igno-mtb

i´ve heard that sealed hubs are better than "normal" hubs but i don´t know exactly why, can anyone answer?

anthonaut

They are better because they are sealed so no mud or crap can get into the hub which means longer life, smoother rolling and no/little servicing.

Kidafa

Sealed is sealed bearings! Not a sealed hub duhhh lol
Sealed doesnt mean faster rolling because the bearings are rubbing on more surface area thus slowing them down.

Raiyn

You really have NO idea do you?

Kidafa

i qoute from AMB Australian Mountain Bike feb/march 04 issue pg 56 (lighter faster stronger section)

"Wheels

Faster- Take the seals off the bearings inside your hubs. They oll heaps quicker becuase there is a lot less friciton-Mick Hannah"

So

cya

mtnbiker66

Don't know,I run abnormal hubs. Just a joke.

98bomber

sealed bearings are manufactured to tighter tolerances than most loose ball hubs.
this gives you a smoother roll. sealed hubs generally require less maintance.

Raiyn

What a steaming pile of ********* that is

phantomcow2

That is crap indeed, you can take a non sealed hub, stick on a truing stand and spin it and it may spin longer than a sealed hub. But when you have the force of your bicycle on it it makes no difference.

cryogenic

and even when brand new they may very well roll slightly longer... but what about after 2 or 3 rides in the rain and slop? Now tell me which one's gonna roll faster.. the unsealed hub with all the grit in it that needs to be re-greased or the sealed hub which was largely unaffected by the adverse conditions?

phantomcow2

Indeed, ive ridden the WalMart bikes and indeed witht hose crappy unsealed hubs i found myself repacking the damn bearings often. And then i lost one that really sucked.

Hopper

If I remember correctly, that tip in the mag was recommended to sponsored riders.

Raiyn

Most bicycle hubs use "shielded bearings" of a cup and cone nature

Waldo

As Raiyn touched on, it's quite obvious there is some confusion here from people that haven't opened up loose ball bearing hubs of a recent vintage. My Shimano hubs run better than many Ringles, other assorted sealed bearing hubs, and particularly some Kings that I have had the pleasure of rebuilding. Just because it's a cartridge bearing doesn't mean it's inherently better, people.

anthonaut

Nope it was for the ordinary Joe (No offense if your name is Joe).

But yeah, sealed bearing hubs are smoother rolling and require less maintenance than a normal hub however are more expensive.

MichaelW

Cartridge bearing hubs use a std industrial bearing which is sealed against the LOSS of grease when spinning at high revs (eg in a fan). It is not sealed against the ingress of dirt and water. The hubs may have additional seals.
Cup and cone hubs (such as Shimano) have rubber seals to keep out dirt and water.
The issue of sealed vs unsealed is different to that of cartridge vs cup and cone.
The only people who purposly use unsealed hubs are track riders. Even road hubs have seals, but MTB hubs have more and better seals.