I still have a couple...OK, four...bikes that use loose bearings in hubs and BB. I'm getting ready for my every-five-years-or-so-whether-they-need-it-or-not rebuild, and I can't find bearings. Two local shops don't carry them at all, and Nashbar doesn't list them in the catalog anymore (I bought them there for years at $2.90 per 100, all sizes). I'm going to check Home Depot tonight, but if not there, I'm stuck. Am I the last holdout with those things, or can you still find them?
Thanks...

I still have a couple...OK, four...bikes that use loose bearings in hubs and BB. I'm getting ready for my every-five-years-or-so-whether-they-need-it-or-not rebuild, and I can't find bearings. Two local shops don't carry them at all, and Nashbar doesn't list them in the catalog anymore (I bought them there for years at $2.90 per 100, all sizes). I'm going to check Home Depot tonight, but if not there, I'm stuck. Am I the last holdout with those things, or can you still find them?

If you look in your local Yellow Pages for bearing suppliers, I'll bet you can find a local source. Any kind of industrial supply company would work; places that have belts, pulleys, etc.

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=Bearings&sc=Loose%20Balls&id=52512828470

BTW, you're hardly the last holdout; there are still hubs made with loose bearings rather than sealed units. Local shops with good service should have them.