[Hidas]

Any suggestions of high quality road hubs with sealed bearing in the price range of 100-150 US dollars, for both front and rear?

 

[ultimobici]

Any suggestions of high quality road hubs with sealed bearing in the price range of 100-150 US dollars, for both front and rear?

Do you mean cartridge bearings?

 

[chas0039]

Of course he means cartridge.

Most hubs I see these days are cartridge or sealed, meaning that they have a single, pre-adjusted unit for the bearings rather than the older cup and cone loose bearings. It would be helpful to specify more about what you were looking for such as Campy or Shimano cassette or the number of spokes, road or track, etc. Also you could add why you want to build rather than just buy the whole wheel, often less expensive.

The Shimano Ultegra 6600 series fits the bill for price and they have a decent range of spoke choices.

 

[Becky]

Of course he means cartridge.

Most hubs I see these days are cartridge or sealed, meaning that they have a single, pre-adjusted unit for the bearings rather than the older cup and cone loose bearings. It would be helpful to specify more about what you were looking for such as Campy or Shimano cassette or the number of spokes, road or track, etc. Also you could add why you want to build rather than just buy the whole wheel, often less expensive.

The Shimano Ultegra 6600 series fits the bill for price and they have a decent range of spoke choices.

I'm pretty sure that the Ultegra 6600 hubs are loose bearing hubs, just like every other Shimano hub I've owned.

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

I'm pretty sure that the Ultegra 6600 hubs are loose bearing hubs, just like every other Shimano hub I've owned.

Yes they are.
Cartridge bearing hubs are second rate in my opinion. My main training rear wheel is built off of a DA7400 hub from 1990. I finally replaced the cones and bearings last year. I'll probably have to do it again in 2030.

 

[bigbill]

High quality and $150 for front and rear don't go together. Phil Wood makes the best cartidge bearing hubs (IMO) but they cost around three times that amount for a set. You can buy a Neuvation wheelset for a little more than your budget and get decent cartridge bearing hubs from a distributor with a good reputation. If you are looking for something tough for commuting or cyclocross, I had excellent luck with Specialized Roval Pave's. I rode them for two years before the rear cartridges started feeling rough. New bearings were around $20 and ten minutes of work.

All that being said, I prefer cup and cone.

 

[ultimobici]

Of course he means cartridge.

Most hubs I see these days are cartridge or sealed, meaning that they have a single, pre-adjusted unit for the bearings rather than the older cup and cone loose bearings. It would be helpful to specify more about what you were looking for such as Campy or Shimano cassette or the number of spokes, road or track, etc. Also you could add why you want to build rather than just buy the whole wheel, often less expensive.

The Shimano Ultegra 6600 series fits the bill for price and they have a decent range of spoke choices.

By your definition they don't. As several posters have commented, traditional cup and cone hubs are superior in most ways provided they are kept in adjustment. The only advantages cartridge bearings have is ease of assembly and lack of consequence to poor maintenance. I have several pairs of older Campag and Shimano hubbed wheels that are still running clean & free a decade or more from new.

 

[laffeaux]

By your definition they don't.

Cartridge bearings are often called "sealed bearings." In this case "sealed" does not mean sealed from the elements, but "sealed from the user" who will not be able to maintain the bearings.

Bottom brackets are the same. Cartridge, or sealed bottom brackets, are not serviceable. Where as cup and cone, which still have seals, are serviceable.

 

[ultimobici]

Cartridge bearings are often called "sealed bearings." In this case "sealed" does not mean sealed from the elements, but "sealed from the user" who will not be able to maintain the bearings.

Bottom brackets are the same. Cartridge, or sealed bottom brackets, are not serviceable. Where as cup and cone, which still have seals, are serviceable.

I don't need a lesson in cycle terms.
Bearings are cartridge, loose or caged. If they weren't sealed they'd be useless at resisting the elements. In hubs cartridge bearings are inferior to the traditional cup and cone set up as they have little or no resistance to side load, something that is part of a hub's life. Additionally, the sealing used on many cartridge units results in extra rolling resistance for unnecessarily secure weatherproofing.

