Originally Posted by
Duragrouch
It's notable that bike hubs use loose balls, as there are few balls, and cages might reduce that even further.
Not always. E.g., vintage Sturmey-Archer hubs use caged balls, and I have pedals from Ofmega and Miche that also use caged balls.
Cup and cone bottom brackets, typically had metal cages, and high radial load, and I think benefited from loose ball with more balls, a number of bike authorities have said that.
Even there, caged balls offering a full complement are used in high-end bottom brackets.
