Bicycle Mechanics - Headset bearings - HELP?

I now have FOUR bike mechanic references and STILL I am confused. So what's new. As I mentioned in a prior post, I thought I had installed the headset bearings in my Salvation Army Schwinn upside down. So today, I turned them over, but that didn't seem right. There remained what seemed like a huge gap between the upper set race (cup) and the adjusting nut. I will try to describe and would appreciate any help.

The upper and lower set races, ie the parts pressed into the head tube are "cups". The part attached to the fork and the adjusting nut are "cones". The bearings are in retainers with, as usual, more bearing exposed on one side than on the other. The best I can figure, which appears to be confirmed by drawings, is that the retainer part sits in the "cups", allowing the exposed bearings to contact the "cones" though this does not appear to be what is described in one book that is the only one that attempts to be that specific. Of course, this is also the book that said to start wrapping tape from the stem outward.

Can someone describe how the bearings should go in enough detail for my apparently kindergarten level brain to grasp? Even better, perhaps a website with pretty pictures? Maybe I should throw out the bearings in retainers and drop in loose ones that seem to be the appropriate size.
Any help appreciated,
Raymond

I have read that there's no use to keep the bearing retainers and that you can get one or two more bearings in if you throw out the retainers. I intended to do this the one and only time I serviced the headset on my road bike (Nishiki Century ca. 1980), but I was unable to purchase new bearings that day, so I ended up putting everything old in again and just changing the grease.

I can't unravel your perplexity, but want to add a question of my own: Does anybody know why they use retainers if it's better not to? :confused:

Rainman -
The Most exposed part of the bearing should be contacting the cups (in the frame). The race (mounted on the fork) is angled so it contacts the bearings on the inside of the bearings (in relation to the retainer.)

Jon - You can take out the retainer (you must have the same book as me), but I don't recommend it. Unless of course, you like bearings spilling all over the place :D Trust me on this one, I speak from experience. The retainers make handling and installing the bearings easier. I understand the argument for removing the retainer (more bearings = more area to handle the load), but in my experiece it doesn't make a noticable difference.

Rainman,
On your bike the top bearings should be facing down, and the lower should be facing up. On those types of headset's to have a gap is not abnormal. The important thing, is not to have any slop in the front end.
Assemble the headset and adjust it, then turn the bars sideway's and act as if you are trying to rip the bar's out of the stem. If it wobbles it needs to be tighter. Not so tight that it does not feel smooth, but tight enough not to have any slop.

Thanks for the advice, Riderx--and Hunter, I remember that part, too, getting the adjustment just tight enough and not too tight. Kind of like hub adjustment. I'm surprised I was ever able to do it, not being much of a mechanic (to put it mildly). But the thing's been perfect all this time since I reassembled it. Probably luck!

Well lads, Patty at my LBS recently overhauled my bike. When she got to the headset, it too had bearings in retainers. After measuring the size of the ball bearings, she threw them away and replaced them with individual bearings. The reason? More bearings means the headstock can support more weight and take more abuse from rough roads and so on. She just packed the races with bearing grease, then stuck the bearings into the grease. The individual bearings just stayed where they were put, no problem.
And, if you have read any of my posts about Patty, you know that I trust her a lot. I am not saying that she can walk on water....but when she does, she rarely gets wet above the ankles!

Raymond:

To make it simple, the flat part of the bearing retainer goes against the cones and the round part goes against the cups - always.

The Varsity does seem to have what appears to be a gap between the lower cup and the cones, but not enough to see the bearings. This is why some bicyclists use covers over this gap. You can buy these covers, or you can use a slice of old innertube.

The idea of removing the retainers and having free bearings is a good one. You can get enough new bearings for your whole bike for probably around $2.00.

Use grease to hold them in place like putty until you can get all the pieces together.

You will notice a completely new feel and smoother - everything - if you have free bearings.

Attached is a page from the 197o version of "The COmplete Book of Bicycling" by Eugene A. Sloane. It shows the way handlebars were wrapped about the era of your Varsity.


Keep the faith, brother. You will be rewarded with a fine machine.

Originally posted by RainmanP
...my apparently kindergarten level brain to grasp

Wellllll, they've baffled me, too. The dang things look wrong no matter which way you put them in.

A Schwinn Continental I owned once had similar bearing retainers in the bottom bracket. At one point I removed and cleaned them, and put the retainers in wrong! In that configuration, the retainers turned against the cups and, in the course of a 20 mile ride, wore a deep grooves in each of the cups. After the ride, I inspected the cups, and corrected the error of my ways.
:blush:
The BB was not particularly worse for wear, but I wouldn't advise it as a way to lighten your bike by a couple of grams.

Rainman all of the above is correct the upper bearings should be installed concave side down the lower in the reverse. But the better idea is to install free bearings usually requireing 2-3 more, but it provides much more strength and is smoother! all my bikes get this the first time I service them. :)

Thanks, everyone. I think the safest thing might be to go with the loose bearings. Since I learned about using a little grease to hold keep them in their places the little twerps no longer intimidate me. Hah!

Here is what Barnett's has to say about headset bearings

"Forget any rules of thumb about which way ball retainers face in relations to the cups and cones or relative to the ground. There is only one way to get retainers in correctly and that is to test-mate them both ways to the cone and both ways to the cup. In one of the four combinations, the clip that holds the balls together (instead of the balls) will be obviously contacting the ball race on the cone or the cup. Install the retainers opposite this. If good measurements of the exposed thread were taken once the locknut was removed, and the original retainers were in correctly, and the original or an identical headset has been installed, putting a retainer in backwardes will reduce the exposed thread by more than a millimeter."

Barnett's HIGHLY recommends replacing bearings in a retainer with loose bearings. To determine the best number of bearings, the manual says to put some grease in the cup, fit as many balls as will fit, and test fit the cone. If test-fitting the cone jumbles the balls, ie, pushes one or more out of line, remove three balls. If the balls are not jumbled, remove two. I have read in several places, as noted in a couple of posts, to fill any extra space with balls. Barnett's apparently disagrees. Their reasoning is the same as for replacing balls in retainers. Balls in retainers and balls fitted closely create a fixed relationship between the balls, which is one of the causes of brinelling, the primary cause of headset failure. Apparently they consider this more significant than the benefit of having a couple of more balls to spread the load. This is from Barnett's, not me, because, like Sgt. Schultz, "I know nuthink!" Except that I think I will go with loose bearings for the time being.
Thanks again,
Raymond

Just remember that as long as you have a soft bath towel positioned under the headset when you open it up, even if bearings do fall out, they won't roll on the floor and get lost, or cause the mice to slip on them and file a lawsuit or something.

These posts are making me want to dig into my old headset again and put loose bearings in. I didn't know about that technique of testing and then removing either three or two bearings, sounds very reasonable.

Good suggestions by both Barnetts and JohR.

JonR: Put a towel underneath the area you are working to catch the bearings. Lesson learned the hard way.

Barnetts: Don't try to pack in too many bearings. It can do more harm than good. It is a bicycle, not a cheesecake. More isn't necessarily better.

The implication being, of course, that when it comes to cheesecake, more is better. A concept I strongly endorse! :D

Besides, I hate it when my balls are crowded.

Rainman