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BEARINGS

All of the major brands of bearings Australias Favorite Skateboard Shop carries are full-precision. Full-precision bearings are made of the highest quality components, and are designed to be durable as well as fast and smooth rolling. The skateboard bearing has only one available rating- ABEC. This rating only measures how precise a bearing runs. Unfortunately, these ratings were created for bearings that are used in equipment like electric motors, machine tools, and NOT for the abuse skateboarding does to a bearing. The ABEC system uses odd numbers 1 through 9 . An ABEC 1 being the lowest and slowest. ABEC 9, the highest rating, isn't necessarily the best for skateboarding. The higher rating only indicates a higher rating of precision. The bearings may spin faster, but the durability actually suffers a little. Because of the close proximity of bearing components, the higher rated bearing tends to break down quicker. Most skateboard bearings are rated ABEC 3 or 5. These bearings are perfect for skateboarding. They will roll well and are fairly durable. Some bearings like Powell brand Black BONES Swiss and Red BONES China have no ABEC rating at all. The best way to rate a bearing is just by skateboarding on it. Try out a few brands, ask your friends, eventually you'll be able to find the brand you like.
 
GRIPTAPE

This is the traction on the top of your deck. It helps to keep your feet gripped to the top of the skateboard. Most Griptape is a 33" X 9" sheet of fine grit sand paper with an adhesive backing. This sheet will fit the many of decks Australias Favorite Skateboard Shop carries. Many old school/pool decks are a little big, but 1 sheet will still work. Longboards however need 2 sheets of standard griptape or griptape can be purchased by the foot.
 
RISERS
 
These hard or flexible plastic risers are approximately 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" and are on average 1/8" thick. Risers are sandwiched between the truck and board and raise the truck to add space between the board and wheel. This helps to reduce wheelbite, which is a problem that occurs when turning or when too much pressure is applied to one side of the board. The wheel makes contact with the bottom of the deck and stops you dead in your tracks. Most 1/8" risers do the job for wheels from 52mm to 60mm. A wheel that is larger than 60mm should use a larger riser ( 1/4" to 1/2"). A set up w/ 52mm wheels or smaller may not require risers at all. It's up to the skater to make these choices. Wedged risers are used on longboards and slalom boards to alter the turning geomety of the trucks.

WHAT IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT I NEED?

Send us an e-mail or call and we will be happy to get you on a board that is just right for you. You can contact us at auction_australia(at)skateparkguide(dot)com or call us on 04 15883371 within Australia or +61 4 15883371 outside Australia.

SKATE SAFE AND HAVE FUN!

SHOP FOR GEAR IN OUR STORE