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Should you buy ceramic bearings? Expert opinions polled

Ceramic bearings are said to offer reduced friction, lower weight and improved longevity. But are they worth the expense?

[This article was originally published November, 2015 and updated November, 2019]

Despite the latest advances in road bike design and technology, your bicycle still relies on the humble ball bearing to ensure it all runs smoothly. There are bearings in the wheel hubs, the headset, bottom bracket, pedals and jockey wheels, and they're commonly made from steel. There has been a lot of hype about ceramic bearings in recent years and many people claim they offer a performance upgrade. But what are ceramic bearings and what are the pros and cons?

While regular bearings are made from stainless steel, ceramic bearings are made from ceramic silicon nitride (Si2N4). Rolling resistance is the key trump card promoted by ceramic bearing fans. 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. 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 required. 

Most sealed ceramic bearings are actually hybrid ceramic bearings, which combine a steel race with ceramic ball bearings. Full ceramic bearings use ceramic races, which can be lighter and provide the lowest friction, but come at a durability cost. Unsealed ceramic bearings can be used to upgrade components that don’t use cartridge type bearings, like cup and cone hubs.

ceramicspeed bearings1.jpg

It’s in the professional peloton, a place obsessed with marginal gains, that ceramic bearings have become popular in the past couple of years. And naturally, where pros lead, amateur racers and sportive cyclists follow, keen to take advantage. Should you be following in the footsteps of the pro racers then, and upgrading your bike with ceramic bearings?

CeramicSpeed is a Danish company, founded in 2007, that specialises in supplying high-quality ceramic bearings to the cycling industry, and is a favourite of many professional cycling teams - you don’t have to look far to spot the telltale company sticker on any frame or hub fitted with the bearings. It’s seen a massive shift in the last two years with more customers keen to take up the ceramic advantage. The advantage, according to the company, is a saving of up to 9 watts with CeramicSpeed bearings in the hubs, jockey wheels and bottom brackets compared to a set of standard bearings

“The main advantages with CeramicSpeed bearings over regular bearings are two-fold,” explains CeramicSpeed Managing Director Martin Banke. “Longevity of a well-built high-quality ceramic bearing, in many cases, can be up to 10 times longer than commonly used stock bearings. The 'rule of thumb', as we like to call it when built well, and of high-quality materials, a ceramic bearing should always be able to outlast and outperform a steel bearing.

“The second advantage of ceramic bearings over stock steel bearings is their performance under load in reducing drag. Performance cyclists are performance driven and all data shows that the best performing bearings for reducing drag are ceramic bearings.”

ceramicspeed bearings2.jpg

That, in theory, should mean less energy is required to turn the wheels or cranks. Add the lower weight and improved durability, and why wouldn’t you run ceramic bearings? But are all ceramic bearings the same? Of course not, CeramicSpeed is keen to point out that not all ceramic bearings are made equal, and it tells us that a ceramic bearing built poorly with low-quality materials will deliver very poor longevity.

“A lot of bearings can spin well in the hand but that by itself is not enough,” says Banke. “It is really about the performance of a bearing under load, both drag reducing performance and lifetime performance. We are now starting to see a 'shift in the seas', a common understanding that ceramic does last and is very advantageous if of a high enough quality.”

When the benefits sound that good, you’d think all component manufacturers would be embracing ceramic bearings, right? Highly regarded British component manufacturer Hope Technology reckons the efficiency savings are simply too negligible to make them worth the increase in cost.

“We have looked at ceramic bearings in the past and talked them over with our bearing suppliers,” explains Hope’s Alan Weatherill. “They do run with less friction, which offers a significant advantage in industrial applications running at 20,000 rpm. 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. Certainly not worth the significant increase in cost."

Paul Lew 1.jpg

Leading industry wheel dynamics expert and CEO of Edco Wheels , Paul Lew, backs this up and reckons it makes ceramic bearings a poor choice for hubs and headsets, also adding that they offer no weight savings and are only beneficial in environments where high rpm (revolutions per minute) are required.

