Tapered roller bearings are used in numerous applications and are capable of high loads and speeds. The predominant use is in any wheel application, where the tapered roller bearings are normally arranged in back to back pairs where they support axial and radial loads in both directions. Tapered roller bearings are available in a wide array of both inch and metric sizes.

Tapered roller bearings have tapered inner and outer raceways and rollers to handle simultaneous radial and thrust loads. Their axial load carrying capacity is directly related to the contact angle of the rollers and raceway shaft. They are available in single-row, double-row, and four-row designs. The individual parts of tapered roller bearings are commonly sold separately as cups and cones. Cones contain the roller assembly and inner ring while cups include the outer ring. Full assembly units contain both the cup and cone. As separable bearings, different designs and sizes are available to accommodate a variety of applications.