BALL BEARINGS
- The ball bearing was originally invented as a bicycle component.
- You still need balls to make things go round.
- Each packet of bearings comes with sufficient ball bearings for 1 job and a wee tube of grease. For instance, the packet of 1/4″ bearings will come with at least 22 balls – enough to do your bottom bracket or rear wheel.
- While all the balls in a packet will be a consistent size, balls from a future batch may not be identical. Do not mix batches – e.g. don’t overhaul your hub with 9 balls from one packet and 9 balls from another.
- Don’t worry if your original worn out bottom bracket or headset bearings originally came in a clip. You can replace the clipped bearing with loose balls. Clips are only used for fast assembly in bicycle factories. Clips can be merrily discarded.
Options:
- 1/4″ – most traditional bottom brackets require 11 x 1/4″ ball bearings on each side. Most rear hubs require 9 on each side.
- 3/16″ – most front hubs require 10 x 3/16″ bearings on each side.
- 1/8″ – freewheels and some pedals.
- 5/32″ – some headsets and some pedals.
- 7/32 – some Campagnolo front hubs (Nuovo Record, Super Record, Record).
