A shock absorbing radial bearing assembly for use with a shaft, having an inner ring including an inner race, an inner raceway, and a shock absorber element disposed therebetween, the inner ring being axially fixed relative to the shaft, an outer ring defining an outer raceway, and a plurality of roller elements disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring, each roller element being in rolling contact with the inner raceway and the outer raceway, wherein the inner ring is in direct contact with the shaft and has a circular cross-section as taken in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal center axis of the shaft.