Are sealed bearings the way to go?

[Dan B]

No, Dan is right. Cartridge bearings or deep groove ball bearings as they are known, is very poor at dealing with lateral forces. On a motorbike wheel there are none and the bearings last a long time. On a bicycle there are some (when springing side-to-side) and these quickly destroy cartridge bearings.

I'm still finding it hard to believe that motorbikes never lean from side to side.

I mean, except Harleys obviously.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I'm still finding it hard to believe that motorbikes never lean from side to side.

I mean, except Harleys obviously.

Even though it leans, the force on the bearing is always radial. In a car that's cornering the force is divided between radial and lateral. On a motorbike never, unless it is doing a broadside.

On a bicycle, in theory that's the same as a motorbike. However, we lean the bike to the side without applying al the force radially. Think of coasting, standing, leaning and applying more pressure on the one pedal than the other. That introduces a lateral force on the bearing. This is prevalent in cycling, Like I said, especially when you sprint.

Bicycle wheels are extremely weak laterally, yet they are strong enough. The spoke bracing angle is around 7 degrees, yet we never bend a wheel. This tells us that the forces are small.

 

[shadow master]

Both cup-and-cone bearings and cartridge bearing can be sealed or unsealed. Sealed bearing is a meaningless way of indicating a specific bearing type. Shimano and Campagnolo uses cup-and-cone bearings (also called angular contact or ACB) bearings and the rest use deep groove cartridge bearings. The latter are a very poor choice for bicycle use but they do have the advantage that if you totally ignore maintenance, the bearing never damages the wheel whereas in Shimano wheels, a rusted cup means you dump the wheel. Campagnolo has a patent for replaceable cups and cones. But as I say, both can be made sealed or unsealed.

Servicing and adjusting cup-and-cone bearings requires some skill, but so does replacing cartridge bearings.

Mavic's nylon bush on the freewheel cannot be replaced from a Mavic spare part. Mavic only sells complete freewheels. Further, the bush runs on the hub's nose and wears that down in time, requiring a new wheel. It is a rubbish system from an engineering point of view. It is easy to service though.

Both cup-and-cone bearings and cartridge bearing can be sealed or unsealed. Sealed bearing is a meaningless way of indicating a specific bearing type. Shimano and Campagnolo uses cup-and-cone bearings (also called angular contact or ACB) bearings and the rest use deep groove cartridge bearings. The latter are a very poor choice for bicycle use but they do have the advantage that if you totally ignore maintenance, the bearing never damages the wheel whereas in Shimano wheels, a rusted cup means you dump the wheel. Campagnolo has a patent for replaceable cups and cones. But as I say, both can be made sealed or unsealed.

Servicing and adjusting cup-and-cone bearings requires some skill, but so does replacing cartridge bearings.

Mavic's nylon bush on the freewheel cannot be replaced from a Mavic spare part. Mavic only sells complete freewheels. Further, the bush runs on the hub's nose and wears that down in time, requiring a new wheel. It is a rubbish system from an engineering point of view. It is easy to service though.

As we are learning on here "if you completey ignore maintenance".... People do,and then quickly blame the product e.g The chain snapping thread saga on here,the mavic Delron bush is available as a spare part from hubdoctor as are ALL the parts in a mavic freehub,and that's my point you can replace the whole mechanics of these hubs,rather than throwing wheels away or having the expense of rehubbing wheels

 

[RufusChucklebutty]

I have some good rims Mavic ect sitting in the scrap pile because the cups are no good, obviously they are pressed in to the hub, if I ever had a moment to spare I would pull the cups, and machine replacements, or press in a bushing to fit a standard sealed bearing. However that ain't going to happen soon.

Its a huge waste to throw away an entire rim because of 2 cups.