WikiPedalia is not endorsed or affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.
Cartridge Bearings
From WikiPedalia
Bearings which are assembled in a modular unit, as opposed to cup-and-cone bearings, which may be disassembled down to the individual bearing balls for service.
Cartridge bearings are the only type of ball bearings used in most industrial products; bicycle technology is the major area where cup-and-cone bearings still survive, but they are in decline even in the bicycle industry. Cartridge bearings are pre-adjusted and generally easier to work with, but on the other hand, cup-and-cone bearings are tolerant of minor misalignment, such as may occur due to flexing of a hub axle or inaccurate machining of a bottom bracket.
| An old-style cup-and-cone bottom bracket. The lock ring wrench is about to loosen the lockring, the pin wrench is engaging two of the holes in the adjustable cup. | 
|
A cartridge bottom bracket. The splined tool is shown above the bottom bracket. The crank would need to be removed to actually use the tool. |