Many of the high-end hubs that use cartridge bearings do so because they use alloy or carbon axles which are not suited to use with cones and locknuts, rather than any benefit the units offer themselves.

 

[ultimobici]

Any suggestions of high quality road hubs with sealed bearing in the price range of 100-150 US dollars, for both front and rear?

If your budget is up to $150 have a look at Shimano. Cartridge bearings are not an improvement just a manufacturing shortcut. I have Dura Ace from the 80's that are still going strong long after similarly priced cartridge bearing hubs have given up the ghost or needed new bearings. Both are on their original cones and balls, only the grease has been replaced. Same thing with my Campag hubs.

 

[Peanya]

There was another post asking a similar question recently. I was recommending to see if Neuvation would sell them separately, but some hubs someone recommended seemed exactly the same. I'd bet that the majority of lower priced hubs with cartridge bearings come from the same manufacturer. The biggest differences you will find is the finish and the bearings used.

 

[Richard]

While I don't think there's a better hub out there than a cup and cone Campy Record, a quality "cartridge" bearing hub can be quite acceptable. The hub in the front wheel of one of my bikes is a Mavic 550RD, originally purchased in the mid '80's. It is now laced into it's third rim, has at least 50,000 miles on it, has never been serviced, and that sucker spins as smoothly and quietly as the day it was new.

 

[xxl]

While I don't think there's a better hub out there than a cup and cone Campy Record, a quality "cartridge" bearing hub can be quite acceptable. The hub in the front wheel of one of my bikes is a Mavic 550RD, originally purchased in the mid '80's. It is now laced into it's third rim, has at least 50,000 miles on it, has never been serviced, and that sucker spins as smoothly and quietly as the day it was new.

I've had excellent luck with cartridge bearing hubs, including Suntour, Specialized, Mavic 550s, and Ksyriums. I've also had excellent luck with cup-and-cone hubs. I've also trashed both kinds.

I've heard the explanation offered that cartridge bearings don't handle side loads as well, but I haven't seen this borne out in my bikes. But anecdotal evidence is, well, anecdotal. I'm unaware of any studies comparing the two types, in situ.

 

[chas0039]

Sorry, my mistake about the Ultegra hubs. I had some bad information from an LBS. For the record, I am NOT a fan of anything but cup and cone hubs. I much prefer the ability to service and replace parts without the problems related to "special" cartridge bearings.

Again, sorry for the bad info :blush2: , that will teach me to comment on Shimano:mad2: ; I really need to stick with Campy.

 

[martinrjensen]

Bearings come either open, shielded or sealed. Sealed does mean "sealed from the elements. They do have a synthetic cover to keep out dirt whether it's plastic, teflon or whatever.

Cartridge bearings are often called "sealed bearings." In this case "sealed" does not mean sealed from the elements, but "sealed from the user" who will not be able to maintain the bearings.

Bottom brackets are the same. Cartridge, or sealed bottom brackets, are not serviceable. Where as cup and cone, which still have seals, are serviceable.

 

[Becky]

Sorry, my mistake about the Ultegra hubs. I had some bad information from an LBS. For the record, I am NOT a fan of anything but cup and cone hubs. I much prefer the ability to service and replace parts without the problems related to "special" cartridge bearings.

No worries. And FWIW, I totally agree with you about cup and cone hubs. Easy to maintain, and easy to find new bearings. No weird proprietary stuff...

Personally, I love those 6600 hubs- have them on two different bikes and they've been bombproof.

 

[BioMoo]

$150 for Deep Vs FIND EM HERE!!

Hi there. I work for a pretty strange bike shop. A lot of our new product is supper low priced just because our business model allows for it. We can totally hook folks up with weinman or origin 8 sealed bearing Deep Vs in SEVERAL different colors for $150 a pair. WE EVEN SHIP ALL OVER!! Feel free to send me an email to [email protected]. Make your subject "NEED: DEEP Vs" and I'll get you hooked up. We also have great deals on Velocities, but the other two brands we have a better relationship with so that we can resell them for less. They usually go for $225 a pair as I can tell.