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@whatfriends
stiff to turn or does it turn in notches?
notches mean its been done up too tight at some point and the bearings have put little divots in the race, see hippys pic above. if so, sack it off and buy a new one.
stiff would normally mean its done up ways too tight, or pehaps some of these..
are the bearings the exact same size as the original ones? old stlye may be using imperial measurement bb's and new bb's would normally be measured in mm i think. so any variation, even very slight would mess about with the whole thing.
also, you say you replaced the bearings, are they loose in grease or in a cage like above? if they are loose, did you put too many in? you should always leave room for about 2 bb's in there. it allows them to spread out and not foul with each others movement in the cup.
did it grind/was it stiff before you built the bike? do you have any ideas about it before you took it apart?