I am replacing my front wheel axle as it was bent and the new axle came with these sets of 7 caged 3/16″ bearings. The original bearing were loose and there were 10 of them, but are also 3/16″.
This top rim thing on the hub is preventing me from getting the cage in there so I am wondering if the rim bit is meant to be a removable cap? I have tried prying it out but it won’t budge. Not sure if it’s siezed or part of the hub itself.
Looking at some videos online, similar wheels seem to have removable caps, just wondering if it is common to have wheels that only take loose bearings not cages.
by chonklord420
8 Comments
you can pop out that ring/dust cover and put the race in, be careful you don’t deform it too much though.
~Usually i use a wide bladed svrewdriver to lever them off so as not to dink them too much
otherwise you can pop out the bearings and fit them without a race and tbh this is my preferred method.
this no race method will leave you a bearing short most likely so you can reuse a good one from your old bearings.
Its generally better to have more and an odd number of bearings than less but make sure you dont over crowd them. Its not a big deal especially for a front/economy wheel if your not jumping around on them so the exact number of bearings (within reason) is not critical
> new axle came with these sets of 7 caged 3/16″ bearings. The original bearing were loose and there were 10 of them, but are also 3/16″
Thats the reason. I wouldn’t try to mess with hub, as it may lead to unrepairable hub damage.
Messing with a caged bearing is much cheaper way, I’d just rip ball out of the cage and use as it was before – a loose bearing.
>This top rim thing on the hub is preventing me from getting the cage in there so I am wondering if the rim bit is meant to be a removable cap? I have tried prying it out but it won’t budge. Not sure if it’s siezed or part of the hub itself.
Those are called *dust caps* or *dust covers*, and they are usually made of steel and are press fit into the aluminum hub. It is sometimes possible to remove them when servicing a hub which makes it easier to clean out all of the old grease and grime inside, but you have to take care in removing then because they are not very robust parts and can be easily damaged. If you are having trouble removing them, I would recommend just leaving them in place as you can do what you need to do without removing them.
>just wondering if it is common to have wheels that only take loose bearings not cages.
In my experience, most front hubs with cup-and-cone designs just use loose bearings without cages, so I would recommend that you skip the cages and just use 10 loose bearings (3/16″) per side.
Ditch the cage and use loose bearings. Same number and size you started with.
If you are going to use loose bearings and plan on popping them out of the cages, don’t use the old ones you’ve removed from the hub to make up the missing few needed.
Old bearings can be deformed or damaged in ways you can’t see which may result in premature wear to your races (bad).
For the sake of a few £, get a couple more cages or some loose bearings, or (as others have said) pop-off the dust cap and just put the whole bearing cage inside
those cages suck. they exist to make it easier to assemble a hub, but that usually saves money for the factory that’s hammering them out as fast a possible. pop the bearings out of the cage and buy a few more of the same size to assemble the hub. the hub will spin better and everything will last longer.
cages are used in the factory to make installation fastener and more efficient. End users are free to remove balls from the cage. apply a bed of grease (poly or white L), use a magnetic point to pick up each and depose it onto the cup. tighten cone to suit.
Flip the cage.