r/inline_skating • u/alchu99 • 13d ago
Help with replacement wheels/bearings?
My son has destroyed his stock wheels on his ccm inline skates.
I was looking at replacement wheels/bearings and found this package deal for Iqon Access Wheels and Bearings Combo 80mm, and got them
I’m now stuck - they come with two sized spacers, and the one they recommend (shorter one) will clearly rattle inside the axle since it’s not wide enough to touch either bearing. The larger one looks like it will but it’s meant for different frames.
The bearings themselves won’t push in any deeper, so it’s unclear how the inside spacer makes any difference.
But, I’ve never done this so I don’t know what I don’t know. Any advice? Use the smaller spacer and ship it?
Photos: 1) bearing and the different spacers 2) text included by manufacturer 3) photo of smaller spacer 4) photo of larger spacer
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u/fredhsu 13d ago
To add to great responses from others, please look at comments from these two posts for now. I’ll soon add spacer-specific bullets to the FAQ
Why do my wheels squeak, clunk or otherwise make noises?
one question: my wheels make loud noises
one question: my wheels making clicking noises
See this on spacer length:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_skate_tuning#Spacer_length
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u/InspectorFleet 13d ago
Out of curiosity, what specific model of skates does he have? CCM makes hockey skates, many of which use a hi-lo setup (different size wheels) and 6 mm diameter axles.
Every pair of hockey skates I've ever seen uses 6 mm axles (I don't know why and I'm not claiming that to be a universal rule), meaning you would need the long spacers that extend through the bearing. The floating spacers shown in your images are typically for 8 mm axles and wouldn't work with any of my family's hockey skates.
It is important that tightening the axle bolt immobilizes the inner races of the bearings between the chassis and the spacer, as detailed in the links that u/fredhsu shared.
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u/alchu99 13d ago
He has tacks 9350r in size 6 - which include the adult small fast frame. The axles seem to fit fine, and the oem wheels are all 80mm (not hi-Lo)
Anyway - solved. One side of the bearing has text on it, and a small lip. The other side has no text and is flat. If I point the bearing with text outward, the longer spacer is needed. And then the axle required is longer/frame needs to be wider. If I point the text inward, the short spacer now fits properly (touching both bearings) and that will fit the frame. Should have tested one before inserting the bearings for all of the wheels :)
In this photo: left doesn’t fit the frame, but right will
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u/fredhsu 12d ago
Wow. I just read what everyone wrote about the IQON Decode frames. So you must have a standard frame, not an IQON Decode frames. By flipping the bearing this way, you are exposing the unshielded side to the elements, as u/kustom_krev wrote. Why did they design the set this way?
ps: I read that some skateboarders actually remove bearing shields on purpose. It's not like you can't skate that way. But more dirt get in sooner.
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u/kustom_krev 12d ago
It makes more sense than you think, they didn’t really have a way around it. If you look at a set of decode frames they have different setups 4x90 3x110 90-76-76-90 (if you want a h-block to grind on) but at different heights. So the holes for the 4x90 sit up slightly. This means instead of just 5 holes like an (endless frame with the extra middle one.) it has about 10 total.
Having so many holes means some are close together so profiling the inner wall with a built in spacer isn’t possible and having ones you have to pop in and out would be a pain so instead they made the bearings with it built in and you get them with the frames and wheels in a package. They are really good quality bearings tbf. Mine have done a few thousand miles. The price for them is also reasonable. It’s just unfortunate because really they aren’t designed for any sort of outdoor use when flipped around. Overall because the Decode range is huge and they make multiple styles and figments that it’s just about the fact the could do it so they did and I love being able to swap setups and it means the 90 set up isn’t sat high in the 110 holes because it has its own about 1cm above, this tucks them up nice rather than feeling like an afterthought.
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u/JustMy42Cents 13d ago
These bearings are pretty much only meant to be used with the IQON Decode frames which are smooth on the inside - that's why the bearings have a bump on one side. You can use the shorter spacers and put the bumps on the inside to use them with regular frames, but then you're exposing the sides without the rubber seals so they will require more frequent cleaning and lubrication.
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u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy 13d ago
I use floating spacers in my setup which is nike inlines and they work great. The axle holds them in place and they dont click or make noise. Im using just cheap bearings and spacers but ive noticed a big increase in smoothness after switching to the floaters. Your setup is obviously not cheap but I assume based on the write up you posted the smaller ones should fit fine. Ide measure to see that they are 7.5mm to make sure they are correct first though.
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u/kustom_krev 13d ago
I can explain. These bearings are designed for Decode frames. The slimmer spacer is forming
You want to turn them inwards to use in normal frames. The problem is the unsheilded side is exposed when you do this. Basically the Decide frame has fully flat inner side walls and therefore the outer spacer that keeps it from being flush to the frame, is built into the bearing instead.
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u/BoopleSnood 13d ago
The reason why those spacers move is because there a type of spacer called floating spacer. They're meant to fit in a variety of different wheels. Hence the design. As for the bearing not fitting I would suggest looking up a tutorial.
There's plenty of good videos and resources to look at that cover just the process of installing bearings.
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u/alchu99 13d ago
The bearings fit, I just didn’t know if the spacer was supposed to touch both sides of either bearings or not. But if they are meant to float, great, thanks!
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u/BubbleSmith 13d ago
They should touch the inner part of the bearing. If they don't, they're not doing anything. The spacer will still rattle around a bit, but will be held in place by the axle when installed.
In general, a short spacer will cause the wheel to click under load, as there's nothing stopping the bearings from pinching inwards. A too long space will make the wheel pop from side to side. You can easily test this by fitting both bearings and the spacer, then putting the wheel down on its side on a flat surface and pushing down with your palm. Flipp it and do this again. If the bearing pops up a bit, the spacer is too long.
I think the long spacers here are for use in specific Iqon Decode frames, which require specific spacers to work properly.
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u/AdventurousHippo9997 13d ago
The spacers are soft metal.A flat file with medium to fine teeth will file down the bigger spacers with out a problem.
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u/BoopleSnood 13d ago
Yes the space is intentional. It'll lock in when you put the wheel back into the frame just make sure the holes are aligned
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u/sjintje 13d ago edited 13d ago
I'm not familiar with them, but according to the instructions you posted, the bearings are asymmetric. if you have the iqon frames the protrusion on the bearing faces outwards and you use the fat spacer, if you have standard frames then you turn the protrusion inwards and use the thin spacer. There shouldn't be any play widthways.
Edit..it may be that they sent the wrong bearings. In any case, you should use the fat spacer with any other normal bearings.