What Size Bearings to Choose for Your Roller Skates

One of our most frequently asked questions is, "What size bearings do I need for my roller skates?"

Bearings are the donut shaped ones that fit inside your wheel and allows the wheel to spin on the axle.

Find My Bearings

Most wheels are sold without bearings. All wheels require bearings in order to work.

Each wheel requires 2 bearings - one back and front. So for 8 wheels you will need 16 bearings.

In Australian roller skate shops, bearings can vary in price from $40 for a full set of 16 up to $400 for a full set.

Generally speaking, the more you spend on bearings, the better and smoother roll you will get (which will ultimately lead to more speed and smoother moves).

Wanna go faster? Get yourself some high quality bearings.

Size Matters

There are 2 common sizes for roller skate bearings: 7mm and 8mm.

The number refers to the inner diameter of the bearing and the size of your axles.

Some roller skate plates have 7mm axles and need 7mm bearings (627 bearings). This includes most Roll-line plates, some old school plates from the 80s and other specialty plates/trucks (for example Suregrip DA45 7mm quick release axles). 

The most common size is 8mm (608 bearings). Most common and current roller skate plates take an 8mm bearing. Popular stock skates like Moxi Lolly, Beach Bunny, Moxi Rainbow Riders, Impala Roller skates, Rio Rollers, Chaya Melrose, Riedell R3, Antik Skates, Sure-Grip Boardwalk, Bont Parkstars and more take an 8mm bearing.

As a general rule: 7mm is rare, 8mm is most common. 

It is highly likely that your skates have 8mm axles and take an 8mm bearing.

Quick tip: If you look at the bearings already in your wheels you should see the numbers 627 or 608 written on the shield. 627s are 7mm, 608s are 8mm.

Check out our range of bearings here, and don't forget to choose the right size.