Concrete Wave and Dregs Longboards invite readers to submit questions pertaining to longboards and or downhill riding of any kind. Biker Sherlock currently holds the· world speed record on a skateboard (assisted) at 90.5 mph. He is the multiple gold medal winner in both the X Games and Gravity Games and is widely considered a guru of all things downhill.

Please submit questions to:· ·and you could be in the next magazine and win a free Dregs longboard. This issue Biker will answer the age old question “what does the ABEC rating of a bearing really mean”?·

First off, I am in no way claiming to be an expert or a guru. I would like to share some of my· experiences and knowledge that have been passed on to me by some of the greats like Brad Strandlund, Jarret Ewanek, Wally Inouye and Roger Hickey. We can learn more from people who DO than from people who think they know. One of the best things Jarret ever said was, “Just because it says it in the textbook does not mean it translates into real-world situations.” Coming from an aerospace engineer, this has significantly influenced me.

Bearing Rating BG

ABEC what? Ceramic who? What does it all mean? If you ask the question, “What does he ABEC rating mean?” you will get some crazy answers. The most common misconception I hear is “the amount of balls in the bearing” – which it is not. Here it is in· plain English: THE ABEC RATING IS THE SPACE OR TOLERANCE BETWEEN THE INSIDE OF THE BEARING WALL, OR RACE, AND THE BALLS. THE HIGHER THE NUMBER, THE SMALLER THE SPACE. The common consensus is the higher the rating (like ABEC 7 or 9), the better the bearing. I have not found this to be true. Both Brad and Jarret taught me that the sloppier the bearing (ABEC 3), the better. Let’s think about this: If a little piece of sand or dirt gets into your bearing at the start of a race and you have a· high-rated bearing, that foreign object will slow you down faster than if you had more space in between the ball and the race. As for ceramics and their ability to maintain a cooler temperature … this is true. That being said, everyone must understand that bearings are rated for max RPM and heat. At no time while skating are we even coming close to those maximum ratings.

So, what did I do? Before we get into that … I have seen and heard people testing bearings on downhill or freeride runs. That is impossible. You can feel if a bearing is f**ked up. But, to say that you can feel the difference between an ABEC 3 metal bearing and an ABEC 7 ceramic bearing is just BS. In my experience, the only way to feel a little difference, and I mean a little difference, is on a vert ramp or in a pool.

Does that mean it’s easier to catch air on fancy bearings? Even that is suspect. When I raced, there were two different bearings that I used: Bones Reds, which are packed in lithium grease, or ABEC 3 Greaseballs, which had ceramic shields on them to mind f**k the competition. Funny, huh? ABEC 5 Greaseballs (which happen to be the bearings we ship with) were used on the Stunt Junkies show to go 90 mph. There are a lot of people out there that will read this and probably be pissed. They might say precision bearings make a big difference, but I say, if you think precision bearings are so important, what about the hubs in your wheels? If you put a precision bearing in an injection-molded wheel with a nylon or estloc hub, the bearings will not be perfectly seated anyway. So now what? I say, “Let’s just all shut up and go skate, because that’s how we are really going to get better.” But what do I know??? CW