RidleyRijder

@ranchitup: And most off the time they are much better sealed off, with also less cable rub in places you don't want.

@Xaelber93: I have seen those bearings from the inside yes. I am a bike mechanic/seller. I have personal experience with several brands. Yes some have an extra seal, others don't. Chris King are the best, but pricey. Ritchey suck(and i'm a Ritchey fanboy...), they last 1 ride. Cane Creek is ok for road bikes. FSA is ok for 1 season. I can go on with several brands... A problem we have seen in the shop are those cables that go under the handlebar trough the headset like on this Merida. Water gets in there and forms a pool around the BB area. With road bikes it's less off a problem when the cables go trough the handlebars, spacers and headset. If they go under the bars, water gets in again. We had a bike in the shop not to long ago where we heard a watery noise coming from the BB area. We took the seat post out and turned the frame upside down. More than a litre water came out off the bike. Result was a BB that was complete trash and so was the headset. When the cables go trough the frame we almost never see problems. Shit has gotten a lot worse since they chose to go trough the bearings.

@tacklingdummy: When the headset is open for cables to pass, mud and water will also pass. Headsets will need changing every 6 months to a year when riding in muddy conditions. Bearings don't like mud, water, ... I have a beach racer, and have external cable routing on that bike. Even with the external cable routing I still need to change the headset bearings every year at least. Seawater gets in there and locks everything up. Imagine a half open headset. Bearings would need changing every ride...

We shouldn't patronize women so much. The first rampage for men was actually quite similar to the first rampage for women. If a woman want's to ride Hardline, let her. Anyone remember Missy Giove? She beat half off the men back in the day.