Originally Posted by
WhyFi
There are a number of decent quality, sealed bearing hubs out there (some of them are re-badged). I have Novatec hubs that I'm happy with and I'd also consider some from BHS (mostly because these two vendors, bdopcycling and bikehubstore, have a pretty good record when it comes to communication and prompt shipping). One word of caution - not all of the lighter weight front hubs are engineered to be laced radially, so if you want to do that, just be sure that the flanges are up to the task.
If you go with Novatec or Bitex (rebadged as BHS, Circus Monkey and others), I would recommend ordering from one of the above named vendors. Both of those hubs can be spec'd with varying qualities of bearings and Bdop and bikehubstore both use upgraded versions.