It gets pretty grimey up in these parts. They put so much salt and gravel on the roads during the winter, that they barely have it cleared up before it’s time for snow to fall again.
I feel like I’d be re-packing them a lot.
Most of the world rides loose-ball sealed-bearing hubs without incident. Cartridge bearings are new and still fairly rare on bicycles.
Oh fuck, I’m confusing loose-ball with not being sealed… FUuuuck my life.
Are the bearings on these sealed?
I don’t know, it doesn’t say.
Just to clarify an often confused point, loose-ball hubs can be sealed and unsealed. On most loose-ball high-end track hubs, they are unsealed to reduce a nominal amount of friction (“seal drag”). Virtually every loose-ball road and some inexpensive fixed gear hubs are sealed, and this seal prevents most road grime from penetrating the hub, although these bearings should be repacked or replaced at regular intervals (depending on your miles and riding conditions).
This is not to be confused with cartridge bearing hubs, which operate like your old skateboard or Rollerblade wheel. These bearings will generally run maintenance-free in all conditions until they bust, at which point you replace them.
Plus, some seals are better than others, of course.
I prefer loose-ball hubs to cartridge bearing ones. Greasing and adjusting > throwing away and replacing.