Ceramic Vs Steel Bearings Bikes

Steel bearings the silicon nitride used in kogel ceramic bearing balls has a set of material properties making them perfect for bicycle wheel bearings.

Ceramic vs steel bearings bikes. I decided to test the capabilities of ceramicspeed enduro a cheap ebay bear. 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. While regular bearings are made from stainless steel ceramic bearings are made from ceramic silicon nitride si2n4. 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.

Ceramic bearings vs steel bearings ceramic materials offer superior corrosion and heat resistance higher dimensional stability and lower density which facilitates high speed. Rolling resistance is the key trump card promoted by ceramic bearing fans. Ceramic bearings versus steel bearings the debate has gone on for a long time. 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.

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. The material can be polished smoother than any metal reducing friction and wear. When a bike with ceramic bearings goes over a bump the ball bearing which is harder than the steel race that contains it strikes the inner surface of the race.

Initially the enduro bearing has lower friction at around 600km of use the ceramic bearing has worn a track into the comparatively soft steel races and the bearing friction starts to increase dramatically. The graph below shows a comparison between two steel bearings skf and ntn and a ceramic bearing enduro. 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.