“For bottom bracket applications, the maximum sustained rpm may be 130,” explains Lew.  “For wheel hub applications, the maximum rpm may be 500 – 600 revolutions per kilometer (depends on wheel/tyre diameter). The maximum rpm values in cycling are far below the typical ideal rating for ceramic bearings which is 10,000 rpm+.”

It’s clear that Alan and Paul agree that the factors that make a ceramic bearing well-suited to industrial and medical equipment applications, and high-altitude operating drone motors (Paul does a lot of work designing drones) where the rpm is high, the load is low and the operating conditions are clean, are factors that mean they’re not suited to cycling.

“Ceramic bearings are beneficial in environments not requiring grease lubrication,” says Lew.  But a bicycle is expected to cope with a vast range of conditions, rain and dirt, and where maintenance schedules may be less than optimal, and the last thing you want is to ride bearings without grease. It’s this requirement to cope with the conditions common to cyclists that offset the promised lower rolling resistance of a ceramic bearing, according to Paul Lew.

“The rolling resistance of a ceramic bearing compared to an ABEC 3, 5 or 7 steel ball bearing is offset by the resistance of the grease,” he says.  “In order for a ceramic ball bearing to out-perform a steel ball bearing, grease is not an option. Does this mean I should run my ceramic ball bearings dry or with light oil? Yes, but you won’t like the result in an environment where the bearings can become contaminated.  If you run your bearings dry they will feel gritty and rough.”

bearings headset.jpg

Hope’s Alan Weatherill concurs with Paul Lew’s conclusion that ceramic bearings are not suited to the demands of cycling and says their suitability to industrial machinery doesn’t necessarily provide the performance benefit for cyclists that many people and companies claim they do.

“Another issue with using them [ceramic bearings] on bicycles is their hardness,” says Weatherill. “While this again is an advantage in many industrial applications, it's a major drawback on bikes. The shocks from hitting potholes and other road blemishes impact the hard ceramic balls into the softer steel races commonly used. This dent in the race is then felt when the bearing is rotated, giving you rough bearings.”

The less polite stance

Weatherilll and Lew are measured in their scepticism about the overall benefits of ceramic bearings. Rather more forthright is Sachin Hambini of Hambini Engineering. An aerospace engineer who has built up a cult following for his scathing criticism of the quality of manufacturing in the bike industry, especially where press-fit bottom brackets are concerned.

Here's what he has to say about ceramic bearings. Warning: adult language.

How much?

Then there is the fact that ceramic bearings aren’t cheap. CeramicSpeed’s BSA Road external bottom bracket for threaded frames costs £298. A Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 bottom bracket cost £39.99, much less if you shop around. A CeramicSpeed bearing upgrade kit for Campagnolo and Fulcrum wheels will set you back £120, and Zipp charges £194 for a CeramicSpeed bearing kit for its wheels. That makes upgrading to ceramic bearings a serious investment, fine for a professional cycling team, less so for a privateer racer.

obb_gxp_mixed_800.jpg

The premium for ceramic bearings is high then, and their advantages, while looking promising in an ideal world, appear to stack up much less in the demanding environment that a bicycle is expected to perform and survive in.  So should you choose ceramic bearings? We’ll let Paul Lew have the last word.

“Although the re-selling markup/ margin for ceramic bearings is significant for manufacturers such as Reynolds, and they could represent a profit-center for the brand, we choose not to offer them because they don’t improve performance, and they represent a consumer cost that we can’t justify, and that’s contrary to our value system," he concludes.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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80 comments

Avatar
Stratman replied to Bob Smythe | 6 years ago
1 like

Bob Smythe wrote:

macrophotofly wrote:

Bought some Ceramic bearings for my BB from one of the main competitors to Ceramic Speed (similar major cost). Initially impressed with them dry (straight out the box in my hand) but by the time the supplied grease was added and the seals were on there was no difference to the old quality steel bearings.

