For most skaters, once they find skateboard bearings they like, they stick with them. Street skateboarders almost exclusively ride steel bearings, while some downhill longboarders prefer ceramic bearings. What’s the difference between the two? Steel Bearings’ durability and lower cost make them an industry standard. A set of steel bearings can last you the life of your wheels - anywhere from 6 months to 2 years - if you properly maintain them. Ceramic bearings are lighter, stronger, and perform better at high speeds than steel bearings because they produce less friction, which means less heat. Heat causes the steel to swell and slows down the wheel bearing. That being said, most skateboarders don’t usually skate fast enough to pay the extra amount for ceramic bearings. Longboarding, on the other hand, it’s very common to ride ceramic. For a more in-depth look at Steel vs. Ceramic Bearings check out the Skateboard Bearings Section in our Buyer’s Guide.

Knowing what type of skating you’re doing makes choosing bearings fairly simple. For street, you’ll want a durable, steel ball bearing like a Bones, Andale, or the CCS Blue Steel Bearings. For downhill racing or competitive longboarding, you’ll want a ceramic bearing or high end steel bearing like a Bones Ceramic or Bones Swiss.

Choosing which steel bearing to ride comes down to preference, reputation, Abec rating, and price. One route to selecting the best bearing for you is to use the "Sort By" tool to see our Best-Selling bearings or to sort the bearings by Price depending on how you want to approach this purchase. If you’re interested in learning more about bearings’ Abec ratings, checkout the Bearings Section in our Buyer’s Guide.

Our advice to skateboarders putting together their first complete skateboard is to buy our CCS Blue Steel Bearings or something comparable such as the Bones Reds. Bones Reds are our best-selling bearings and an industry standard, but you’ll save money with CCS Bearings. For a quick look at how bearings work with your skateboard, check out the Bearings Section in the CCS Skateboard Buyer’s Guide.

Finally, it's important to set-up your skateboard bearings with a good set of skate wheels and pair of skateboard trucks.