Do Ceramic Bearings Make A Difference

It is required to prevent bearing seizure when it warms up and expands.

Do ceramic bearings make a difference.

For example while full ceramic bearings do not require lubrication hybrid bearings do. Cost of purchase for ceramic and steel bearings. On ceramic bearings this is usually a c3 clearance whilst on steel it s usually cn. 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.

The bearing clearance is a measurement given to the small gap between the inner race outer race and balls. However while the ceramic balls will still abrade the steel rings hybrids will cope with marginal lubrication better than steel. If only high quality ceramic bearings are used marginal gains will. Despite the small difference in design hybrid bearings requirements differ quite extensively from full ceramic bearings.

Replacing them with low quality ceramic bearings doesn t make sense as they will very soon be worse than the original ones. This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball. The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings. If a cyclist has ridden a bike fitted with ceramic bearings and then returns to steel bearings it is likely that slightly more vibration will become noticeable.

The only real big noticeable difference between the two is the bearing clearance. Rolling resistance is the key trump card promoted by ceramic bearing fans.