Dubbayoo

Anyone who's actually used ceramic bearings AND is convinced they are a worthwhile upgrade? I'm mostly concerned with hub bearings and/or bottom brackets. A ceramic kit for Mavic Ksyrium Elites is only $75...at that price I figure why not?

Nessism

...or better question, Why?

Dubbayoo

That's pretty much the question being asked in the thread, Einstein.

tomoscotto

nay, requires high maintenance- contrary to what they advertise

531Aussie

From HED:

"There was a measurable drag difference between ceramic bearings and steel bearings when we tested unloaded wheels, but the difference was small enough that we could not measure it on a loaded wheel."

https://www.hedcycling.com/wheels/ceramicbearings.php

ThinLine

I have Token ceramic on my dura ace setup in RD pulleys and crank w/ FSA carbon pro.
Honestly...can't tell a noticeable difference when I switched /changed out.

Also can't tell a difference between my new dura ace pedals with 3 sets of spindel bearings over ultegra.

Marketing hype, which I bought into.

ls01

If you really feel the need to give away $75.00 try a charity.

prendrefeu

Like getting a membership to the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

Dubbayoo - you're in Palos Verdes, right? Support a local organisation that supports all cyclists in LA County (and, really, when it comes down to it, Southern California)

FlashBazbo

Nay. And remember that there are different grades of ceramic bearings. Lots of the stuff that's sold as "gee whiz" bicycle parts is of lower grade than the steel bearings they are replacing.

DrPete 

Yup. Companies like Zipp and FSA, who show the small advantages with ceramic bearings, don't use the cheap stuff. If you want some actual performance advantage, and a small one at that, be ready to pay up.

BHBiker

Are the Token Ceramic/Tiramic Bearings worth it? Or at te very least are they equal to DA BBs?

damocles1

If you need ceramic bearings, go to Superflycycles.com

I put an Enduro ceramic BB in my bike and it's waaay smoother than the Dura-Ace that came out. I've re-lubed the bearings twice in 6800 miles and that was just to tinker with it...it really didn't need lube. They also use a bigger bearing (I.D.) than D/A. The axle of the Shimano crank sits directly against the inside bearing surface, rather the plastic piece in a D/A BB.

The cost was nominal simply because I needed a new BB anyway.

BananaTugger

Here's the deal with Token:

They are on the right track as far as trying to get a full ceramic bottom bracket bearing on the market. The Tiramic coating is a very good idea and it works well. The problem with the Token bottom brackets isn't this coating, it's the bearings themselves. They chew. Hard. If you were to use Token's ceramic coated bearing races with some real ceramic bearings from Enduro or VNC and teflon retainers from Zipp or something, then you would be in freaking business.

Hocam

It takes a big man to admit he spent a lot of money on something completely worthless.

Dubbayoo

I notice Superfly has grade 3 bearings at twice the price of grade 5 bearings. I thought higher grade was better.

https://www.superflycycles.com/servle...ro-Zero/Detail

https://www.superflycycles.com/servle...g-Wheel/Detail

andre nickatina

My stance is always this: if you want an upgrade, buy the best steel bearing setup you can get and then spend the rest of the money you would be spending on ceramic on nicer tires instead.

BananaTugger

For bearing races a higher grade is better.

An ABEC 10 race is manufactured to tighter tolerances than an ABEC 5 race.

Bearing grades are measured by the bearing's roundness. Lower is better, as that would indicate that the bearing is rounder.

A Grade 300 bearing is round to within 300/1000000 of an inch. A Grade 5 bearing is round to within 5/1000000 of an inch. Rounder is smoother and faster.

ehidle

incorrect

I haven't touched my BB or my wheel bearings since installing ceramics in them, 10,000 miles ago.

fordfasterr

Ceramic BB with DA Cranks, much smoother spinning than the DA BB.


=)

I got mine from the site sponsor link on the right: https://www.velocarbon.com/

DrPete 

That doesn't mean you shouldn't have. It's kinda like when you wear out your chain. It's not like one day you all of a sudden notice this huge decrement in performance--you might notice some sloppiness, start thinking about your chain, and realize it's been 5000 miles.

BB's, on the other hand... barring some major catastrophe, if you don't look, you're not likely to discover a problem, like the gunk buildup that's scratching the inner surfaces, or the friction that's slowly building up because it hasn't been cleaned.

Dubbayoo

Thanks for the clarification.

I swapped my Ksyrium Elite bearings with the ceramic ones. I could see the freewheel body bearing but couldn't figure out how to get to it. There's no doubt they spin longer unweighted, that's for sure. I won't have an outside ride til Saturday but hopefully something will feel better.

If this goes decently I'll replace the bearings in my Zipp 404's which were laced to Ultegra hubs. I wish I could lace a Powertap hub to a Ksyrium. I really like these wheels.

kleng

I also wasted my cash on loose ceramic bearings for durace hubs , ceramic BB and pulley wheels