not worth the trade off to me. skate bearings are cheap overall. A set of even bones swiss is around 50 USD now and if you just clean with degreaser and re lube with 1 or 2 drops of speed cream, they should last at least a year or two if not much longer. No spacers here. As much as I want to use them! Rat Vision (RIP BEST CHANNEL EVER) has a video where he measures with calipers and the variance is just way too far off.

Spacers are pointless