Originally Posted by
Wilfred Laurier
Cartridge bearings are great, but make maintenance, even if it is less frequent, less user-friendly. Cup-and-cone are generations old and can be rebuilt with two tools and (if necessary) no extra parts. If the cones wear out, they are available as replacements, if the hub needs adjusting, it is designed to facilitate that.
"Less frequent" is on the order of years (perhaps decades) and thousands to tens of thousands of miles.
Originally Posted by
Wilfred Laurier
Furthermore, Shimano freehub bodies are available as a relatively low-cost replacement if they do go bad years down the road. And since they are steel, rather than Ti, they are generally stronger to begin with.
Some Shimano free hubs are available years down the road. But not all Shimano freehub bodies are interchangeable. White Industries is a well established company that has been around for "years" as well. Replacements aren't unavailable. Additionally, a rebuild on a Shimano freehub is difficult to impossible while rebuilding a White Industries freehub is about as difficult as replacing the bearings in the hub which is far less difficult then you make it out to be.