Hey Max: I believe the bearings are so posed to be in contact with the blade. This keeps the blade from flexing from side to side. There is a bearing behind the blade that keeps the blade from sliding backwards when a cut is being made. I have my saw set where there is just about .02" between the back of the blade and the back bearing.
To set your guides, move all of them away from the blade. You don't want anything to be touching the blade. Tension the blade and spin the saw a few times. This will let the blade settle on the tires exactly where it will track. Adjust the side bearings from front to back such that the blade teeth extend past the bearing. Slide the side bearings in until they touch the blade. Be careful not to deflect the blade from right to left. Move the back bearings forward until they are almost touching the back of the blade. That's it. It is very important to use the correct blade on the band saw for the given task. If you are ripping or re sawing, you need a re saw blade. If you are cutting circles, you need a thinner blade. One thing to keep in mind about a band saw is the fence should not be set square to the miter slot on the table. Every saw tracks different. One must set the fence accordingly. I use the woodslicer re saw blade. It is very quiet and does a very good job. My resaw edges are square and pretty smooth. A quick pass over a sander is all that is required to finish up the edge. If I'll be happy to describe a procedure to set a band saw fence if anyone is interested. Terry
