Cheap wheelset - Sealed Bearings

[Mark pallister]

It takes about ten minutes to change a cartridge bearing and they cost about £6 a pair
I would expect to get about 10,000 miles out of them with zero maintenance in the mean time
there a no brainier for me

 

[Blue Hills]

Well you need to keep an eye on them - like any bearing they will wear over time and the grease gets driven out by the wet. This is best done by checking for any play whilst in the frame and then removing the wheel from the bike and holding the axle in you fingers spin the wheel to feel for any roughness or sticky spots. If you overly neglect them then when they do need changing you could have difficulty in extracting them (unlike cup & cone) as they are a press fit into the hub. Care needs to be taken when tapping them out as the outer metal rim of the bearing can be well stuck into the hub - the rest of the bearing will come out leaving you with the task if trying to get that remaining band of metal out. And fitting new ones needs care (and good grease) to ensure they go in straight and not skew-whiff.

Can't help but say it all sounds more bother than cupo and cone to me.
(I did venture into cartridge bearings once - or rather strayed there not realising what was involved)

 

[Mark pallister]

Can't help but say it all sounds more bother than cupo and cone to me.
(I did venture into cartridge bearings once - or rather strayed there not realising what was involved)

About 20mins once a year ?
that’s my kind of maintenance

 

[iluvmybike]

Can't help but say it all sounds more bother than cupo and cone to me.
(I did venture into cartridge bearings once - or rather strayed there not realising what was involved)

IMO the cratridge bearings are better as they don't need to be regularly re-greased & adjusted like cup and cone. Just check them every now ansdthen depending on conditions you ride in. I've only had one set of new bearings in my Hope hubbed wheels in several years whereas with cup and cone they'd need min every 12 months.