Thread: Ball Bearings
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Old 02-17-12 | 03:55 PM
  #28  
HillRider
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Bikes: '96 Litespeed Catalyst, '05 Litespeed Firenze, '06 Litespeed Tuscany, '20 Surly Midnight Special, All are 3x10. It is hilly around here!

Originally Posted by miamijim
Here's a Campy document verifying grade 100 bearings, Campy didn't state this very often, I think I've only seen it 2 or 3 other times.

http://www.minortriad.com/campagbb.html
That's not quite what it shows. That Campy document claims their bearing balls are ground to .001 mm tolerances. But ball grades are based on inch tolerance numbers and 0.001 mm = 0.00004". The document it doesn't specify if the tolerance is for diameter or sphericity but a sphericity tolerance of 0.00004" is between Grade 50 (sphericity tolerances of 0.00005") and Grade 25 (sphericity tolerance of 0.000025") and if it's a diameter tolerance it puts their balls at about Grade 10 (diameter tolerance of 0.0005" which is the same for Grade 10 and Grade 5).

Agonizing over numbers aside, yes indeed Campy's bearing balls are more than good enough but so are Shimano's.
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