Originally Posted by
WizardOfBoz
Thanks, Andy. I need to pull the wheel and check. The mere fact that these are "labyrinth seals" likely means close tolerances.
You are neglecting the fact that I'm an engineer. NEVER underestimate the ability of an engineer's theoretical knowledge and monkey-like curiousity creating massive practical problems. Buwuhahhahhah!
So when people tell me that wheel bearings are deep groove radials, I might say "Oh yeah, but back in MY day Campy and Dura Ace hubs were the best and they both were AC. Hmmmm. Maybe I'll try an AC cartridge rather than a DGR." Seriously, I think that they're DGRs. I would have remembered calculating optimal contact angle if I'd tried to switch to ACs. Then again, my BB bearings are ACs but they were standard items offered by Enduro.
So I have to pull the wheel and check the hub.
And Your BB has an ability to adjust preloads? I ask this because the Shimano design does but the FSA design doesn't (unless you consider a spring/wave washer a preload device). To my knowledge both use radial contact. Now there are some that do spec AC bearings. Just no where near as common as the Big S or FSA.
As to an engineer's ability to over think stuff... Andy