Tapered roller bearings use conical rollers that run on conical races. Both the inner and outer raceways are segments of cones and the rollers are also made with a taper. Unlike other roller bearings, they support both radial and axial loads, and are able to carry higher loads. The conical geometry of tapered roller bearings provide a larger contact patch, which allows greater loads to be carried as compared to spherical (ball) bearings. The geometry ensures that the tangential speeds of the surfaces of each of the rollers are same as their raceways along the whole length of the contact patch and no differential scrubbing occurs. This greatly reduces rolling friction and avoids rapid wear. Taper roller bearings are used in the wheel bearings of most trucks, buses, cars, and so on. Due to manufacturing complexities, tapered roller bearings are generally more expensive than ball bearings.
