Hey y'all. I was thinking about upgrading the BBs in my race bikes. I'm using basic Shimano RS501's presently, I believe. But I'm wondering if there's any real difference in performance compared with the more expensive BBs. As a comparison, the old caged bearing headset in one of my bikes works just as well as the fancy Cane Creek headset on my TT bike. Just wondering if it's worth the BB upgrade.

Smoother bearings especially on the ceramic side can spin a bit more easily. I have an older Wheels MFG Ceramic B.B. on my road bike and I cannot say it is so much faster because that is the only B.B. that bike has ever had but it certainly isn't slow. Certainly my business partners ceramic hubs are faster they certainly spin with ease. You may or may not notice but less resistance is better.

I've read that higher end/priced bottom brackets save 1 to 3 watts. That's compared to standard external bottom brackets.

So...yeah. Enjoy the increased speed and decreased effort.

I have a Wheels Manufacturing BB, not ceramic, in my CheckPoint, it a nice setup, but not real expensive. If you ride in a lot of wet weather, I would consider something that will handle that better, but lately, I've just decided the basic SRAM BB works very well for my needs and they are really reasonable cost, and will be putting one of those in my new frame I am building up. I am still on the fence around the true benefits of Ceramic bearings in bikes

Probably not. If you are looking at ceramic bearings then note that most of the friction is in the seals and not the balls. Power saving is also minimal at the crank speeds and loads on a bicycle. Industrial applications can be spinning at 20,000 rpm under high load. You are spinning at less than 100 rpm and human power is relatively low.

I have one bike with a BBInfinite BB/Shimano HTII crank, one with a Wheels Mfg BB/Shimano HTII crank, one with a FSA BB/FSA crank and multiple with the old school square taper design. The BBInfinite piece is the middle CeramiTech option and the Wheels MFG piece is standard bearings. The Wheels BB spins easier than the standard square taper units but the BBinfinite piece is so much easier than the Wheels piece. Is the BBInfinite overkill for me? Yes but it sure is smooth and easy. I'm waiting for better weather to fully assess the Wheels piece.

Are you a second away from wearing the Rainbow Jersey?

If not, then no.

I saw that I can get a Dura Ace BB for about $30. That's not too pricey, but I'm not too sure if it's worth the effort for my main bike, which has a BBR60 installed. I probably would otherwise avoid the $100+ BB's. That would be a waste for my abilities.

If your current BB is not grinding, crunching or creaking then I would just ride. If it is worn out then the $30 DA BB would be just fine for any ability.

Thanks. I think the one I have on is also a Ultegra level BB. So it's fine. My TT bike on the other hand has a RS501, which I believe is an entry level BB (correct me if I'm wrong.) So it may be worth the upgrade to a DA since I do race that bike.

Ultegra and Dura Ace HT2 BBs use smaller balls and there are more of them. Also, the higher level BB weighs a handful of grams less.

^ this is based on some bottom brackets I broke apart 4 or 5 years ago. They seem, the same for seal quality...just a cartridge bearing and a shield sitting over the bearing. Grease it all up and ride.
Spending $30 for a BB that is 'for racing' seems ineffective if the current one is smooth, but whatever I guess.

I would only “upgrade” it when the old one is worn out and/or creaking. It will not affect your race performance in any meaningful way. Don’t overthink this one, it’s really insignificant.

Thanks. That's what I thought. All my BBs are working fine!

Yeah, I agree. Everyone knows that the real speed comes from a better headset.

LOL!!! I think that really expensive headsets have to be the biggest waste of money. I mentioned earlier that I have old school caged bearings in one of my bikes headset. Worked beautifully!

When I was running Shimano, I typically used the DA version BB, the cost difference from the one below was so minor, but it felt so much smoother. Now if I find myself continually being bombed in the rain like they have in England, or Portland, I would probably invest in the Enduro XD15's, but I don't so I won't.