Bicycle Mechanics - bearing retainer sizes for an old beater bike

my 8 yr old son and I took apart an old beater bike, spray painted it and we are now putting it back together again.

I was trying to repack the bottom bracket (for a one-piece crank) and looks like I did it wrong, it was not fitting tightly and when I took it apart again the bearing retainer on the sprocket side was bent - the bearings fell out, etc.

I was looking online for some new bearing retainers to match the ones in the BB (9 bearings) but all the ones I found measure 1 1/4 inside and 1 7/8 outside. Mine is 1 1/2 inside diameter and 1 3/4 outside.

Any ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks!

P.S. I am not even sure what kind of bike it is, I think a Schwinn. It is single speed, foot brake.

I was looking online for some new bearing retainers to match the ones in the BB (9 bearings) but all the ones I found measure 1 1/4 inside and 1 7/8 outside. Mine is 1 1/2 inside diameter and 1 3/4 outside.

Any ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks!

.

Something in your measurements is not quite right. Both bearing retainers for 1pc use the same size ball bearing, so yours can't measure both smaller inside OD and larger outside OD. In any case if a Schwinn you need a size 64 retainer, otherwise a 66. See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/opc.html

This link has both sizes - 9 and 10 balls. http://kozy.com/product-list/wheels-manufacturing-b462/bottom-bracket-bearing-retainers-t179-qc736/

Lots of folks just put loose balls in when they repack. Better bikes come that way. You would, however, need 18 bearing balls per side with a one-piece bottom bracket. I wonder if that would lead to more drag vs. having the grease squeegeed through the tight gaps of a ball retainer.

You can tell if it's an old schwinn if the tubes seem to have seams on them and are connected with flaring joints. Schwinn bought rolls of steel and formed their own tubes in-house. That was before 1982, though. The seams should be on the inside in the front triangle.

Many lower end bikes are often made of seamed tubing but they don't have large flaring lugs shaped into the head tube and bottom bracket shell which the frame tubes are then welded to, and the seam is almost imperceptible.

Loose balls in a one piece is a real pain and 18 would probably not fit anyway, but bearing drag on that type of bike is hardly an issue. I would not be surprised in a larger city if you could not find a shop that has the bearings in stock.