Originally Posted by
bpcyclist
I am certainly no guru, but this must be somewhat controversial because, at least one major mfr. has gone back to steel from ceramic because they believe the difference is so minor as to be inconsequential. Also, something to do with ceramic bearings and grease is apparently a headache to maintain. I don't know. Not an expert, but just reading about this, it does seem there is not a consensus. Reminds me a bit of the oval chainring discussion. And the company pushing hardest for ceramic also happens to be a pretty expensive purveyor of ceramic products. I suppose I would be willing to try out some new jockey wheels, but I am not going to go spend $1000 on a fancy new BB plus oversized pulleys if there is not a clear scientific benefit and especially if it will make my shifting worse. As a retired researcher, I really, really wish there was more actual science around some of these products to help us better make decisions. It's mostly marketing. Oh well.
Well, there is!
Start here:
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/frict...in-efficiency/
Jason Smith started friction-facts.com as described above. However my guess is that the business plan didn't quite work out. The website was sold to folks who turned it into an Amazon affiliate. Check it out,
friction-facts.com
The data and etc. he sold to ceramicspeed.com. Smith used to sell his reports for $5/ea. and probably didn't have that many buyers. HOWEVER, ceramicspeed seem to be good guys, and some of Smith's reports are now available for free on their website, some as PDFs, see:
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/en/cycl...-data-reports/
As you will see, these claims of super speed from ceramic bearings are, as suspected. BS. Most probably new clean components will have less friction than worn dirty ones. So change your jockey wheels from time to times, select ones with ball bearings, and keep your chain clean and lubed. Looks like I could save a watt by going from Finish Line Ceramic to Rock n' Roll Gold. ChainL wasn't as good as my Ceramic. Click the link and learn.