Important bearing decision . . . Help!

[Fireproof]

I’m looking for some input about bearings. Most of my bikes have “caged” bearings. It seems to me, the factory uses caged bearings to speed-up assembly and save money. For me, one of the worst things about bicycle maintenance is having to clean caged bearings. I’m considering buying loose ball bearings in quantity, replacing all the old bearings and eliminating the cages at rebuild time. As an added benefit, I can add an extra bearing (maybe two) in each race for more durability. I'd love to hear your two-cents on the subject, especially if you’re a engineer or mechanic! :wink:

 

[deorman]

It also keeps them evenly spaced and easier to pull without dropping them. I don't find them to be much of a hassle to clean and lube, myself. As long as you put enough of them in there to avoid any large gaps, and few enough to avoid binding, I don't think eliminating them should be a problem. I have taken them out on the trail when things went south before, and made it home, but you would definitely NEED more in there for extended use, so they don't end up gapped on one side.

 

[Ronsonic]

Definitely feel free to use loose balls.

The cage really is for easier handling at the factory and is not necessary. Chasing loose balls around a factory floor and paying someone on an assembly line to put them in by hand would be a bit of a fright so they use the cages.

Couple of tips.

The formula for how many balls to use has been unchanged since time immemorial - put in as many balls as can possibly be squeezed in and then remove one. Or, just use the same number as the factory did. The cage takes up no space, it would ruin the bearing if it interfered with the balls. Extra bearings are not good, they'll just jam up in there.

Fill the bearing race area with grease, this is what is going to hold your loose bearings in place when you install them and put everything together. You need this, you'll see.

Have a slightly magnetized screwdriver or some such handy for picking them up (you can just slide it across the back of a speaker or other magnet to magnetize it). It's also good to have something non-magnetic to push the balls around with when installing them.

This isn't rocket science and you'll know if you've made a mistake as soon as you start adjusting the cones.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

as Ron said.

I've replaced some caged bearings with loose. High end aluminum bodied hubs and bottom brackets have loose balls. Make sure you mic your balls accurately before buying more. heh heh, "mic your balls..."

 

[Fireproof]

Thanks all for the input!

Couple of tips.

The formula for how many balls to use has been unchanged since time immemorial - put in as many balls as can possibly be squeezed in and then remove one.

Have a slightly magnetized screwdriver or some such handy for picking them up . It's also good to have something non-magnetic to push the balls around with when installing them.

Thanks Ronsonic! What I do is about the same as what you're recommending, a generous layer of wheel bearing grease in the cup, count the bearings for each side, dip the tip of the screwdriver in grease to pick up and place the bearings, recount the bearings while they are in place, and reassemble/adjust. :wink:

as Ron said.

Make sure you mic your balls accurately before buying more. heh heh, "mic your balls..."

Thanks I.I.F.I.F.M., I'll measure the balls with dial calipers before ordering the bearings from Mc Master/Carr.
BTW, the balls cost about six dollars for a box of a hundred . . . cheap enough so I can easly stash some extras in/on my bike in case of roadside emergences! 8)

 

[Ronsonic]

When you order your balls ...

Balls are graded by a number system ...

Okay, I'll stop giggling.

Bearings have a grading system, you'll see something like "grade 25" or 200 or 500 or some such number. The number measures how round the balls are in millionths of an inch. IOW a batch of grade 25 are all within .000025" of being perfect spheres. That's about the finest grade you'll ever see on a bike. The fanciest stuff from Italy and Japan get those, most everything else is grade 200. Since the cups are adjustable it's more important that the balls all match than that they be the specified size. Of course the higher grade ones are closer to the spec anyway. I wouldn't want to use anything worse than 200, those are cheap enough. Nothing better than 25 is needed either. If'n it's good enuf for that Toor Dee France it's good enough for my bikes. Only use balls from the same batch. If you order say 100 and use them all up except for a few that aren't enough to do a bearing, just drop them in your paint jars or something.

Edit: The censored word in this post is "b a t c h"

Second Edit: I got something wrong in here so I'm going to just fix it rather than add another post. The grade is not matching it is concentricity.