Do Ceramic Bearings Get Better With Use

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.

Do ceramic bearings get better with use.

Why do ceramic bearings produce a better performance. 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. In the humble opinion of kogel bearings outside of derailleur pulleys full ceramic. Of course this is reflected in the higher costs of ceramic bearings in comparison.

Less friction equals more power and less heat build up resulting in significantly higher efficiency and. Full ceramic bearings have races and balls that are made entirely of ceramic material and are superior to common steel bearings in many ways. It s in the professional peloton a place obsessed with marginal gains that ceramic bearings have become popular in the past couple of years. There are a number of commercially available ceramic bearing types grouped into one of two categories.

Two types of ceramic materials there are two materials that are common. Hybrid means that the balls are made of a ceramic material but the races or rings are made of a hardened steel. They are known to be much stronger than steel but lighter at the same time. Many experienced cyclists and professionals use ceramic bearings or perhaps ceramic hybrid bearings for a superior performance.

This is different from a full ceramic bearing which would have both the balls and the races made of ceramics. With the exception of one product the entire line of kogel bearings runs on hybrid ceramic bearings. They don t need to. Let s analyze the pros cons and applications.

Their potential to resist fatigue high temperature and loss of lubrication is better than for metals making ceramics attractive for ball and roller bearings. Ceramic bearings are so precise in their abilities that they rate themselves as themselves. Ceramic deals with heat better so. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings last up to ten times longer according to skf the largest and most respected bearing manufacturer in the world.

Unsealed ceramic bearings can be used to upgrade components that don t use cartridge type bearings like cup and cone hubs. Space poses a combination of many high stress applications in one. Ceramic bearings do not fall under any abec scale. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings perform with 40 less friction than a comparable steel ball bearing.

In our higher end cult bearings ceramic balls and races lighter lubrication is needed so they roll much quicker with less drag than standard steel bearings. Ceramic bearings can be found in a number of space applications from space flight to satellites to unmanned exploration vehicles. For the simplicity of this article we only look at hybrid ceramic bearings with steel races.