Grade 10 Chromium Steel Balls: These high precision balls are 10/1,000,000” from exactly round round in sphericity. How round is that? Over twice as round as the balls Shimano or Campagnolo use in their top componments.

52100 High Carbon Chromium Alloy Races: Vacuum de-gassed process for the purest alloy steel, hardened to R-62 and still tough and durable.

Retainers are Riveted Steel for Extra Strength: These are best to keep the balls rolling straight down the ball path even under high stress loads.

What is ABEC 3? ABEC 3 is a standard to which each bearing must pass many tests in order to meet the scheduled requirements including noise testing at high RPM, extremely tight tolerances for the internal diameter, outer diameter, roundness of ball, trueness of races, and surface finish of all of the above.

What is C-3? C-3 refers to the internal clearance of a bearing and is the standard clearance in the U.S. This is the play between the ball and the races before the bearing is installed. Our C-3 clearance is a tightersize, but for a 10-18 mm ID bearing, our standard is 11-21 um where most manufacturers use 11-25 um. (0.011-0.025 mm)

2RS seals marked LLU or LLB: 2RS literally means Two Rubber Seals and simply means that the bearing has these. There are many types of seals. On most other bearings 2RS means that the seal is made from rubber and has one sealing lip rubbing on any flat part of the inner race. Our seals are either LLU (usually the MAX type bearings) or LLB (better for hubs).

LLU seals have 2 sealing lips on each seal which also fit into a matching groove on the inner race to make a type labrynth seal. LLU is a medium/high contact type seal. The outer sealing lip repels dirt and water while the inner sealing lip retains the grease. When the bearing is first turned, you will notice some grease will come out of the seals. More on that later about “grease” but what this does is fill the chamber between these 2 sealing lips forming a “hydromatic seal” of grease.

LLB seals have 2 sealing lips on each seal which also fit into a matching groove on the inner race to make a type labrynth seal. LLB is a low contact type seal. The outer sealing lip repels dirt and water while the inner sealing lip retains the grease. When the bearing is first turned, you will notice some grease will come out of the seals. More on that later about “grease” but what this does is fill the chamber between these 2 sealing lips forming a “hydromatic seal” of grease.