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Cup and cone bearing last freaking ages if they haven't been massively neglected.
And there you have it.
Cup and cone need to stay in tune to roll at their best. So on 25 year old hubs that means no rusted up races, no pitted balls and nice unscored cones plus someone who knows how to pre-load the whole set-up to it's optimum.
I believe the examples you cite of Campagnolo and Shimano still using that system are on their high-end wheelsets.
Hold an old early 90s 8 speed rearhub in one hand and a modern Fulcrum or similar in the other and note the weight difference.
Fignon-
I believe the examples you cite of Campagnolo and Shimano still using that system are on their high-end wheelsets.
Shimano use them on everything from sub-Sora to DuraAce. Campag/Fulcrum use cartridge bearings on their cheap wheels because they are cheap, both to buy and to design and build hubs around. Loose ball cup and cone (angular contact) bearings allow a greater number/size of balls within a given space, so they have higher load bearing capability which should be reflected in longer life, all things being equal. A deep groove radial cartridge ball bearing with the 9×¼" balls found in most cheap Shimano rear hubs is huge (6004, 20×40×12). 6000/6001/6002 bearings (7/8/9×3/16" balls respectively) are adequate for cycle hubs for most people the performance difference is undetectable.
gbj_tester
^ sorry what?
Cup and cone bearing last freaking ages if they haven't been massively neglected. And there's a reason why campag and shimano use them. They believe they're better.
Light rims and nice tyres get you more zip. I'd get a modern group if you aren't building a 'classic' ride though.