I recently purchased some hockey quad boots, but the bearings are slow so im looking to swap them with some abec 9s or red bones, but the axels on the skates are 7mm. Im used to 8mm axels and fast speed bearings, which are easy to find at that size. Are skateboard bearings suitable for quad skates with 7mm axels?
You would need spacers to make the bearings fit snug over the axles. If no one makes them, you could try some of the brass tubing that you can find in hobby shops. ABEC is meaningless for speed. It relates to how much the bearings can wobble in high speed machinery. If your bearings are really slow, they probably have a grease or heavy gel as a lubricant. Try cleaning out the lubricant and putting in a little oil.
Skateboard bearings would work, since they are basically the same size as blading bearings. I would recommend Bones Bearings, it doesn't matter which Bones bearings, but here is a short review for Bones: Bones Reds-Best bearings under $20. Spins fast, and smooth. Bones Swiss-Best bearings under $55. One of the bestselling bearings in the world. Spins for about 20-60 seconds. Very fast, and smooth. Bones Super Swiss 6-About $60. An upgraded or better version of the Bones Swiss. Spins a lot smoother, quieter, and faster. Bones Labyrinth- Stronger, faster, and longer-lasting. Costs about $60. Bones Ceramics-The Best bearings ever created. The toughest, fastest, and used by speedy pro skateboarders and bladers. $140, it could last longer than 3-5 years with proper cleaning every 6 months. Also, Bones bearings are not rated ABEC, because ABEC are mostly for machinery. Bones bearings are Skate Rated, specially designed for action sports such as skateboarding and inline skating. Although Abec 7's or 9's would be great, Skate Rated bearings are better. So yeah skateboard bearings are pretty good for 7mm because my cousin had the same size of axles and he uses skateboard bearings. Hope it helps. :)
