I just got my bike back from the powdercoaters and am going to start putting it together tonight. I have never done this before, so I am planning on having a lot of questions.

First things first, I am thinking about cleaning the bearings and re-greasing them. I have thought that I would soak them in some degreaser then put some grease (Park) back on. Would this be okay? I have read many suggestions about getting new bearings but the ones I have look to be okay; I'd just like to clean them up for the "rebirth".

What kind of bearings are these? "Sealed cartridge bearings", or loose ball bearings...?

Basically there is nothing wrong with using the bearings again. The problem is that as you are inspecting them, it is very difficult to be sure that you have inspected the entire bearing. Since bearings aren't expensive, replacing them is a better idea.

Good question. I'm not well-versed in the proper terminology, but I wouldn't call it either one. It looks like a ring that sits in the bearing cups and then has "teeth" where the ball bearings sit. Is that loose?

Oh, okay... I suppose "caged loose bearings" would be the term...? These must be in your headset?

You can reuse them...replacing them might be ideal, but unless you're very picky...

Two votes for replacing. Well, if it's not that much then maybe I will replace them. It just seemed like cleaning them might work easier.The bearings in my headset are like I described. I'd like to clean up those in my crank as well and I think they are the same.So if I were to replace all these bearings, I am assuming that they come in different sizes. What should I have with me to make sure I get the right ones?

The old ones.

I think I paid about $8 for a full set of loose bearings for my older road bike - front hub, rear hub, bottom bracket. You can replace the caged bearings with loose balls, and it's often recommended.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/bbadj.html
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html

Keep caged bearings in the headset.

I believe sheldon brown offers a chart of what bearing sizes to get, that or harris cyclery, I dont remember for sure.
If you are re-assembling a bike, a few things to keep in mind:
*grease EVERYTHING. I like to use phil grease, but only because it's what I've always used, I'm sure park grease is good. A few things I run into people overlooking ALL THE TIME when greasing are seatposts, pedals and cranks/bottom bracket spindles.
*if the hubs or bottom bracket are loose ball, go to town and rebuild those while you are at it. While you are up to your elbows in grease, might as well have a grand old time of things.

Thats all I've got for now.

Okay, went to the LBS and got the bearings for the headset and bottom bracket(? where the crank attaches). Of course answers to some questions lead to more questions...

So, what is the recommended course of action for greasing these up and re-installing? How much grease do these bad boys need, and where should it be applied?

Apply a liberal amount of grease in the cups, enough to hold the bearings in place during reassembly. And don't worry much about overuse as any extra will just squeeze out.

And if using caged bearings, make sure you put the cage in the correct direction. (balls face race, cage faces cup)

A lot. You can always wipe off the excess. Grease any metal - metal interface, as recommended above. You might want to spray some framesaver inside the frame if it hasn't been done before.

Great advice on the bearings, thanks.

I am trying to re-install the stem and the crank, and have a couple questions regarding them:

How do I get the bearing cups back in? I was able to get them out using a hammer and screwdriver, but I don't think that will work so well in reverse.


For the crank, I'm not sure what they are called, but they screw into the bike and hold the crank bolt in place. Any advice on getting those back in? I'm trying to do it but I'm worried that I'll strip the threads. (Proper names would be good too; I promise I'll use them if I know them)

Thanks so much for the help.

UPDATE: Got it! Needed some tools (headset press, anyone?) that I simply didn't have. The LBS took care of it for me.

Sorry for resurrecting this but I figured it might be better than starting a new thread.

I've noticed that the crank has a tendency to wobble back and forth, side-to-side, while I am pedaling. I thought that maybe the crank arms weren't on tight enough but I can't tighten the nuts any more than I have. So I'm not sure what is up there.

I am also having problems with braking. When I try to stop I feel like it takes a lot of squeezing the brakes to get me to stop, and afterwards my front brake calipers don't return to position without a little help from me.

Any suggestions or ideas?

The crank problem is most likely the bottom bracket needing adjustment (tightening). The brakes sound like they are binding which could be at the mounts (too tight or needing lubrication), at the levers (same thing) or a problem with the cables. Start by physically squeezing the pads toward each other and let go. If they spring back, it is cable or lever. If they don't, it's in the caliper.

That did it! Took it into the LBS and they took care of it. Turns out I had the cups on the wrong sides too

Did that, and they look like they spring back okay. So I'm guessing it's the cable/lever, darn. I'm not sure how to attend to this; any further suggestions? Thanks.

lube 'em up

Pardon my newbieness...

Do you mean to grease the cable, or something else? Not a problem to do, just want to make sure.

What all did you have to do to get the bike ready for powder coating and what did it cost? Are you happy with the results? bk

Lube the cable and the lever.

Okay. Lubing the cable shouldn't be too bad; remove the cable, apply grease, reinstall, yes?

And as far as the lever, should I use something like tri-flow?