for oldschool BB bearings i like caged best. i've managed to lose too many bearings down the seat tube and up the down tube, only to become permanently, i thought, lodged in the frame somewhere.

i'm usually wrong about that, after a while, long enough to forget that they were in there somewhere, the grease dries up, they come loose and rattle around in the frame like those in a cheap can of spray paint, until i disassemble the BB yet again and shake the devil out of the frame to free them. but i've forsaken even caged for cartridge BB's. what a godsend...

i'm looking forward to one day buying one of the more modern BB arrangements where the spindle is part of the drive-side crank arm, is hollow, and a lot wider.