I certainly didn't see my watt output increase. I have two bikes with identical drive trains apart from the ceramic bearings and swapping between them provides no measurable difference on an indoor trainer with power measurement (Kickr).

I would say save your money and spend some of it on quality steel bearings. Get ones with the highest ABEC rating - it doesn't guarantee the material quality only the roundness, but at least it is something

 

I think you're a bit confused there, because nothing you do to your bike whether aero, ceramic, carbon, lower rolling resistance tyres or any other upgrade, will affect your power. Your power meter or your trainer is only measuring the effort you yourself are making. 

So if you're riding at say 200w, on your commuting bike with a rusty chain and half flat tyres and your powermeter says 200w, and you're doing say 15mph, and then you put your carbon super dooper wheels on that same bike with ceramic bearings and race tyres , and ride at the same 200w, you should notice some SPEED improvement at the same given power output -maybe you can see 20mph on your speedo. So the fast stuff you added allowed you to reduce drag/friction/weight or whatever and therefor go a bit quicker, it didn't affect in any way your fitness/strength/power output in watts

Thats the result of this formula : SPEED= sum(expensiveness+looks)x weight savings= total awesomeness.

 

To be fair, he did say that it was measured by a kickr, so it's after drivetrain losses, which would be affected by bb and jockey wheel friction

Avatar
adam900710 | 8 years ago
2 likes

Quote:

ceramic bearings are made from ceramic silicon nitride (Si2N4)

 

The correct one is Si3N4.....

Avatar
Morat | 8 years ago
3 likes

So... steel bearings are probably better. Hmm. Can you get the sticker on its own?  1

Avatar
hsiaolc | 8 years ago
0 likes

What about titanium beerings?  

 

 

Avatar
BBB | 8 years ago
0 likes

So... apart from the typical "up to .... watts savings" (in the extreme scenario) marketing bs, are they any INDEPENDENT studies proving the claimed benefits for a typical non-competing rider? 

 

 

 

 

Avatar
madcarew replied to BBB | 6 years ago
1 like

BBB wrote:

So... apart from the typical "up to .... watts savings" (in the extreme scenario) marketing bs, are they any INDEPENDENT studies proving the claimed benefits for a typical non-competing rider? 

The answer to that is NO.

Is there any independent studies that demonstrate a reduced wattage at cycling speeds on a real bikes

NO.

As said, ceramics are designed for high speed low load. A bit of light oil in a clean race is fine, but at BB speeds the difference is not measurable, and is probably negative after the first bit of rain (& ingress of grit). At wheel speeds it's still not going to be measurable but might be appropriate on a track.

Claims of 10-15 watts ignore the error in the instruments and measuring protocol. Not supportable in any independent test.

Avatar
earth replied to BBB | 5 years ago
0 likes

BBB wrote:

So... apart from the typical "up to .... watts savings" (in the extreme scenario) marketing bs, are they any INDEPENDENT studies proving the claimed benefits for a typical non-competing rider? 

 

 

 

 

 

Friction Facts.

Avatar
Rixter | 8 years ago
4 likes

That was a good blog. I thought very well balanced. Personally I've never had success with ceramic bearings. I couldn't notice a difference when they were running in my hubs, but I certainly noticed they didn't have the longevity I would expect for the price (they were installed as part of the new wheel purchase). Two techs I spoke with at major bike manufacturers said they would recommend staying well away from them in future. 

