You hypocrite, you have nothing to share either. What is your personal experience with ceramic ball bearings? How do you know i haven't done my own research. Geeze. I hope you pay a lot for them.

I specifically asked in my original post for people with PERSONAL experience with ceramics, not to set a record for posts, but in an attempt to 'weed out' those who take their opinions from someone else and repeat them. As I told another naysayer, if you have no PERSONAL experience, you have nothing of value to share.

My personal experience with ceramic bearings goes well beyond the rather simple and relatively low stress applications you get in a bicycle... their cost to benefit ratio in a cycling application is not worth the expense.

Had you read my posts, you would have known I was asking for people with PERSONAL experience with ceramics. Since you related NO such experience, I can only surmise that you have none. Research is good, but after having done mine, I decided that the only way I would know if ceramics would do what the sellers claimed, was to TRY THEM FOR MYSELF! I have done that in 9 wheelsets, 6 Bottom Brackets, and 8 Rear Derailleurs. That includes both cartridge and loose ball bearing hubs and BB's. My PERSONAL experience has been to experience less friction losses, and greater 'rollout' distance on the same hills that I rolled down before switching to ceramics.

I understand that as "anectdotal' as this may be, I HAVE PERSONAL experience to share. Do you?

Thanks for your input. Have you tried ceramics in a 'bicycling application'? Would like to hear how they work for you.

I can not even guess where you came up with your 'estimate'. FSA claims a 4% friction reduction for their ceramics. I do not know if that is entirely accurate, and YES they sell them, so are inclined to make big claims. Having done my OWN unscientific tests, I estimate 3-5% greater 'rollout', so tend to believe they are close.

Do you have PERSONAL experience with them? Would like to hear how they work for you.

My personal experience is that people invested in expensive bicycle components with documented marginal returns, often exaggerate the actual benefits by searching for personal testimony of other users who were also duped. The phrase "don't believe the hype" comes to mind.

I'm not going to share my personal experience or that of a few others who have bought ceramic BB and hubs, you probably wouldn't like it anyways!

P.S. Post your roll-out test and the standardization method you used to incorporate bearing preload, grease, cup and cone polish, air density, surface temperature, tire psi, aerodynamic drag... i'd be interested to see that you're not full of it.

For the life of me I will never be able to understand the need to ridicule others for having a different opinion or owning something different. I guess we all need to ride black steel bikes with the same bearings and wheels and pedals and ........Oh GOD please wake me up I am getting bored. The beauty of all these toys out there is that, well, they are out there. I like this. You like that. Buy it and enjoy it and don't tell people they are wrong for spending their own money on what makes them happy. No one on earth needs a 200 mph Porsche, but if I had the cash I would get one in a minute and use it for grocery shopping. Get off each others back and let people enjoy what they have.

Argubabblegrubblyubly!!!!!! He screamed while shaking like he was having a seasure.

Take care all, Greg

But don't you think the correct information (ie scientific) should be available for people to make a decision based on facts and not just what some sham wow sales guy is willing to tell you. Shiney new toys are really cool, but I prefer the ones that actually work and for the best bang for the buck. I do agree that everyone should be able to spend their money as they see fit.

Bang for the buck is not always measured by scientific data. That is why I would drive a 200mph Prosche to the grocery store if I could. We all do things that make us feel better, even if it is not the most practical or economical. I absolutely love to get cool stuff for my bike because it excites me and then I make excuses to ride more. If my ceramic BB takes 1 second off my 30 mile ride time then it actually is better than a non ceramic BB. Even if it is only minutely better and probably not measurable. But if I feel better for the 2 hours I spend riding, well, what is that worth? I am an engineer and I know the facts yet I indulge my emotions often. Carbon fiber this, titanium that, and even ceramic whatever. Why? Why not? It feels great. These posts often digress into an pissing contest. It could be titaniun pedals or ceramic bearings of carbon fiber etc, etc. You only go around one time. I am here to enjoy the ride and I hope everyone else is doing the same.

Greg

Ceramic bearings are like your boyfriend or girlfriend that you know you aren't going to marry.
1. It would be cheaper to be single
2. It may be a waste of time but you might get a little benefit.
3. You dont want to go back to your previous ex.
4. This chick/guy looks good so for now it works

...and the sex is great!

