Is this a bottom or top bearing flush trim router bit?

[LCHIEN]

Is this style a top bearing or bottom bearing flush trim router bit?

Clearly the two sellers don't agree. Personally I think they are top bearing trim bits. I always call router bit up and down by the position they take when hand held, NOT table mounted. Spiral up cut bits for example should pull cuttings toward the router which is on top in hand held operation. When using a table mounted router the router is upside down and you reverse the directions of the descriptions to determine which way things go.
Both these pictures, though, show the bits as they would be in table mounted operation. Still I say the title on the right is correct... these are both showing top bearing bits. Although both of them show the bits in the inverted position, as they would be in a table mounted router.

Directions for router bits , up, down, top, bottom, and direction of rotation are with respect to the router on top in the handheld configuration.

Its easy to get confused. The one on the left is wrong. But, hey its cheaper, and hey, it's handy per the description. Everyone needs a handy router bit. Zokmok, Jooyle, I don't think I am buying either brand.

[twistsol]

I agree, those are top bearing bits. I always have to think twice about this and especially spiral bits because they are referenced assuming you are using the router in handheld position with the bit pointing down, and I mostly use a router mounted in a table.

[dbhost]

Top bearing bits as in use hand held..

Totally agree.

[capncarl]

I think of these as top bearing, in effect it is at the top of the bit AGAINST the router collet, regardless to direction it is cutting. You don’t think of a circular saw blade as top or bottom just because it is on a table saw vrs bring on a radial arm saw. If you want to use the router bit on a table and want the bit pulling you should use the correct spiral, or turn the wood upside down.

[duramen]

TLDR: The posts above have it right.

Here is my take on it:

• Some router bits have no bearing. We are not talking about them here.
• Some router bits have the bearing between the shank and the cutters.
  • They are called "top bearing" as viewed in the handheld configuration with the router bit pointing down below the router.
• Some router bits have the bearing on the far end of the cutters, on the opposite end from the shank.
  • They are called "bottom bearing" as viewed in the handheld configuration with the router bit pointing down below the router.
• Some router bits have bearings on both ends of the cutting blades.

Even though there is a standard for naming "top" and "bottom" bearings on router bits, many people get it wrong.
-> If I am ordering a bit that is not in my hand or on the rack in front of me, I always look at a confirmed photo to verify its configuration. It is the only trustworthy solution.

Worse yet, some of those bearing bits are also called "flush trim router bits", "pattern router bits", and/or "template router bits". Sometimes two or three of "flush trim", "pattern" and/or "template" are used in the product label or description. (Nearly all of those straight-with-bearing router bits are labeled "flush trim" these days. I suspect the reason is so that they can be found in web searches.) Usage is far from consistent and I would not trust any such label today. Hold the router bit in your hand, look at it on the rack, or view a confirmed photo before buying.

[Jim Frye]

Obviously top bearing bits, but I would be quite wary of ordering from the vendor with the incorrectly defined product. Sort of like the Walmart SCMS saw posted in another thread here.

[LCHIEN]

ZokMok brand and Jooyle brands, I wasn't seriously considering ordering either.

[leehljp]

Well, if the bits on the left are used in a router table, they would be bottom bits. However they are top bearing bits by the nature in which they appear.