Ceramic ball bearing

Triathlon Forum
1

Do many on here run ceramic ball bearing in the bottom bracket and the hubs?

2

Yes, many do.

(fuckn transitions.)

3

Do you? Are they worth it?

4

Yes. But there are a few conditions…

I fit about 3-4 sets a week and get really good results with Shimano, FSA and Campag BBs, however:

  • Bottom bracket must be cut and faced just prior to ceramic install otherwise it tends not to work all that well
  • The BB pre-prepared ceramic cups that have the same internal seal (similar internal seal to the Shimano cups) dont work as well (eg. FSA cups), for best results I prefer a ceramic with an undersized ID (Enduro does this) where the crank axel rotates on the bearing itself and not on the internal seal (this is probably the biggest determiner in getting a good result).
  • I prefer to extract Shimano (and some FSA) steel bearings from the cups and install the undersized ID ceramics into the existing cups if they are relatively new (need a proper press and tooling to do this correctly)
  • A good set of ceramic jockey wheels are much smoother than std Shimano
  • Avoid cheap ceramics of no fixed address like the plague
  • The cranks should spin backwards (small chainring, middle of the cassette on the rear) about four or five times or more once completed with only a moderate spin.
  • You should notice a big difference in reduction of drivetrain friction or the ceramic install has not worked.
  • Wheel upgrades will also help but installs are much more difficult to get right and in most cases need a bearing press that will acept a 700c wheel.

I have discussions with people that did their own install/cheap install or are running ceramics with internal seals who say “Ceramics arnt that great”. Its not that ceramics are bad, its that the install process is not well understood. Properly installed ceramics are noticibly awesome and get even better after about 300km. If you dont notice a big difference then something is wrong.

5

Otter or Anyone is the Token Bottom brackets and pulley wheels ok?, or they the cheap ceramic to stay away from?

6

Well I took a trip to my local bike shop and got the wheels and bottom brack done and I am amazed by the difference after doing 150k on them. I am told the wheels take a bit longer to wear in but this is THE SHIT.

7

How much did it cost you to do the BB?