General ball bearng question
 

I'm planning to overhaul my bike soon. I am also planning on replacing the free bearings (hubs and headset). Will be replacing the BB30 bearings later.

Question 1. Would replacing the bearings ahead of any visible wear be worthwhile in order to stay ahead of cone/cup wear?
Question 2. Is there such a thing as "top quality" steel ball bearings, and is it worthwhile getting those? If so, what type/brand should I be looking for?

Thanks!

Brian

I assume your speaking of replacing the balls in a conventional cup and cone bearing. (notice the bearing is the entire assembly that supports the hub on the axle).

I prefer to replace the balls whenever I overhaul hubs or other bearings. It isn't usually necessary, but it's small dollars for peace of mind, and saves me having to worry about dropping one and having to find it.

Grade 25 balls are relatively inexpensive and better than what you actually need, so indulge and go first class. There are yet more precise balls, but grade 25 is what's used in electric motor bearings, so figure that if they can run at 3600rpm thousands of hours they'll serve fine for your bike.

If the balls are shiny, then I will reuse them after cleaning. I buy whatever grade that's available locally. The cheapest balls are still much smoother than the cups and cones.

I reuse shiny balls. I replace ones that have a dull finish with grade 25C. I started using those before I found out that they aren't really necessary, but they are still relatively cheap.

I don't reuse any of the bearings. Grade 25 are pennies each so I replace automatically. If you already have the time into the project, why save 50 cents on materials. New bearings are cheap peace of mind. http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/NNSRIT...-SearchResults

Loose ball bearings are cheap - just use grade 25. You can get them at a bearing or industrial supply shop. As for the BB30 bearings, those are 6806 bearings and those too can be had from bearing houses - just stick to a known brand like Timken, SKF, Koyo, Nachi, NTN, or a certain German brand whose name I can't say here.

You can just say Fischer, and not use the acronym.

I have found that you can actually repair a a worn cone by replacing the balls several times. Eyeball the balls and replace as soon as there are any pits.