Originally Posted by
prj71
The real difference being discussed here is cup and cone bearing hub vs. cartridge bearing hub. The cartridge bearing hub is superior to the cup and cone bearings all day long. Cup and cone bearings on bikes are now old technology and only found on cheap bikes.
When a cartridge bearing has worn out, just throw it away and replace. If cup and cone system is worn out...just hope you caught it in time...water and grit turn into a nice grinding paste which is likely to damage the internal surface of the hub shell...and then there goes the nice smooth rolling surface.
Only found on cheap bikes, yet Shimano makes XTR, XT, Alfine, Dura-Ace and Ultegra hubs in cup and cone bearings and I know Campagnolo still is doing cup and cone. If you are calling their stuff cheap you are need to smoke just a little less. Sure yes a properly machined hub with good quality cartridge bearings can be of lower maintenance and potentially be better for an off road situation but I don't think Shimano would make cup and cone bearings especially not in their XTR lineup which is used in the highest levels of competition if they didn't see worth in it.
Now me personally I do prefer cartridge bearing hubs ideally made in the good ole' USA but have had Deore hubs on my beater hybrid parts bike for many years and haven't touched them once and they roll quite nicely and my old XT hubs on my Surly Disc Trucker rolled great as well and are still rolling under a different rider (who last I spoke with was in South America touring).