If I had my own pro mechanic and cost was not a consideration, I would go ceramic. Since I'm not blessed with a mechanic and cost is a factor, its steel for me  3

Avatar
djbambina | 8 years ago
2 likes

interesting that Paul Lew says the extra hard ceramics put dents in steel races... ummm, so do normal steel balls ! if they didn't then they'd break. ( ellisblackman) -Flushing out heavy grease in steel bearings is fine if you are doing a short race on the track like a sprint or kilo, but on the road the hubs get really hot because there is no heat dissaption from grease ( ceramics naturally absorb the heat). i've seen hubs completely disintegrate due to this, with slightly catastrophic results . What i do know is that CeramicSpeed quality ceramics accelerate better, as all of the balls are exactly the same size, as all of them make contact with the races, so the BB is up to 30% stiffer. I believe Lew doesn't offer them because he wants to keep his wheels in a price band - not because they don't make a difference. I've seen SRM and Powertap data that says 10-15 watts difference - same day, same bike, CeramicSpeed bearings.

    

Avatar
earth replied to djbambina | 8 years ago
1 like

djbambina wrote:

interesting that Paul Lew says the extra hard ceramics put dents in steel races... ummm, so do normal steel balls ! if they didn't then they'd break. ( ellisblackman) -Flushing out heavy grease in steel bearings is fine if you are doing a short race on the track like a sprint or kilo, but on the road the hubs get really hot because there is no heat dissaption from grease ( ceramics naturally absorb the heat). i've seen hubs completely disintegrate due to this, with slightly catastrophic results . What i do know is that CeramicSpeed quality ceramics accelerate better, as all of the balls are exactly the same size, as all of them make contact with the races, so the BB is up to 30% stiffer. I believe Lew doesn't offer them because he wants to keep his wheels in a price band - not because they don't make a difference. I've seen SRM and Powertap data that says 10-15 watts difference - same day, same bike, CeramicSpeed bearings.

    

 

I emailed Reynolds Composites about ceramic bearing well before Paul was employeed by them.  Remember he had his own company called Lew I think and he brought the wheel he made to Reynolds and called it the RZR.  When I asked Reynolds about ceramic bearing they said back then that did not think there was any benefit.  The guy I spoke to said sometimes for short races he ran his steel bearings without seals and got the improvement offered by ceramics but without the cost.  I think they just genuinely don't rate them.  If they did they could always offer an option.

Avatar
Ham-planet replied to djbambina | 8 years ago
0 likes

djbambina wrote:

interesting that Paul Lew says the extra hard ceramics put dents in steel races...

I've never seen him espouse such an opinion. Got a link for that?

Avatar
KINGHORN replied to djbambina | 6 years ago
0 likes

djbambina wrote:

interesting that Paul Lew says the extra hard ceramics put dents in steel races... ummm, so do normal steel balls ! if they didn't then they'd break. ( ellisblackman) -Flushing out heavy grease in steel bearings is fine if you are doing a short race on the track like a sprint or kilo, but on the road the hubs get really hot because there is no heat dissaption from grease ( ceramics naturally absorb the heat). i've seen hubs completely disintegrate due to this, with slightly catastrophic results . What i do know is that CeramicSpeed quality ceramics accelerate better, as all of the balls are exactly the same size, as all of them make contact with the races, so the BB is up to 30% stiffer. I believe Lew doesn't offer them because he wants to keep his wheels in a price band - not because they don't make a difference. I've seen SRM and Powertap data that says 10-15 watts difference - same day, same bike, CeramicSpeed bearings.

    

I for one love Ceramspeed BB bearings, definitley spin alot easier, then the fact they have a longer life makes it alot more appealing. I can destroy my shimano press fits in a cpl of months, but these feel as new after 6 months (with a little more labour of course, regreasing).

I wint go for their jockey wheels though, I never have a problem with standard ones and the gains just not worth the cost.

Avatar
Libtardproud replied to KINGHORN | 4 years ago
0 likes

"interesting that Paul Lew says the extra hard ceramics put dents in steel races... ummm, so do normal steel balls ! if they didn't then they'd break. ( ellisblackman) -Flushing out heavy grease in steel bearings is fine if you are doing a short race on the track like a sprint or kilo, but on the road the hubs get really hot because there is no heat dissaption from grease ( ceramics naturally absorb the heat). i've seen hubs completely disintegrate due to this, with slightly catastrophic results . What i do know is that CeramicSpeed quality ceramics accelerate better, as all of the balls are exactly the same size, as all of them make contact with the races, so the BB is up to 30% stiffer. I believe Lew doesn't offer them because he wants to keep his wheels in a price band - not because they don't make a difference. I've seen SRM and Powertap data that says 10-15 watts difference - same day, same bike, CeramicSpeed bearings."

