Decent quality ball-bearings?

[largeallan]

Has anyone any pointers on where to find ball bearings of an appropriate grade for a tourer's wheels....ie, hard wearing. I see -plenty of bulk-buy options on Amazon, but none seem very clear or trustworthy regarding grade.

[Mick F]

Simply Bearings.
I've used them a few times.

http://simplybearings.co.uk

[hamster]

Try the bearing factor on your local trading estate - mine were way cheaper than web offerings for high grade (25) bearings.

[Mick F]

If you have one local.
Nearest one to us is in Plymouth, 20 odd miles away.

[largeallan]

Thanks for the help Cats, I'll order from the simply bearings site.

[pete75]

If you have one local.
Nearest one to us is in Plymouth, 20 odd miles away.

Living in a rural area like where I do 20 miles is local for stuff like bearings.

[Mick F]

The point I make, is that you pay a premium online as opposed to buying local ........... but not necessarily ........... you need to shop around.

If I were to drive 20miles to buy a ball bearing, I'd use maybe £3.00 in petrol each way.
This needs to be taken into account.

[pete75]

The point I make, is that you pay a premium online as opposed to buying local ........... but not necessarily ........... you need to shop around.

If I were to drive 20miles to buy a ball bearing, I'd use maybe £3.00 in petrol each way.
This needs to be taken into account.

Not if you went on your bicycle

[Mick F]

......... but maybe my bicycle is broken and needs some new bearings?

[thirdcrank]

... ball bearings of an appropriate grade for a tourer's wheels....ie, hard wearing. ...

I only know what's been said on here before by people who do seem to know, if you see what I mean. With that proviso and AFAIK, the main factor in the grading of ball bearings is how closely they are matched for size: the lower the grade number, the more accurately they are matched. Then, they are only graded for size within a particular batch so mixing even the very best ball bearings from two or more different batches is a bad idea since the grading goes out of the window.

At least, this post may attract somebody with better knowledge than mine to explain if I am wrong.

[Mick F]

No argument from me.
It has long been said, that you cannot mix batches.

[[XAP]Bob]

:lol:
......... but maybe my bicycle is broken and needs some new bearings?

Then you cycle on the other one...

What's the point in a Moulton90 and a Mercian if you don't keep at least one in working order at all times...

[Mick F]

Mercian is laid up at the moment. The RH Ergo is very "soft" in operation, so soft, I cannot feel or hear any clicks. It works ok, but it's not reliable.

I need to get my act together and strip it down. I think it could be the infamous spring carrier broken. It could be the G springs, but I reckon it's the spring carrier. The present one was replaced in Jan 2011.

[pete75]

:lol:
......... but maybe my bicycle is broken and needs some new bearings?

What all of them?

[nirakaro]

ball bearings of an appropriate grade for a tourer's wheels....ie, hard wearing.

Simply bearings do them in chrome steel, carbon steel, or stainless. Brucey will tell you which would be appropriate.