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Brass bearings and bicycles

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blackhawknj

Look Ma, No Hands!
Overhauled the bottom bracket of my 1960s Sunbeam, discovered it has brass ball bearings in it. That's a first for me. Any pros and cons for brass ball bearings vs. steel ?
 
All I can think of is that it was a home repack, and those were the balls they had on hand. Brass is lot softer so wouldn't last as long, The balls are usually used in plumbing valves, etc. The fact they worked just shows how lightly stressed bicycle parts are.
 
All I can think of is that it was a home repack, and those were the balls they had on hand. Brass is lot softer so wouldn't last as long, The balls are usually used in plumbing valves, etc. The fact they worked just shows how lightly stressed bicycle parts are.

I'm going back to my childhood here, but I have no doubt that I would have used BBs as bearings. With proper grease who knows how long they would last.
 
I was thinking old BB's. No reason to use brass when steel balls are so cheap. They do sell brass ball bearings.
 
I also doubt the bearings are original. However, get a load of the brass used on this hub!

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It also can hold the grease more effectively

It's actually oil. Oil soaked or oil impregnated bronze is used for bushings and bearings. In the end of a flywheel they use an oil soaked bronze pilot bushing that carries the end of the input shaft on a manual transmission.
 
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