Ceramic Vs Steel Bearings Bicycle

The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings.

Ceramic vs steel bearings bicycle.

On a bicycle which is considered a low speed application compared to a formula 1 car or motorcycle engine for example the ball bearing material itself steel or ceramic has little to no effect on the friction of the bearing assembly. Steel bearings the silicon nitride used in kogel ceramic bearing balls has a set of material properties making them perfect for bicycle wheel bearings. 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. This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball.

Most sealed ceramic bearings are actually hybrid ceramic bearings which combine a steel race with ceramic ball bearings. The material can be polished smoother than any metal reducing friction and wear. Geometrically the contact points inner and outer dimensions and thickness between steel and ceramic bearings is the same so they are interchangeable. Fitting ceramic bearings on your bike may be a bit like fitting a formula one gearbox in your ford fiesta and expecting it to perform as well after 100 000 miles.

How to get the best performance from ceramic bearings ceramic speed. The ceramic balls are often silicon nitride or equivalent. Cutting to the chase on ceramic bearings on a bicycle. Steel bearings are commodity items that are composed of hardened steel balls and a steel inner and outer race.

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.