Ceramic Bearings Vs Steel Bearings Bicycle Wheels

Cracking a race could stop a wheel from turning instantly and no good comes of wheels permanently locking up on a bicycle.

Ceramic bearings vs steel bearings bicycle wheels.

Steel rings and ceramic balls are the gold standard for bicycle wheel bearings. A ceramic bearing is also harder than steel bearings up to 30 which improves durability and they also don t rust so less maintenance should be. The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings. The ceramic balls are often silicon nitride or equivalent.

You choose your adventure we build the bearings to match. Because ceramic races are more brittle than steel. The folks at enduro bearings argue that for bicycles the materials are far more important than abec ratings and that for most applications abec 3 and 5 are appropriate for all things bicycle. So for safety reasons ceramic wheel bearings on bicycles are in fact almost always hybrid design meaning ceramic balls on steel races.

Steel bearings are commodity items that are composed of hardened steel balls and a steel inner and outer race. More durable than high quality steel bearings. They ceramic bearings do run with less friction which offers a significant advantage in industrial applications running at 20 000 rpm. Built specifically for road or off road use.

The advantages of steel are not the only argument against ceramic bearings. Because ceramic bearings are rounder with a smoother surface and more uniform size friction is reduced and that can contribute to a less energy required to turn the cranks or spin the wheels. This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball. A tiny percentage reduction in friction here can equate to a worthwhile power saving but when you re only turning at 300 rpm as you do on a bicycle a small percentage increase in efficiency will make a negligible change to your power output.

Geometrically the contact points inner and outer dimensions and thickness between steel and ceramic bearings is the same so they are interchangeable. How to get the best performance from ceramic bearings ceramic speed.