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No matter where you look, whether in bike magazines or websites these days, it is impossible not to see all the ads for ceramic bearings. It made us wonder whether they are all hype or real speed.

When we got our bearings from Ceramic Speed there was an oversized metal bearing as well as an oversized ceramic bearing for comparison’s sake. After just a few seconds the difference was completely obvious. Not only was the ceramic bearing noticeable lighter, but it just felt substantially smoother.

What we received from Ceramic Speed was a bottom bracket, wheel bearings, and pulleys. Once we were able to have them installed on the Bicycle.net road bike the difference was immediate.

To start, we spun the wheels and they just kept spinning and spinning. It was impressive how smooth the bearings were. Once we took the bike on the road and got in some rides we got the feeling like the bike just wanted to keep accelerating. There was an obvious reduction in overall friction giving the rider that added boost of speed.

In the end we are sold at Bicycle.net on the improvement Ceramic Speed bearings will make in the bike’s overall performance. We contacted Ceramic Speed for more details on our perceived improvement and they claim that the power savings is up to 10-12 watts, depending on the bike setup and that their riders claim they can save between 2 and 5 heart rate beats per minute.

Ceramic Speed has created a top-of-the-line ceramic bearing line that has superior quality that delivers impressive results. No hype here, just real speed.

BENEFITS:

1. Very low friction. The friction in a typical bearing with silicon nitride balls and steel rings is about 10 % less than in an all steel configuration.
2. Cup and cone system. In hubs without cage/retainer the friction will be reduced. The superior surface on the silicon nitride balls generates less friction than the original steel balls.
3. Extremely wear resistant because of the hardness. The ceramic material is much harder than the hardest of bearing steels.
4. Weight reduction. Silicon nitride is 60% lighter than steel. This gives less material to accelerate when the speed changes and thus results in a quicker response of the bicycle.
5. Safe operation even when using low amounts lubricant. This gives greater possibility to reduce the friction coming from lubricant viscous drag.
6. No risk of seizure. The seizure risk is absolutely minimal. The silicon nitride will not micro-weld to the steel.
7. Tolerant to dirt and dust. Although bearings work best in clean environments the ceramic balls help the bearing to survive also under less pure conditions.
8. Resistant towards corrosion. The ceramic balls will maintain their superior finish and integrity over prolonged times of usage.
9. Together with special seals and lubrication the friction in ceramic bearings can be some 20-30 times lower than steel bearings with standard friction seals and standard lubrication.
10. Increased stiffness. Higher stiffness from the silicon nitride balls will increase stiffness in the bottom bracket and hubs.
11. Long lifetime. Under similar conditions the hybrid/ceramic bearings will last approximately 5 times longer but CeramicSpeed has experienced up to 20 times longer lifetime.