Road Cycling - Improved Mega Exo BB from FSA?

http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Ceramic+Mega+EXO+Bottom+Bracket&vendorCode=FSA&major=1&minor=6

I have to admit that sounds interesting. I didn't know about this till now and a search of the forum came up negative when I typed in "Ceramic Mega Exo".

http://www.excelsports.com/image200/Full%20Speed%20Ahead%20Ceramic%20Mega%20EXO%20Bottom%20Bracket.jpg

it costs more than a whole ultegra crankset and BB...

it costs more than a whole ultegra crankset and BB...



Yeah, but it's RED, and it's really expensive. So, it must make the bike go at least 5mph faster. ;)

Doesn't it say it makes the bike go faster? And supposedly the bearings last longer too. Haha, I thought the regular ones were supposed to be bulletproof?

See here Patriot



Full Speed Ahead has been testing ceramic bearings with our teams for the past two years. The results are great--teams and riders are convinced. Testing shows ceramic bearings can increase speed up to 4% or translate into 20 to 40 meters further traveled per kilometer. Ceramic bearings also last longer, perhaps 5-10 times more.

# Bottom Bracket FeaturesOversize Ceramic Cartridge Bearings
# Forged and CNC machined external cups
# Alloy center sleeve w/ double o-ring seals
# English threading - 68 width (1.37mm x 24T)
# 2 year warranty
# 130 grams

Features of Ceramic bearings
# 60% lighter than steel
# 2 1/2 times harder than steel
# Higher tolerance
# Less heat development
# Less vibration



But the Red color will be the equivalent of having a Chris kind headset essentially. When you pay that kind of money you need the bling quotient. Being able to point to that red color is money.

Testing shows ceramic bearings can increase speed up to 4% or translate into 20 to 40 meters further traveled per kilometer

let's think about this ******** statement for a while......
i don't know if I like the idea of 1.02 kilometer kilometers.

I also fail to see how ceramic Bottom bracket bearings would make any appreciable difference.
Ceramic hub bearings yes, but BB bearings?????

As expensive as this is I'm liking it from a purely theorectical bling-at-no costs standpoint.

I'm not so sure swapping out a perfecting good Mega Exo would be high yield, but something like this might be pretty cool if buying from scratch especially if you got a deal somewhere.

I assume this will work with Shimano cranks? How much does regular Shimano or FSA external bearing BB weigh? This one is only 130 grams.

it costs more than a whole ultegra crankset and BB...


no it doesn't... and doesn't phil wood make a $300 or $400 bb?

it costs more than a whole ultegra crankset and BB...
Huh? Ultegra Crank runs $200-$260 wo BB. :rolleyes:

Huh? Ultegra Crank runs $200-$260 wo BB. :rolleyes:

with BB, $164 + 24 shipping from a well known seller

http://cgi.ebay.com/06-SHIMANO-Ultegra-FC-6600-172-5mm-Crankset-68-70mm_W0QQitemZ7233075175QQcategoryZ56195QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

with BB, $164 + 24 shipping from a well known seller

http://cgi.ebay.com/06-SHIMANO-Ultegra-FC-6600-172-5mm-Crankset-68-70mm_W0QQitemZ7233075175QQcategoryZ56195QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Ok so that is $1 less than retail on the BB

Here you go, if you are the only bidder you can get the BB for $114 plus $8 to ship http://cgi.ebay.com/NIB-FSA-K-Force-MegaExo-Ceramic-Bottom-Bracket_W0QQitemZ7233058116QQcategoryZ56195QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Tyler Hamilton believes in ceramic bearings:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2005/tech/shows/interbike05/?id=interbike0513/Hamilton

He needs dope and special bearings to win.

There was a nice thread on ceramic bearings a while back, but the server is all ****ed up and I can't search for it.

Ok so that is $1 less than retail on the BB

Here you go, if you are the only bidder you can get the BB for $114 plus $8 to ship http://cgi.ebay.com/NIB-FSA-K-Force-MegaExo-Ceramic-Bottom-Bracket_W0QQitemZ7233058116QQcategoryZ56195QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


At that price its interesting.

And Dxchulo I think this gear is pretty cool.

I think it's pretty cool too. 1 second per km is a big difference. A lot of guys obsess over things that will never make that kind of difference.

I said it in the last thread: the reason nobody seems to care is because other people can't see your bearings. It's all about bling to most people in the end, and that's pretty sad.

It's all about bling to most people in the end, and that's pretty sad.

