Originally Posted by
MNBikeCommuter
Two LBS's sent me home with "close enough" cones. I knew they weren't, and they didn't seal up well enough to last long. Too short, too long, offset from cone bearing surface to gasket isn't correct with not enough play room in seating the freehub dust shield... Putting 6-7k miles on the bike each year, I don't want to have to be repacking the rear hub every other weekend.
Don't mean to hijack here but 6 - 7K commuting in Minnesota would justify Phil Wood hubs or something similar to me. If Shimano, then I have found XT to be more durable than XTR. XTR is intended for race setups and is very good indeed but XT gets most of the same design features with more durability at less than half the price. YMMV.