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@M_V
The sealed bearings I use (mainly hubs, pedals and square taper bottom brackets) seem to last alright but I really think it depends on the bearing and application and I know a lot of people think open bearing = going to die in winter which I find really isn't the case.
The bottom bracket on my winter bike is a completely unsealed cup and cone type with loose bearings, there's not a single seal or piece of rubber or plastic on the thing. I got through last winter on the original grease (the bike is from the 50s) then rebuilt it with new grease when I had the frame powdercoated in the spring. That's what's still in there and it probably won't get touched until well into spring/summer 2014 and even then only if it starts to give me issues.
In contrast though I've seen bb30/bb90 type sealed bottom brackets giving up after a couple months of autumn use.
I think with sealed bearings you will have to replace them at some point, open bearings you can probably get away with servicing, repacking etc well into the foreseeable future.