HillRider: Thanks again. Just for grins, check out Williams cycling website. I bought a set of 19's from them, and when I was considering switching to ceramics, looked at their spec's, and found that they are stock in their wheels. I emailed Keith to get his take on reasons to use them for OEM, and will pass along whatever he has to say.

Thanks for this thread. I don't (yet) have experience with ceramics, but am very curious to try them on my next project build.

I'm learning by following. Thank you.

I have never had an issue with my ceramics going bad? I even had a sram red bottom bracket in a caad9 which they say couldnt be done (or shouldnt be done). No issues with my token ceramics in my rear derauiller. No issues with my zipps (only have 800 miles on them though). My new sl3 is equipped with easton and sram ceramics

indybiker01: Thanks for the input. I have put ceramics in an external BB for my tourer, and fully expect them to outlast me! BTW, when I was considering a wheelset for my tourer, I was looking at ones with cartridge bearings, so I could switch them to ceramic. When I contacted the vendor to inquire about their bearing numbers for that switch, they told me they did not recommend ceramics! I did it anyway, and they are FINE!

LeicaLad: Welcome to THIS ceramic thread. Tried any loose ball conversions yet?

Bravo, I applaud your use of the opinions of others; why would you actually formulate your own when you can just believe something you have never tried for yourself!

Mike

Ladies and gentlemen. What we have here, is a True Believer (tm)! It doesn't matter what the engineering books and the data tell us. Look! It spins on and on, totally unloaded, never mind that it is not used under this condition. That shows that it's THE BEST!

:rolleyes:

Seriously, a good and easy way to see how little power bearings use up is to feel the bearings after what you believe to be a hard ride. With that, I mean cranking up 8% grades for a good 30 minutes (easy to do around northern CA). All that power has to go somewhere and it usually ends up as heat. So feel your bearings after this extreme effort. Notice it is not the slightest bit warm, despite being tiny and thus having very little heat capacity? Yup, what you just verified is that bearings do not consume appreciable amounts of power when they're in good condition, steel or otherwise. I will even wager a good pint that the power consumption difference between a decent steel bearing and the top-of-the-line-all-ceramic bearing is undetectable (i.e., statistically insignificant) using any sort of powertap/SRM/Whathaveyou. The best of these devices are good to +/- 1.0 or 1.5% BTW.

So, really, if you guys have the cash to burn, go ahead and knock yourselves out. It's your money and I couldn't care less on whether you spend it on booze, women (or men), or ceramic bearings. But to lambast posters who try to engage in an objective word to counter your self-congratulatory fantasies is really quite something else entirely.

enough about bearings.....
we can all agree that when placed on trucks this increases the redneckedness......hands down!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=161928
If you want to save some grams you can always go with the classic red instead of the golden brass
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=161929

Mr. Fly: Thanks for the input-I think. Have you had PERSONAL experience? Please share THAT with us.

Good Morning all: I received an email back from Keith Williams, President of Williams Cycling. Here it is:








President
Williams Cycling
www.williamscycling.com

indybiker01: Nice? touch.

Not yet. I have a complete bikes worth of parts, incuding a nice OMAS BB that is crying for those hybrid bearings you sent me to find. Now I just need to find a nice frame to put them on!

I'm a bit chicken to try the loose ball conversions on the two riding bikes I currently have. Both have 1971 original cups on them, and I think I'll stick to vintage until I am ready to change the entire BB to sealed units. I don't trust that I wouldn't slightly over tighten and destroy the races.

Great thread. Thanks.

Really? It's not because their sponsors give them to them, in the hopes that someone who has to shell out cash will buy them? Who ever would have guessed?

Oh wow a person looking for a bunch of anecdotes and personal testimony to verify the worth of a product - this can't go wrong.

Not at all. What do you expect the man who sells these things to say? Of course he's going to claim all sorts of benefits, it's in his financial interest to do so.

In spite of my beat efforts to have a thread for those with PERSONAL experience with ceramics--good or bad, it seems that the naysayers either can not read, or can not resist posting their unsolicited negative comments, even though they have no PERSONAL experience with ceramics. I understand that in this annonymous age of the internet, people feel entitled to spew their venom on others, knowing there are no consequences for their actions. I had HOPED that BF was not that way, but sadly, it seems that those who are either too rude to withold their abuse, or just do not care that their input is NOT welcome, continue with their flaming comments.

Since I am SURE none of these posters will feel that they should apologize for their tripe, I will apologize to those who shared their PERSONAL experience with me and others, for not realizing that it might prove imposible to have such a shared thread, without malice from those who were NOT invited.:rolleyes:

Why yes, I do have personal experiences with ceramic bearings -- they're not worth their asking price.

If they were a tad more expensive than good quality steel bearings (+10 or 20%?), I would consider them for their ability to run without lubrication and without corrosion (yes, I have the full ceramics, not the hybrids). But at their current asking prices, they're really only for people who are looking to squeeze that last half-second out of a 40k TT, after having optimized themselves physically and mentally.

Good thing I got mine FOC; otherwise, I'll be feeling pretty annoyed and stupid for spending all that money for...zero gain.

Mr. Fly: Thanks for the input. I agree that full ceramics are cost prohibitive.

Sometimes, but fortunately not often, I work with guys that routinely spend over $1k per pair of shoes. Don't ask what their suits cost.

A set of these bearings are pricey, but compared to many toys upon which boys waste money, these aren't that expensive. Even the full ceramic, while indeed pricey, pale in comparison to many other indulgences offered up as hobbies. I think, within reason, these experiments are simply fun. Let's see how well this works...

I ride for the sheer enjoyment of it. Occasionally, I do it to get somewhere. This stuff counts as play.

I don't yet have experience with ceramic bearings, but I intend to.

Cheers!

LeicaLad: +1 on the play aspect of it!

If I feel guilt, I just ask the family to provide me with the item as a gift for Christmas or birthday. Instead of some junk, I then get a nice pair of ceramic bearings, or something in that venue, and everybody is happy :).

No arguments that ceramics are smoother but the overall contribution to a bike's efficiency would be negligible. Likely closer to .00000000000003% than 3%.

You're not getting many "personal experience" replys because very few people can justify the cost to benefit ratio associated with them.
I personally would rather stimulate the economy with other purchases.

Gee, that wasn't hypocritical. What consequence is there to somebody coming on here and telling you a bunch of anecdotal hogwash regarding ceramic bearings? At least some of these people here are being straight with you unlike that salesman.

Ceramic bearings have some advantages over most steel bearings but most of these advantage have nothing to do with decreased friction and most of the people who need that extra 1% performance increase have sponsors.

They handle high temperatures better but this does not apply to bicycles.

They do not corrode and can use less lubricant which is a plus and do have a longer working life.

They are negligibly lighter.

Downside is much higher cost and things like corrosion resistance and working life can be increased greatly by using well sealed steel cartridge bearings.

Unlike you and some of the other naysayers, I did my own research before trying ceramics for MYSELF. If you had bothered to read my post, you would have found that out. Lacking PERSONAL experience with them, you really have nothing of value to share.