docdave78

I picked up a roadside Nerf 16" boys bike. The front axle is stiff and doesn't spin freely for long before it stops. When I took the axle out, it looked as if the ball bearings were sandwiched between the axle and the wheel not encased in a stand alone bearing. I'm not sure what kind of axle this is. I've replaced an axle on a crank before and the bearings were stand alone. I don't have a picture right now, but I'm looking to avoid buying a whole new 16" rim as all the axles I see on amazon have the stand alone bearings.

HillRider

You have cup-and-cone bearings where the "cup" is the race built into the hub and the "cone" is a shaped nut that threads onto the axle and forms the inner race. The bearing balls are either loose or held in a thin metal retainer and are sandwiched between the cup and the cone. You adjust the bearings by tightening or loosening the cone and it's held in place by a separate lock nut.

Google "cup-and-cone bicycle hubs" and you will find a ton of articles and videos showing how to service them.