Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 7,155
Likes: 3,102
From: NW Oregon
Bikes: 1982 Trek 930R Custom, '91 Diamondback Ascent w/ XT, XTR updates, Fuji Team Pro CF road flyer, Specialized Sirrus Gravel Convert, '09 Comencal Meta 5.5 XC, '02 Marin MBX500, '84 Gitane Criterium bike
Something that NEEDS to be considered about "cartridge bearings" in bike hubs..not all loads are vertical loads... Side loading a bearing designed only for Vertical loads causes rapid wear and Can Cause Bearing Failures if the side loading exceeds design specs... the bearings are forced together by Side Loading... once that force is exceeded, the bearings try to come apart.....
i have disassembled hundreds of "cartridge bearings" as a mechanic... you hit them hard enough to overcome the assembly force... the center races pop out, balls go skittering all over the place, and you then cut the outer race in two or three places to remove it from a machine.... rusty farm implements from dairyland, Tillamook, Oregon come to mind... cow poop, fertilizers, serious rain levels, and salty ocean air.
Cup/cone hubs can be rebuilt annually or longer,for the cost of 18 or 20 fresh balls, and a teaspoon of grease...... cartridge bearing hubs need all new bearing assemblies, and typically get used until roughness/failure is found..
i'll keep using cup/cone, thank you.
my Dura Ace cup/cone hubs are now 43 years old, and smooth.
i regularly find Shimano Exage hubs that are as old, and were never re-greased... still smooth. My Diamondback linear trail bike wore a pair of Exage hubs for 15 years... they were used and untouched for at least two decades before i got them.
i regularly replace HT2 bottom brackets with bad cartridge bearings... cart. steering headset bearings too.
GXP BBs wear out even faster.
just my personal, professional experience.
Last edited by maddog34; 04-22-25 at 01:26 PM.