A load of balls! - A bearing related query

Morning all,

I hope everyone is well after celebrating Ireland win in the 6 Nations!!

Back to bike matters - as I am sure you have noticed, I have been having some difficulties with pedals recently - I have not obtained a pair of MKS quill pedals for my Gazelle - they are in reasonable condition but need a tidy up. (a pic, as i know people love pics!)



Nothing special but I like them and they seem to need minimal work. This minimal work includes rebuild and regrease. I would also like to replace the bearings and from what i have read, when you take something apart to regrease it (wheels etc) it is best to change the bearings. So, my query (ies) -

What are the best bearings to use?
They are about 4mm in diameter - what size is this in the bearing world?

I have seen various 'grades' but cannot work out what i need and I suspect I will need to buy a few as i have quite a few pedals which need rebuilt. I would like to order 400 (ish) at minimal cost.

Any info, hints, tips, links etc would be appreciated.

Thanks all, I hope your weekend is going well,

Richard

Back -

In an effort not be appear to be lazy, I had a look here -

http://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Loose+ ... index.html

I am none the wiser!

Richard

Generally the balls are more robust than the races. If the races are ok then logic would say the balls are too. Personally I would clean and grease them

Shaun.

Ps. Nice choice with the sylvan. Classic design which they still make today

Thanks Julian and Shaun.

Could you explain what 100 grade means?

Shaun, you are somewhat right - and it is the cheapest option to clean them etc but from what i have read, balls wear and it is supposed to be a cheap swap. I keep reading things that say 'cheap option' or 'negliable cost' - and every time it never works out that way.

The pedals are nice and in reasonable condition too - i did want SR to match the seat post, bars and stem but these will be fine.

Thanks all,

Richard

Ball bearings are graded for how round they actually are, grade 100 is actually pretty good, I think grade 25 is the best I have ever come across.

Grade 100 would be more than OK for bike use, the higher the number the worse they are.

If memory serves they are 1/8 the inch and not metric.

Shaun

I am struggling to find that grading on this site -

http://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Loose+ ... index.html

am i missing something?

Richard

Strange, I can see lots of 100 grade on that site, did you mean 25 grade? You would have to find a specialist supplier of precision balls for those I guess.

Shaun

Just and a look and sjs do 100 grade and 25 grade 1/8 the ball bearings, now having a mental block on the size was it 3/16ths?

Shaun

Shaun,

I will have to mention this again - i do need glasses! I see the grade now - I had been looking at Stainless 316 but could not see the blatantly obvious grade in front of me!

Apologies for that,

Richard