Originally Posted by
miamijim
1a. 'Sealed bearing' could mean alot of things. Do sealed mechanisms like 'O' rings or labarynth seals fall under the 'sealed bearing' heading? I dont think they do. In my opinion the only type of sealed bearings are the ones pictured in this thread and that would be ones of the cartridge design. Everything else would be of the sealed mechanisn type and thus a pseudo sealed bearing.
You have to be careful when dealing with hubs from the mid 80's and even into the 90's... manufacturers were trying to capitalize on the durability and ease of maintenance of the cartridge bearings that were becoming more common in upscale hubs. Many manufacturers labeled their hubs "Sealed Bearings" without making any distinction as to what "Sealed Bearings" meant exactly. With many hubs (even higher quality hubs in some cases) "Sealed Bearings" were nothing more than conventional cup-n-cone bearings with an outer cover pressed on.
It gets confusing, but with the OP's mid 80's hub I'd almost guarantee that his Sealed Bearings aren't cartridge... but a simple cup-n-cone set up with a seal popped on top to keep crap out.