Also on bicycle is it possible to adjust the cone too tight to a extent that it costs me wattage?On bicycle is there any kind of mechanism that prevents the cone from getting too close to the bearings, so I can just tighten the cone as much as I want without worrying about restricting the bearing movements?On bicycle will the cone loosen up over time and need re-tightening?On bicycle will I be paranoid about either the cone being too close to the bearings causing drag or too far causing plays?Finally are cup and cone hubs good for cycle commute or will you recommend cartridge which is maintenance free?
Not so long ago, racers- particularly velodrome racers- built their hubs using very light machine oil instead of grease and ran the bearings slightly loose. This was called trackmens slack inasmush as using the hubs like this offered almost no resistance. Unfortunately, one race like this and the hubs required rebuilding including replacement of balls, cups, and cones. Whenever I can, I still spec cup and cone hubs on bikes I design and build most of my own bikes with cup and cone hubs. EDIT: I wanted to add that ball, radial, and needle bearings which are used for just about everything now in some fashion were first developed for the bicycle. Before the bicycle, bearings were made of wood, leather, and bronze. The bronze ones were called babbett bearings.. similar to sleeve bearings today... but not exactly.
