Ceramic Bearings Vs Steel Bearings Road Cycling Wheels

This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball.

Ceramic bearings vs steel bearings road cycling wheels. The wheels come ready to ride as a tubeless application out of the box with pre installed rim tape and valves and freehub spacers. Cost of purchase for ceramic and steel bearings. Ceramic bearings are used in industrial machines because they spin at 25 000rpm and there are significant advantages but a bike wheel only spins at say 300rpm so the differences compared to. The ceramic balls are often silicon nitride or equivalent.

Because ceramic races are more brittle than steel. Built specifically for road or off road use. The hubs can be optioned with ceramic kogel bearings on request. So for safety reasons ceramic wheel bearings on bicycles are in fact almost always hybrid design meaning ceramic balls on steel races.

Gone are the days when ceramic bearings were a technology limited to the pro peloton. Steel bearings are commodity items that are composed of hardened steel balls and a steel inner and outer race. More durable than high quality steel bearings. The advantages of steel are not the only argument against ceramic bearings.

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. As more and more of the cycling masses look to advanced technology formerly seen in use only by the pros the question arises of where the hard earned money of the average cyclist should be spent. Steel rings and ceramic balls are the gold standard for bicycle wheel bearings. 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.

The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings. Quite a few wheel manufacturers state that the use of aftermarket bearings in their wheels voids the warranty. What technologies will get them the largest gains for their money. Because ceramic bearings are rounder with a smoother surface and more uniform size friction is reduced and that can contribute to a less energy required to turn the cranks or spin the wheels.