Is it worth upgrading to Ceramic Bearings?

designman

Before I take the plunge I'd like peoples opinion on this please. Currently using DA 7850 CL24 wheels and thinking about upgrading the bearings to Ceramics.
My question is:-
What benefits do I get out of Ceramic Bearings?
And is it worth upgrading the bearings?

The wheels are about 3 years old now and have never had the bearings replaced.

napoleond

I've never noticed a difference other than in a chainset that spun for ages when you wazzed it round by hand when no chain there. As soon as the chain was on and riding though, didn't notice anything...

neeb

It's really not worth it. You will get less than 1 watt benefit at 30mph or something like that (you can find websites where people have properly worked this out). You will get much more benefit from making sure that your current bearings are well adjusted, properly lubricated etc.

You can get good and bad quality ceramic bearings just as you can get good and bad quality steel ones, again, the quality makes more difference than the material, as do things like the type of grease you use and how much drag there is in the bearing seals. One slight advantage of some good quality ceramics is that they can be run with oil or very light grease and/or without bearing seals, but really, you are talking imperceptible performance advantages.

designman

neeb wrote:

You can get good and bad quality ceramic bearings just as you can get good and bad quality steel ones, again, the quality makes more difference than the material

When you say Good & Bad quality steel ones - What is a good quality steel bearing?
And where can I buy good quality steel ones?

rozzer32

Bearings are graded, the higher the grading the better the "roundness" of the balls in bearing.

ugo.santalucia

Stop thinking about it...it is a bad idea

designman

rozzer32 wrote:

Bearings are graded, the higher the grading the better the "roundness" of the balls in bearing.

Do most LBS sell graded bearings?

ugo.santalucia

designman wrote:

rozzer32 wrote:

Bearings are graded, the higher the grading the better the "roundness" of the balls in bearing.

Do most LBS sell graded bearings?

LBS don't sell bearings... they might order them for you... overpriced and mediocre quality... if you want to buy bearings... try simplybearings

Generally speaking, if you buy SKF bearings the quality is between outstanding and awesome

centimani

ugo.santalucia wrote:

designman wrote:

rozzer32 wrote:

Bearings are graded, the higher the grading the better the "roundness" of the balls in bearing.

Do most LBS sell graded bearings?

LBS don't sell bearings... they might order them for you... overpriced and mediocre quality... if you want to buy bearings... try simplybearings

Generally speaking, if you buy SKF bearings the quality is between outstanding and awesome

+1
Done this on my bikes...
Brand new Fulcrum 5s, didnt spin that well, i was dissapointed TBH. Fitted SKF Explorer bearings with low friction seals, the designation is -2RSL (for example 6001-2RSL) although theyve added other low friction numbers as well (maybe -2RSH)...and the difference is INSTANTLY visible, the wheels just span so so much easier.

Did the same on my FSA BB, again, as mentioned above, with the chain off, the cranks span so easily.

These bearings arent cheap, but they're a whole lot cheaper than ceramics...and very durable.

designman

centimani wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

designman wrote:

rozzer32 wrote:

Bearings are graded, the higher the grading the better the "roundness" of the balls in bearing.

Do most LBS sell graded bearings?

LBS don't sell bearings... they might order them for you... overpriced and mediocre quality... if you want to buy bearings... try simplybearings

Generally speaking, if you buy SKF bearings the quality is between outstanding and awesome

+1
Done this on my bikes...
Brand new Fulcrum 5s, didnt spin that well, i was dissapointed TBH. Fitted SKF Explorer bearings with low friction seals, the designation is -2RSL (for example 6001-2RSL) although theyve added other low friction numbers as well (maybe -2RSH)...and the difference is INSTANTLY visible, the wheels just span so so much easier.

Did the same on my FSA BB, again, as mentioned above, with the chain off, the cranks span so easily.

These bearings arent cheap, but they're a whole lot cheaper than ceramics...and very durable.

OK this is getting quite technical for me regarding bearings, had a look on "simplybearings.co.uk" and "www.skf.com" and I have no idea which bearings would fit my Dura Ace 7850 hubs..... Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

ugo.santalucia

designman wrote:

centimani wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

designman wrote:

rozzer32 wrote:

Bearings are graded, the higher the grading the better the "roundness" of the balls in bearing.

Do most LBS sell graded bearings?

LBS don't sell bearings... they might order them for you... overpriced and mediocre quality... if you want to buy bearings... try simplybearings

Generally speaking, if you buy SKF bearings the quality is between outstanding and awesome

+1
Done this on my bikes...
Brand new Fulcrum 5s, didnt spin that well, i was dissapointed TBH. Fitted SKF Explorer bearings with low friction seals, the designation is -2RSL (for example 6001-2RSL) although theyve added other low friction numbers as well (maybe -2RSH)...and the difference is INSTANTLY visible, the wheels just span so so much easier.

Did the same on my FSA BB, again, as mentioned above, with the chain off, the cranks span so easily.

These bearings arent cheap, but they're a whole lot cheaper than ceramics...and very durable.

OK this is getting quite technical for me regarding bearings, had a look on "simplybearings.co.uk" and "www.skf.com" and I have no idea which bearings would fit my Dura Ace 7850 hubs..... Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

What's wrong with your bearings? Unless they are shot, there is no benefit in upgrading... the resistance of a crap bearing is negligible compared to the resistance of a top notch one... the only reason to upgrade is to buy a more durable one. Better machined bearings last longer, in terms of performance there is no difference on a bike... remember a wheel at full speed only does 2-3 hundreds RPM... that's nothing compared to a car wheel or a washing machine

Besides, Dura Ace hubs should be balls and cone and not sealed bearings, so the all thread is rather pointless

designman

Yes the drive side of the rear hub is shot, so I need to replace.

ugo.santalucia

designman wrote:

Yes the drive side of the rear hub is shot, so I need to replace.

I appreciate, but ASAIK all Dura Ace hubs have cone and balls bearings and not sealed bearings... chances are you only need to tighten the cone slightly to remove the play.
If instead the balls are damaged, then you can replace them with equal size ones, if the cone is damaged, you need to look for a replacement part.
Given Dura Ace hubs are awesome, I suspect it's only a matter of adjusting the cone

rozzer32

Madison are the UK distributor for Shimano and your LBS will be able to order replacement parts from them.

Replacement balls here: http://www.madison.co.uk/products.aspx?vertical=cycling&tier1=Wheels+%26+Complete+Wheel+Spares&tier2=Wheel+Spares+-+Bearings&manu=Shimano+Spares

Replacement cones here: http://www.madison.co.uk/products.aspx?vertical=cycling&tier1=Wheels+%26+Complete+Wheel+Spares&tier2=Wheel+Spares+-+Cones+%26+Seals&manu=Shimano+Spares

If you go the the Shimano website you'll be able to get the tech docs for your wheel which will have an exploded diagram of the hub telling you exactly which parts are which.

rozzer32

In fact here is the tech doc for your wheel.

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/EV/bikecomponents/WH/EV-WH-7850-CL-R-2716F_v1_m56577569830698499.pdf

Figure out what replacement parts you need
Look at madison website to see if they are sold as spares
Go to LBS and say you need these spares and they will order them from Madison
Fit new parts to hub
Hub fixed, happy days.