Originally Posted by
bowlofsalad
Hello,
Which bicycle hub components will keep bearing lubrication clean and dry longer? Another way to say this is what will provide the longest maintenance intervals for bearing lubrication? Longevity and reliability are what I have in mind.
Shimano mountain bike hubs have the the best seals of any I've come across. And their freehub design is the best in terms of axle load bearing and prevention against water and dirt intrusion. An additional benefit is that replacement balls and cones are easy and inexpensive to source.
Unlike a certain high-priced POS cartridge bearing hub that I've been working on for the last 2 weeks. It took me 3 days to extract the cartridges from the freehub, and it will take another 3 weeks for the new (hard to find) bearings to be delivered from China.
The best wet weather hub I've ever come across are old Campagnolo Record freewheel models. Basically unsealed. When you've spend the last 3 hours riding in a downpour, you insert your handy grease injector g_u_n and completely flush them out. Takes less than 5 minutes to apply new grease.