Funny thing is I have no idea how I figured out getting the loose bearings out in the first place. I dismantled the old Trek and cleaned up the parts right after I got it this summer and only just started putting it back together. I think it was probably in the effort to get all the old, dried up grease out that a bearing must have just popped out. While I'm not a huge fan of plastic 'bits' in general, I think it's actually kind of a cool design- makes for a neat and easy installation of a BB with loose bearings.