Originally Posted by
tjspiel
Just a note. If I remember right you can actually do without the cage. In fact, going without a cage is better. The only reason a cage is used is for ease of assembly.
Absolutely correct; you have to increase the number of balls; and that gets you a proportionally stronger and stiffer BB.
I strongly recommend this upgrade (using new balls) to anyone just planning on taking the BB for greasing. The balls will cost you less than $5.