Cartridge bearings used to be only for top of the line model components. I would say anytime you can move over to cratridge bearing components, it would be good. Some C&Vers still insist on loose bearing components as they feel that they can better adjust the bearings for best performance than what you can get from cartridge bearings that do have just a little bit of drag from their seals. They also feel that if they service the loose bearing enough, they can make them last much longer than cartridge bearings. The jury is still out on these theories on which approach is really better, but if you want to ride more than service your bike, you should really try out cartridge bearing equiped components. At least with Cartridge bearings, when they do wear out, it's just a matter of replacing them with either a whole replacement component or just press in new cartidge bearings..... no adjustments, major cleaning and new grease needed, just plug and play.

Chombi