pic: Team230 Damaged Frame Rail

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Thayer McCollum

So I suppose I should have clarified. I agree that structurally the tube concept is overkill. It adds support the rail doesn't really need. We did this because we felt that just pressing the bearings into the rail would cause them to fall out easily. Is that not the case? Does 1/8" wall easily support bearings without them falling out? Because in my experience that hasn't happened. If someone could tell me how to put the bearings in without them falling out I would be happy to learn. (Because those tubes really sucked to put in...)

Bearing retention really has very little to do with the wall thickness of the material the bearing is pressed in. How the hole is sized is the biggest factor, really. Machine the hole a thou or two undersize for a nice press fit, but not so much under the bearing will seize. If you can't do this, using green loctite (gap filling) will help hold the bearing press fit in securely. Otherwise, you can use the hardware on your shaft to hold your bearings in (spacers, etc).

I would definitely not recommend an E-clip to do this if the E-clip is between loads, only on the end. And even then a snap ring is simply the better tool for the job.