I do recall back in the day of QR, shimano hubs used cup and cone bearings and had to be replaced when worn.
Now we've moved onto thru axles, have they finally moved over to sealed cartridges?
I always assume Shimano is cup and cone regardless of axle.
Interesting that you frame it is “finally” moved over. I like cup and cone bearings. Easily serviced at home and if you keep on top of it, servicing is never more than a finger-full of grease.
The MT410 uses cartridge bearings. I think everything else is cup and cone.
Whereas I won't have cup and cone bearings for anything if Ican avoid it. Victorian technology. You can get bigger bearings in the same space with cup and cone hence ISIS bbs wore out but shimano octalink ( which is cup and cone just not adjustable) had a long life
Thank god Shimano still use cup and cone.
The MT410 uses cartridge bearings
I can confirm. These came on the ebike*, and im thankful for it.(MT410-B CL)
* Pretty pants to spend £5k on a bike and this is the level of kit they deem appropriate, but hey ho,that seems the order of the day when it comes to ebikes 🙁
My XT hubs are c&c with cartridge in the freehub. I really like them. Really easy to setup and maintain. I read loads of stuff about having to allow a tolerance for tightening the axle back up and it being really fiddly but I have never found this to be the case - if I leave even the tiniest amount of "play" in it and I'm talking about winding the locknut back off a fraction of a degree, the slack is still apparent when it's all back together. 🤷♂️Maybe I'm doing it all wrong - which is quite possible!
My SLX ones are OK too but the cartridge bearings in the FH wear out really quickly, and it's always the outer one, leading me to believe the tolerances on the axle itself aren't very good...
Those Victorians were a damn sight smarter than many give them credit for...
Whereas I won’t have cup and cone bearings for anything if Ican avoid it. Victorian technology. You can get bigger bearings in the same space with cup and cone hence ISIS bbs wore out but shimano octalink ( which is cup and cone just not adjustable) had a long life
This sounds like you don't like cup and cone bearings even though they are a better design?
better in some ways but much worse in most. Once you have to adjust a cup and cone bearing its knackered and will never be right again. Replacing the cups is very difficult. Cartridge bearings are easy to change and much simpler to set up.
I have no cup and cone bearings on any of my bikes bar my cheapo utility bike.
I’ve never had a set of Cup and Cone bearings that didn’t score the cups. The last set of wheels I had with them loosened 2 or 3 times on a ride. So I’m glad they are in my past
I've never got on with cup and cone, maybe it's being towards the heavier end of the scale at >85kg, maybe its the quality of the cup and cone hubs I was using compared to the cartridge bearing, maybe it's being rougher on wheels? I've certainly tried different ways of getting the adjustment right and locking them down correctly, never had them stay as smooth and play free as a cartridge bearing. Replacing a cartridge bearing isn't that much work given the correct tools, I'd say as easy as cup and cone personally. You can say cup and cone a smear of grease but with a cartridge its just popping the old ones out and pressing the new ones in, job done.
Once [s]you have to [/s] I adjust a cup and cone bearing its knackered and will never be right again
FTFY
It's a bit like the adjusting brakes/headsets etc debate. Cup & cone needs an amount of mechanical finesse rather than bashing stuff into holes.
Both good enough from a utility perspective but a well adjusted Campag Record hub of the '80's is a thing of beauty...
Are the people who love cup and cone hubs mountain bikers or canal path bimblers?
Nooe scotroutes. Once it has worn to the point play is detected and adjustment needed it can never be right aggain. Physically impossible. . There will be uneveness and inconsistencies. The wear means metal has gone.
And yet i've got more than one set of CnC bearings that are over 15 years old and some have probably done 50000+ miles with little more than a yearly strip and service.
Mostly on hubs with steel freehubs, so i haven't notched the freehub either!
It’s a bit like the adjusting brakes/headsets etc debate. Cup & cone needs an amount of mechanical finesse rather than bashing stuff into holes.
Back in the day I regularly adjusted Cup and cone bearings. I’d say I was pretty adept at it. But the cups pitted and scored in every set I’ve ever owned. If the cups were replaceable then fine, but they aren’t
Oh they can last a long time no doubt but its impossible to adjust for worn balls or cups or cones as the wear will not be even
Shimano cup and cone are extremely well made and developed.
