RADIAL FORCE : The load on a bearing perpendicular to the axle, this and the Thrust load are forces that affect the design and application of bearings.

Radial loading is the amount of weight placed vertically above the axle. Sitting on a trike places an axial load on the bearings. The drawing below is a cross-sectional view of a radial bearing.

Although it fails in a sense, the semi-rigid asphalt pavement may not lose its bearing capacity under the application of the ultimate axle load.