Hi! Thats the question! I had in my old tri bike ceramic bearings all in the qheels, derrailleur and BB. Now wondering if it gives anything at all or not in order to make a new investment… anything that I had in my old bike worked in the new one ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
As a performance upgrade - no.
If your friends are impressed by such things and you want to tell them what bearings you have - potentially (but I’d rather tell them I’m not buying into silly marketing hype and save my money or spend it elsewhere)
Total waste of ££ or $$ or €€.
I do have stainless steel brgs in wheels and the BB where I’ve been able to - that defo reduces corrosion from water ingress and early failure, living in rainy Britain, especially the MTB.
But ceramic = snake oil IMO unless you’re going to lose an Olympic gold in the pursuit by 0.01 sec.
Nope. They look cool but do nothing performance wise. You’re better off getting some NTS or SKF bearings. They are super good quality and have all the performance, if not better, than ceramic speed for a fraction of the cost.
What are NTS or SKF bearings?
you must get something from a full Ceramicspeed makeover, but its peanuts, barely measurable. But hats off to their marketing dept because everybody seems to want this bike jewellery.
Remember most of the pro’s using these upgrades are only doing so because they are sponsored by CeramicSpeed! Most of the AG’ers using it have more money than sense.
I think the gains are within the error margin, so technically negligible. And they relate only to friction. I wouldn’t be surprised if the net gains, including drag, are negative. But yes, kudos to their marketing!
Upgrading to Ceramic Speed bearings is probably the most marginal of marginal gains. For Tri I think it is kind of hard to justify the cost because the 0.5-2 watts you save over a decent standard bearing and lube is unlikely to make a difference on your overall placing after the run. My guess is that 9 out of 10 “close†finishes are probably more determined by mental toughness (e.g., chasing someone down in the last mile) than a couple second head start after the bike leg.
I would say TTs are different because the margins across the podium are often razor thin and you don’t know where you are relative to your competitors until after the race.
Whatever you decide, just remember that there are probably 20 areas of equipment and clothing choices that are probably a better bang for your buck and should be addressed before spending time and money on fancy bearings.
What are NTS or SKF bearings?
Large, international bearing mfgs. Add NSK to the list. Most bearings in your bike come from these guys. Bearings are built to international standards for sizing and precision (grade), so they are generic commodities. In the US you probably have a bearing distributor nearby (ex. Bearings inc/Motion Industries).
To the OP: you can save a handful of watts at a high cost with ceramic. Is that worth it to you? Really depends on your circumstance (competitiveness, desire to chase marginal gains, liking a tricked out bike, economic means, etc.). They are near the bottom of the W/$, but there are gains to be had. IMO 4W is worth chasing for an AG doing 200W AP for an IM bike; YMMV.
Depends on How much money you have, But ik case ressources arent unlimited, spend your money wiser. For me personally, the look of the oversized jockey wheels would be worth more than the actual performance gain. Wouldnt spend my own money on them, But if someone gave them to me, I’d be happy
Yeah its probably not “worth it” relative to the gains you would get elsewhere for the same (or less cost), but I will say I am very impressed about adding the BB. Very easy to service and maybe since I paid so much for it I actually care about keeping it maintained?
This. The BB is pretty nice. “Worth it†no, but I’ve had one in a bike for 8000 miles without issue. My other bike is around 4-5k and has a different high end BB that isn’t holding up as well.
To be fair it could be a frame problem over a BB problem but I feel good about the ceramic speed purchase.