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He said to get track hubs that have cartridge bearings, they are strong and long lasting.
Cartridge bearings are neither strong--- typically designed for other loads--- nor long lasting. They are typically radical bearings and not designed for axial loads (side forces). They are also not immune to elements nor maintainance free. The main advantage of cartridge bearings is cost and, if correctly used in the design, ease of replacement. Cup-and-cone bearings are stronger and (typically) much longer lasting. They are also better suited to the kinds of extreme loads a bicycle wheel may experience. They are, however, bicycle hub specific and much more costly to produce. Cartridges are, by contrast, made in VERY LARGE numbers and to very high quality at very reasonable price points (standarization, economies of scale). While its quite difficult to gear up the tooling to make good quality cup-and-cone hubs it is very simple to make hubs that take cartridges--- even easier if one does not need to provide toolless bearing replacement.
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EdwardZ
@wqvm
I once talked to a bicycle courier in london who's been riding fixed gear for 5 years what one advice would he give about bicycles? He said to get track hubs that have cartridge bearings, they are strong and long lasting.