You'rs right--we are all stupid clones that have found absolutely NO benefit with ceramics. Our bikes actually have MORE friction loss because of them, and roll shorter distances. It is all a big hoax thought up by the money-grubbing sales people who want to take our money and give us an inferior product in return. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

You won't let it go will you?

No one here is saying ceramic bearing are worse than regular steel bearings. What some of us are saying is that the benefits are very minor at best and their cost isn't justified by the difference.

This thread is sounding more and more like a discussion of Homeopathy.:twitchy:

It has many of the same elements of True Believers vs Cynics doesn't it?

Well, I just had to see how a discussion of ceramic bearings would produce 85 responses.....now I know.

One note on transferring of efficiency from one mode to another. That a bearing has 4% less drag in isolation does not mean you can expect 4% improvement in "rollout," even with all other things being equal. One would have to measure the percentage that wheel bearing drag contributes to that rollout and then multiply that percentage by 4% to get the actual effect. I'm sure everyone would agree that tire/road friction is the lion's share of the effect, and at higher speeds wind resistance would be significant as well. If bearing friction is as high as 10% of a contribution then the overall effect would be .4%.

I would venture that spending the time on one's bike (riding) that was spent on this topic would greatly outstrip that improvement, even without counting the time to replace the standard bearings with ceramic.

:thumb:

I stated overall efficiency. Assuming the bearings themselves were indeed 4% more efficient, the overall gain in rollout would be substantially less.

What was the methodology for the tests you conducted?

I think that you are at fault. The OP sought reports of practical experience and does not have the broken record of minor benefits vs cost pushed down his throat. Whether or not the cost matters depends on the budget one has at hand. Most often I do not care whether a bolt costs 1c or 5c, as long as I just need few bolts. If my budget was a bit higher, the cost of ceramic bearings would marginally enter the consideration whether to use them or not. In any case, in a matter of years the cost of those bearings will likely go down so much that they will be commonplace.

Every time the ceramic bearings are mentioned, they attract individuals capable of repeating just the last thing they heard about them. The majority of better rear derailleurs employs ceramic bearings, possibly even without balls. Is it wrong? Does anybody give a second thought about? Some people replace them with steel and pay for that.

Fact 1: the effect of the resistance of a steel bearing on the forward motion of a bicycle is a fraction of a percent. Steel bearings are already very efficient for a wheel that rotates at maximum a few hundred rpm.
Fact 2: the ceramic bearing can lessen that resistance by 4%

So, we can increase the forward motion of a bicycle by a fraction of a fraction of a percent. This effective increase in speed is probably the same one would get from shaving their legs... probably less so!

steel bearings leave fluidic memory of their surface imperfections in the grease they are packed in which is transferred to the cup and gives the belief of slowing down the bike.

It isn't just about the performance increase or lack thereof for some of us. I was curious about this thread because I wanted to hear practical examples of whether or not the bearings actually lasted longer, especially in regards to water penetration. That takes practical experience and the members posting about cost/benefit don't have anything to add to the conversation, especially when the OP never asked for that information.

So again, If you have used the bearings in a personal bicycle of yours, or even a customers please post your findings, otherwise STFU.

The OP or anyone else posting here has of course the right to ask for whatever he wants, but presumably the goal is to apply the information to a decision. Unfortuately "personal experience" is just another term for anecdotal evidence, and is not terribly useful when it comes to comparing something with a long history of utility to something that in the best of scenarios offers a small amount of additional utility. There are just too many variables to draw any useful conclusions from a few personal experiences.

As for "STFU" if not responding to an OP's exact request - this is a public forum, and although speaking to the issue as requested is polite side discussions and opinions are to be expected.

IMO - they don't last much longer, many BB with ceramic bearings must be serviced just as regularly as normal BB. In fact some ceramics have worn out quicker.

They make great conversation at Starbucks though and every "euro" cyclist has to have them! So since you're not concerned with actual performance differences that might be right up your alley!

I should add stainless steel bearings and water-resistance marine grease are a far, far cheaper option.