ckarr

i have an old raleigh bike, turns out the headset has ball bearings, but not the ones in the metal retainers? so how am i suppose to take it apart and add grease when everything will fall loose once I remove the headset cap? is there a way to buy the other kind of ball bearings, the one with the metal retainer bracket around it? is it a typical item or would i have to order it online? the ball bearings on my raliegh are tiny tiny, i am not even sure if it is possible to replace it with something more convenient.

Vintage_Cyclist

Loose headset bearings can be removed without losing them by being careful. What I do is tie the the fork crown to the downtube using an old toe strap. This prevents the fork from dropping (and releasing the lower bearings) while removing the top of the headset and for you to fish out the bearings. After the top is cleared, rotate the bike so the fork is perpendicular to the ground. Then holding a container under the lower race, remove the toe strap, slightly pull out the fork and fish out the bearings that don't fall into the container on their own.

No matter how careful you are removing the old bearings, there's a chance of dropping one or more to the floor. Having something soft on the floor under the headset, like an old towel, can keep them from bouncing into the nether reaches of your work space. If you do lose a few, don't substitute a few new bearings. Replace them all because the old and new bearings can have variations in size, even if ostensibly the same.

Your bearings are probably either 5/32 or 3/16. A caged set of the same size as the originals should fit your headset. Get a caged set for a 1 inch headset.

If you elect to re-use the loose bearings, start with the bottom of the headset, with the bike upside down and the fork in. Lift the fork slightly, grease the race, then put in the bearings (they won't slide into the head tube with the fork there). Then drop the fork in, tie it off, move the bike to an upright position and install the upper bearings.

I generally find it preferable to reinstall a headset with caged bearings. Less fuss involved.

veloz

You can replace with either. Phil's grease holds bearings in place when reassembling. Use a strong magnet when disassembling and all the balls usually stick together.

FBOATSB

Ball bearings are cheap! I always replace all balls whenever servicing any bearing on a bike. The new grease gives just the right amount stickum to hold them in place for reassembly. For sure follow instructions in previous post for headsets. Being careful is a very good idea! I've always wondered if using a strong magnet would magnetize the balls and attract filings into the races. I'm not sure.

Andrew R Stewart 

Not yet mentioned is the question of which old Raleigh headset you have. This is vital to the correct answer. The 26TPI headsets employee a bearing design (contact angle) which the common retainered bearings don't accommodate. Most headsets have a bearing contact angle of (maybe) 25*-35* but the 26 TPI Raleigh units (and many other Whitworth threaded ones) have a much more axial angle and the retainer device will interfere. Additionally the number of balls in these 26 TPI units can be very specific. IIRC 23 balls in the lower and 22 in the upper stack. (and I could be 1 off each).

So the question to the OP is which version of headset do you have?