Do Ceramic Bearings Get Better With Use

Many experienced cyclists and professionals use ceramic bearings or perhaps ceramic hybrid bearings for a superior performance.
Do ceramic bearings get better with use. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings perform with 40 less friction than a comparable steel ball bearing. Two types of ceramic materials there are two materials that are common. Ceramic bearings can be found in a number of space applications from space flight to satellites to unmanned exploration vehicles. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings last up to ten times longer according to skf the largest and most respected bearing manufacturer in the world.
It s in the professional peloton a place obsessed with marginal gains that ceramic bearings have become popular in the past couple of years. Their potential to resist fatigue high temperature and loss of lubrication is better than for metals making ceramics attractive for ball and roller bearings. Of course this is reflected in the higher costs of ceramic bearings in comparison. A number of benefits can be found in the use ceramic bearings light weight and vacuum compatible ceramic bearings provide a weight saving and are.
They don t need to. With the exception of one product the entire line of kogel bearings runs on hybrid ceramic bearings. This is different from a full ceramic bearing which would have both the balls and the races made of ceramics. Hybrid means that the balls are made of a ceramic material but the races or rings are made of a hardened steel.
Ceramic bearings are so precise in their abilities that they rate themselves as themselves. For the simplicity of this article we only look at hybrid ceramic bearings with steel races. If there is one thing we see a lot in comments sections about ceramic bearings it is people claiming ceramic bearings do not offer benefits and are not worth their cost. Ceramic bearings do not fall under any abec scale.
Why do ceramic bearings produce a better performance. There are a number of commercially available ceramic bearing types grouped into one of two categories. Ceramic is the perfect material for any application seeking to achieve higher rpm s reduce overall weight or for extremely harsh environments where high temperatures and corrosive substances are present. They are known to be much stronger than steel but lighter at the same time.
Ceramic deals with heat better so. Let s analyze the pros cons and applications. Due to the ceramic bearing s ability to withstand extreme shock resistance intense heat and severe. The higher the bearing s rating the better the performance it will have.
Less friction equals more power and less heat build up resulting in significantly higher efficiency and. Space poses a combination of many high stress applications in one. In the humble opinion of kogel bearings outside of derailleur pulleys full ceramic.