   

Unless you are running seized bearings, no bicycle hub has to deal with the heat ceramics are designed for, i.e. hundreds of degrees. Dry bearings of course are likely to gall and then seize. Even if one could reliably detect the slight theoretical gains from ceramic bearings, one is never going to sense a greater acceleration, period. No BB will magically gain a "30% increase in stiffness", however that would be measured, from the compressive differentials between say a 5/32" steel and ceramic bearing, because that would represent having to compress the steel ones to about 1/2 to 1/4 their normal diameter to generate even a few degrees of deflection, beyond the power producing abilities of a human leg by a factor of some thousands.

I destroyed the races of a Campy Record hub, perfectly greased and set up, in a few hundred miles with Enduro loose bearings, which also failed. This I have never experienced with even thirdhand junker bikes in over fifty years of wrenching, so perhaps grease and steel just are more functional not to mention cost-effective. But, I'm sure your local bike shop loves to see you come in to assuage your power generating insecurities on a regular basis.

Avatar
ellisblackman | 8 years ago
1 like

+1 for ceramic bearings. 

However, I've had noticeable results from cleaning bearings, sticking an airline on them, getting them up to speed and dropping a tad of Shimano Mineral Oil on them.

I then put the outer seals on (leaving the inners off) and press back into place.

With this combo, you get quicker spool up from reduced drag, lower energy needed to push the wheels round and a reasonable amount of sealing for the British roads. 
Obviously, I wouldn't do this on my training wheels but it's certainly worthwhile on your good set & cheaper than a set of ceramics to boot.

Avatar
bobbinogs | 8 years ago
9 likes

I thought that was an excellent article that explained things and tried to keep things balanced without pushing one way or the other.  Cheers.

Avatar
MMinSC | 8 years ago
10 likes

C'mon guys, this isn't BikeRadar...

Avatar
Toro Toro | 8 years ago
5 likes

Road.cc accused of pushing marketing hype by readers.

Road.cc publishes article downplaying marketing hype.

Regular road.cc contributor promptly comments on how this disproves the "conspiracy theory" that road.cc pushes marketing hype.

Hmm.

I dunno, it's not exactly Operation Jade Helm, is it?

 

Avatar
KiwiMike replied to Toro Toro | 8 years ago
4 likes

Toro Toro wrote:

Road.cc accused of pushing marketing hype by readers.

Road.cc publishes article downplaying marketing hype.

Regular road.cc contributor promptly comments on how this disproves the "conspiracy theory" that road.cc pushes marketing hype.

Hmm.

I dunno, it's not exactly Operation Jade Helm, is it?

 

 

HaHa! You fell for the oldest trick in the book (apart from not getting involved in a land war in South-East Asia): Now that you've caught me out, we are free to continue our nefarious plans to have Wiggle buy EVERYONE and do EVERYTHING bike-related in a nifty pastel block print / green anodised finish / 30mm width / disc-braked.

 

[drums fingers] Excellent.

Avatar
KiwiMike | 8 years ago
35 likes

Hey - I thought Road.CC was all about taking advertiser's cash, pushing marketing hype and obligatory 4-star reviews?

 

Damn. We're gonna need a better conspiracy theory.

 

smiley

Avatar
earth replied to KiwiMike | 6 years ago
0 likes

KiwiMike wrote:

Hey - I thought Road.CC was all about taking advertiser's cash, pushing marketing hype and obligatory 4-star reviews?

 

Damn. We're gonna need a better conspiracy theory.

 

smiley

 

I think you have them mixed up with BikeRadar.

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