Anyone know where to find Loose Ball Bearings in the UK?



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Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore hubs.

I need about

50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"

Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?

cheers,
 
Best price I can find so far is St John Cycles

26 grade 100 balls @ 3/16" for £4.99 and 24 grade 100 balls @ 1/4" for £4.99

These are the quality I want, but surely it wont cost me £20 to replace the bearings in my
two bikes?

Anyone else know of a supplier?

cheers,

"Me" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore
hubs.
>
> I need about
>
> 50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"
>
> Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
> shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?
>
> cheers,
>
>
 
"Me" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore
hubs.
>
> I need about
>
> 50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"
>
> Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
> shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?

Try Yellow Pages, look for "Bearing Stockists".

Ring around the local stockists. Probably have to buy in boxes of 100 or so, but if you turn up at
the counter and profer cash you'll have no problem with a tiny order.

NC
 
Me wrote:
> Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore hubs.
>
> I need about
>
> 50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"
>
> Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
> shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/maintenance.htm - 5p each + £2.50 postage.

Avoid non-cycling suppliers unless you can be sure of the grade. The low-grade balls won't be so
uniform in size so will produce rough results or won't last so long.

~PB
 
Me <[email protected]> wrote:

> Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local
> bike shop?
There's a number of them on the floor of my garage.
 
anyone know what "grade" xtr and DA are? are they more percise than 100 grade?

-cheers

"NC" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Me" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore
> hubs.
> >
> > I need about
> >
> > 50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"
> >
> > Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
> > shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?
>
> Try Yellow Pages, look for "Bearing Stockists".
>
> Ring around the local stockists. Probably have to buy in boxes of 100 or
so,
> but if you turn up at the counter and profer cash you'll have no problem with a tiny order.
>
>
> NC
 
Me wrote:
> anyone know what "grade" xtr and DA are? are they more percise than 100 grade?

I don't know the direct answer to that but I'll x-post the question to
r.b.t. and here's some general info....

=========================
from http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ba-n.html :--

Bearing balls come in several quality grades, designated by numbers. Grade 25 is the best that is
available for bicycle applications. Grades 100, 200, even 300 are commonly used in bicycles.

===========================
from http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8f.7.html :--

Following is a description of the different grades of ball bearings. The grade specifies the
sphericity of the balls in millionths of an inch. Thus, grade 25 are round to 25/10^6, while grade
1000 are good to 1/1000
(r.c. not all that round, but probably good enough for our uses).

Grade 25: the highest quality normally available, aka "Campagnolo quality": hardened all the way
through, best alloys, coatings, roundness, and durability. Evidently, a recent bottom-bracket
overhaul article in "Bicycling Plus Mountain Bike" magazine recommended these. Campy's tech reps
claim that the bearings in a set (usually in a little paper bag) are matched. One should not mix
bearings from different sets.

Grade 200: mid-range

Grade 1000: seems to be the lowest, may only be surface hardened.

===========================
Note. If existing balls are shiny, they may not need replacing. See:
http://yarchive.net/bike/ball_bearings.html
===========================

I'd be interested if you find out what grade Parker Int supply.

~PB
 
"Me" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore
hubs.
>
> I need about
>
> 50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"
>
> Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
> shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?
>
> cheers,
>

I bought some from CH Whites in Malmesbury, Wilts, an excellent LBS. Can't remember the price, but
at the time I felt that it was reasonable. (But as the alternative was a new bearing, I would have
felt that, wouldn't I?)

Peter>
 
"Me" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi, I want to replace the bearings in my XTR hubs and my wife's Deore
hubs.
>
> I need about
>
> 50 balls @ 3/16" and 40 balls @ 1/4"
>
> Anyone know where to find these in the UK without paying an extortionate amount at my local bike
> shop? Is there such a thing as a machine shop / supplier that sells nothing but ball bearings?
>

www.hewittcycles.co.uk

Grade 25 bearings 2-99 per bag(hub)

Ken.
 
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