Bicycle Mechanics - What bearings do i need?

Hey guys, its been a while since ive been on...and its been a while since i rode my bike. Time to get her fixed.

I have a older Atom Series Eastern Jane, think it was bought in 03 or 02. Its NOT the commando or 24, just a plain Atom Series Jane. What happened was i jumped my raw frame bike into the lake and didnt properly clean it afterwards so of course, it rusted. Its been sittin about a year maybe 2 now and im ready to get it goin.

One thing is im not sure what kind of bearings i need to replace the rusted ones. I need new front and rear hub bearings. Probably a new bottom bracket too, but i can manage this myself. So in short, what bearings can i replace them with?
Im not sure if they are sealed or unsealed, but when i take the hub apart, about 6 or 8 (maybe more) ball bearings fall out...so i assume unsealed? Any help here would be great and ill take pictures later if needed. Links to replacements would be awesome.
Thanks in advance guys.

1) Throw in dumpster.

2) Buy new bike.

The damage to that bike is likely irreversible. A new one is $300-ish. You'll spend that replacing all of the stuff you destroyed. Not to mention the rust in the frame, slowly eating the metal from the inside out. It's toast.

1) Throw in dumpster.

2) Buy new bike.

It's toast.
+100. You "jumped" the bike into a lake and then let the water-filled frame sit for a year or two? The bearing balls aren't the only things that are rusted. The hub cones and races are trash, the headset and bottom bracket are also, and I assume the inside of the frame tubes are badly damaged.

Links to replacement would be to any nearby bike shop. You need a new bike.

Hey Platypus, I like your sig!

To answer the question literally, scrape off the rust then measure the diameter of the balls that came out. Replace with new balls - Grade 25 or better. They're cheap so buy a pack of 100. Lube with marine grease.


That's on your new bike. This one is toast.

Usually, front wheel hubs use 3/16 inch ball bearings, rear hub and bottom bracket (if it is not cartridge) use 1/4 inch ball bearings.

Before you dumpsterize it, Strip everything that might be of use. The tires, inner tubes, valve stem caps, brake levers and anything not destroyed by rust could come in handy later. You could even give away the bike or its parts to someone that fixes bikes for others. That chain would make a dandy chain whip. The possibilities are, well, almost limited.

I agree that your "stunt-cycle" is a goner. But to the question of bearing size in future ventures:

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=18&item=SBC-1

Or a digital caliper - which has many other applications, too:

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Digital-Caliper-Screen/dp/B000GSLKIW

Don't mind all the throw it away comments. Do what DMF says to get the ball bearings sizes. Check your races though, if they are hosed don't bother with the bearings. A headset and BB, no problem, replace and run but on the hubs that would require new wheels or at least new hubs and a lacing/truing. If that is the case then decide if you want to trash it and get new or get a beater bike for parts off CL or something. Clean the frame best you can. If you want to really clean it up, search the forum on how to soak the metal and remove the rust, or just spray the inside wth framesaver or boeshield. Just 'cause my Littlejohn went into the lake doesn't mean its going in the trash... and I didn't blow it out everytime either...

That's great news! Now I'm going to go dredge my 1979 Masi out of Lake Tahoe - where it's been since 1980 - and begin a restoration. I'll start by soaking it for a week in a vat of concentrated sulfuric acid. I hear that gets rid of water... :D

That's great news! Now I'm going to go dredge my 1979 Masi out of Lake Tahoe - where it's been since 1980 - and begin a restoration.
Never mind the restoration, tell us about the Lake Tahoe adventure! :)

Never mind the restoration, tell us about the Lake Tahoe adventure! :)
Yeah, I reallllyyyyy want to know how you get a bike into a lake at a point you can't/won't/don't retrieve it.... Or maybe it was your condition???:rolleyes:

Lake Tahoe is about 2000' deep...