Yes I agree most people in this forum are pretty sad. Shame on the OCP for not wanting this part just because it can't be seen. But we all know the OCP is all show and no go;)

The weight savings is nice and I have heard at the Serotta forum apparently this new bearing is supposed to reduce drag back down to that of a campy square taper (lol)

Can it be used with an Ultegra 6600 crank or just the FSA mega exo cranks?

I said it in the last thread: the reason nobody seems to care is because other people can't see your bearings.


I don't want anyone to see my bearings.

If folks can see your bearings, your bike is falling apart.

Speaking of BBs....


http://www.campyonly.com/rumors.html

Next years Record cranks look pretty nice. I would like them to offer this on all their models though at least through Centaur if not Veloce.

I think it's pretty cool too. 1 second per km is a big difference. A lot of guys obsess over things that will never make that kind of difference...

+1. Why did you post this 53-11 you trouble maker... now I want one ;) ! Now let's see who can find the best place to buy one... hmmmm...

- RJ

+1. Why did you post this 53-11 you trouble maker... now I want one ;) ! Now let's see who can find the best place to buy one... hmmmm...

- RJ

Yes I am a trouble maker, but I also like the technology.

This part is only $70 more than a regular external BB if you were building from scratch. Not bad.

I wonder if the same performance could be acheived by swapping out the standard Mega Exo BB bearings for these ceramic bearings:

http://www.bocabearings.com/main1.aspx?p=showsearchforpage&type=I&cat=rccrossrefguide&pg=9&mfr=268

... they're the ones 4 items down the list for $67.95? Still you're talking $136 for a set... www.probikeoutlet.com has the FSA for $173.27...

Actually I'd like to see some actual test figures that show the performance gain. It doesn't seem like it would be that big since resistance from the drive train accounts for such a small percentage of total resistance...

- RJ

I wonder if the same performance could be acheived by swapping out the standard Mega Exo BB bearings for these ceramic bearings:

http://www.bocabearings.com/main1.aspx?p=showsearchforpage&type=I&cat=rccrossrefguide&pg=9&mfr=268

... they're the ones 4 items down the list for $67.95? Still you're talking $136 for a set... www.probikeoutlet.com has the FSA for $173.27...

Actually I'd like to see some actual test figures that show the performance gain. It doesn't seem like it would be that big since resistance from the drive train accounts for such a small percentage of total resistance...

- RJ

You can buy a brand new one on ebay for $114 though.

Just get some Zipp Z4's and be done with it. :)

You can buy a brand new one on ebay for $114 though.

That's only if you have the K-Force, and if no one else bids. I've got the SL-K. So far $173 seems to be the cheapest... maybe when more people start carrying it the price will go down. I think I'll check with Boca Bearings though, they seem to carry a pretty good selection of ceramics...

Ceramic bearing technology seems to be a hot item now. It'll be interesting to see how widespread this goes...

- RJ

I thought they all used the same BB with only threading being the difference? Well obviously I'm wrong.

I still have ISIS and octalink.

No I am pretty sure FSA only has one style MegaEXO. Why would they make it different?

No I am pretty sure FSA only has one style MegaEXO. Why would they make it different?

This is what makes me think so:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/index.php?category=348

They list a bottom bracket for SL-K and K-Force, then they list a ceramic one for K-Force only that looks like the one on ebay, which also only lists it for K-Force. I'm not sure... probably best to confirm it with FSA...

- RJ

This is what makes me think so:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/index.php?category=348

They list a bottom bracket for SL-K and K-Force, then they list a ceramic one for K-Force only that looks like the one on ebay, which also only lists it for K-Force. I'm not sure... probably best to confirm it with FSA...

- RJ
Yes very odd. FSA's web site shows 2 MegaEXO BBs in the road line, the standard MegaEXO and the ceramic version. AEBike shows 7 total SKUs 6 of which all have the same price point and then the ceramic version. Several of those are for their MTB cranks though...of the road versions this one (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=CR4596) seems to be for the SLK and the K Force, while this one (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=CR4597) states it is for the Gossamer crank. Of course they have different SKUs for English and Italian as well. No reason for the ceramic version to not work with SLK or K Force....or Gossamer really for that matter...I would think the only difference in reality is the annodization.

Also I just clicked on the AEBike link for the Ceramic version (which they sell for $161.49 for those looking for a deal) and they state it will work on the Shimano Hollowtech 2 systems as well. And they only have the Italian threaded version listed. http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=CR3811

I don't want anyone to see my bearings.

So bear with me; you don't want anyone to get a bearing on your bearings.

No problem, I'll still support your fight to arm bears.

So bear with me; you don't want anyone to get a bearing on your bearings.

No problem, I'll still support your fight to arm bears.

..and bear arms.