11-24-2009, 02:54 PM
So I was overhauling the hubs on an a rescue bike I was fixing up and discovered that the rear hub had 1/4" bearings and the front hub had 3/16". I know the provenance of the bike so I'm sure they had not been replaced since it shipped new. As far as I can tell from eyeballing, the cones and races are the same size--you can fit either 9 x 1/4" bearings or 11 x 3/16" bearings in the races.
I went ahead and repacked them with 3/16 in front and 1/4 in the rear but it left me with a few questions. The bike was sold as a mountain bike but would be more of a hybrid by today's standards. It's a TIG'd CroMo mixte with a longish head-tube and curved forks.
Anyway:
- Is this standard or common?
- Does the rear benefit from 1/4" bearings (i.e. withstands the additional stress better)?
- Sheldon implies in one of his articles that going from 9 to 11 bearings is a cheap "upgrade", but he was talking about bottom brackets and keeping the same bearing size and reducing the gap between them. However, would a hub not benefit from a greater number of (albeit smaller) bearings, or is the advantage only in reducing the gaps?
- In other words, is there a reason not to just pack both with 3/16"?
Thanks for any wisdom or insights :-)
I went ahead and repacked them with 3/16 in front and 1/4 in the rear but it left me with a few questions. The bike was sold as a mountain bike but would be more of a hybrid by today's standards. It's a TIG'd CroMo mixte with a longish head-tube and curved forks.
Anyway:
- Is this standard or common?
- Does the rear benefit from 1/4" bearings (i.e. withstands the additional stress better)?
- Sheldon implies in one of his articles that going from 9 to 11 bearings is a cheap "upgrade", but he was talking about bottom brackets and keeping the same bearing size and reducing the gap between them. However, would a hub not benefit from a greater number of (albeit smaller) bearings, or is the advantage only in reducing the gaps?
- In other words, is there a reason not to just pack both with 3/16"?
Thanks for any wisdom or insights :-)