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@pppp
Re hubs,
no bearing is truly sealed, although cartridge bearings tend to be sealed better than cup and cone systems. cup and cone systems use bigger ball bearings, but i think it'd be pretty much impossible to tell the difference between the two when you are actually riding.
the sealing on loose bearing systems varies, i know that the campag track hubs are pretty useless for day-to-day use, and have heard that the dura-ace ones are fairly similar. conversely, the sealing on some of shimano's other hubs is fantastic, although this is useless to anyone who wants a shimano track hub for daily use.
cup and cone systems will require more regular maintenance, but are fairly easy to maintain. however if you leave them without maintaining them for an extended period of time then they will fuck themselves. cartridge bearings are easy enough to maintain as well, you just knock out the old bearings and put 2 new ones in with a mallet.
personally i wouldn't spend a massive amount on road hubs, as the bits which wear out can be replaced for not very much at all, but that's just me..