Wheel Bearings - Water/Weather Resistant and how to wash to reduce risk of damage?

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Location
London
Cup and cone every time, clean and release annually, never a problem.
Plus one as raleigh said.
It's my understanding that if you do basic maintenance like yours on a shimano ball bearing hub they will mostly last your own lifetime.
In the past I ignored hub maintenance out of fear.
Have just taken a wheel off a bike and due to non existent maintenance for many years on the hub it has a problem.
Have temporarily replaced it with another wheel that is in theory inferior, though also with a shimano ball bearing hub.
That wheel came on a 20-25 year old bike I bought second hand.
Pretty sure it hadn't been maintained in all that time, but also pretty sure it had hardly been ridden.
Opened up the hub and it was definitely short on grease - as it left the factory I imagine.
If I'd ridden it am pretty sure it would have been swiftly trashed.
Now all greased it runs very sweetly, far better than the XT hubbed wheel I had neglected.

Ball bearings also avoid the desperate fretting of course about just which cartridge bearing you need - been through that on another bike with its wheel and headset bearings - never again.

sorry dsk, can't help with your question - I see that you bought a new set of "identical wheels". It really is easier to just use ball bearing hubs, maintain them. While the rims are slowly wearing away you can learn to rerim wheels.
 
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