Contact seal vs non contact bearings…

Are non contact better for dryish road wheels.
Or are contact seals better for all cycling applications?
I would put the best ones on frame pivots for the hassle factor but are cheaper bearings okay in wheels if you ram more grease in and change a bit more often.
Or do I just stop being a tight wad and buy the best NSK ones no matter what.

The full contact seal does what it says, provides contact so it creates a tight seal to help keep water out and grease inside the bearing.
The non contact seal will allow alot more water inside the bearing thus can make the balls inside rust if they are low quality.

The downside of the full contact seal is that it creates drag due to the resistance from the seal. There are brands like Enduro who do a LLU / LLB seal bearing so the lighter side faces inside the hub and the full contact faces outwards where it is most likely to meet water so you almost get best of both worlds.

They are used for different purposes so its not necessarily a quality issue, if you buy a cheap bearing with low quality materials it probably isn’t going to last as long as a high quality bearing regardless of the seal type. Things like it having stainless steel balls makes a big difference to its longevity.

If you are happy to do a lot of preventative maintenance you can run them sans seal. For a dry wether only road bike a good quality skf, fag or other top quality manufacturer non contact bearing is fine.

How about fitting a 1RS bearing with the seal pointed at the outside world on either side, half the drag? But sort of assumes you can manage zero/minimal contamination inside the hub body.

TBF that’s basically how a cup and cone hub works.

Okay so the go to road wheel bearings skf 2RS for wet and dry, 1RS dry only.

TBF that’s basically how a cup and cone hub works.

Kinda, although the fit between the bearing and the axle won’t be watertight so the hub will still fill with water. Whereas a cup and cone hub is pretty much sealed up inside.

The full contact seal does what it says, provides contact so it creates a tight seal to help keep water out and grease inside the bearing.
The non contact seal will allow alot more water inside the bearing thus can make the balls inside rust if they are low quality.

The downside of the full contact seal is that it creates drag due to the resistance from the seal. There are brands like Enduro who do a LLU / LLB seal bearing so the lighter side faces inside the hub and the full contact faces outwards where it is most likely to meet water so you almost get best of both worlds.

That’s not what it means at all, LLU and LLB are both full contact seals. VV is their non-contact seal which works by putting more grease in the bearing itself so it maintains a layer inside the groove the seal sits in.

Bearing steel rusts, it’s a trade off for it being hard wearing Vs higher % chrome alloys (upto stainless) which are soft. It’s nothing to do with quality, just the right materials and application.

https://www.endurobearings.com/technology/seals/

TBH, I’d just fit whatever and not overthink it.
If your last bearings rusted before wearing out – get stainless
If they went gritty and notchy – get full contact seals.

I’m currently trying out some ceramic hybrid bearings with ceramic balls (corrosion resistant and hard where it matters) in stainless races (corrosion-resistant and not the bit that wears out) in my BB30 gravel bike. They cost about the same as the standard SKF/NKG/FAG bearings and so far are outlasting them, I’ve just got some similar ones for the hub so will see how they go too.