Ceramic Vs Steel Bearings Bicycle

Most sealed ceramic bearings are actually hybrid ceramic bearings which combine a steel race with ceramic ball bearings.

Ceramic vs steel bearings bicycle.

Fitting ceramic bearings on your bike may be a bit like fitting a formula one gearbox in your ford fiesta and expecting it to perform as well after 100 000 miles. Geometrically the contact points inner and outer dimensions and thickness between steel and ceramic bearings is the same so they are interchangeable. This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball. The ceramic balls are often silicon nitride or equivalent.

The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings. A tiny percentage reduction in friction here can equate to a worthwhile power saving but when you re only turning at 300 rpm as you do on a bicycle a small percentage increase in efficiency will make a negligible change to your power output. Steel bearings are commodity items that are composed of hardened steel balls and a steel inner and outer race. Cost of purchase for ceramic and steel bearings.

The material can be polished smoother than any metal reducing friction and wear. How to get the best performance from ceramic bearings ceramic speed. The folks at enduro bearings argue that for bicycles the materials are far more important than abec ratings and that for most applications abec 3 and 5 are appropriate for all things bicycle. A ceramic bearing is also harder than steel bearings up to 30 which improves durability and they also don t rust so less maintenance should be required.

Cutting to the chase on ceramic bearings on a bicycle.