bottom bracket ceramic or not?

superbug1980

hi all,

i need to replace my shimano 7900 bb and am thinking of upgrading to ceramic bearings like this one:

http://www.uberbikecomponents.com/view- ... Compatible

not sure about the quality of it though so if the advantage of ceramic is not that great i would go for this one:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/hope-stainless- ... m-bracket/

its a bit heavier though so unsure.

anyone got any experience of either or can comment on the advantages of ceramic bearings

thanks
sb

cycleclinic

Cheaper ceramic bearing like the one euduro produce are utterly pointless. SKF well know for making good bearings are starting making ceramic hybrid bearings but try finding them. The uberbike BB look suspicously like the Token caramic BB so much so it is probably the same. Good ceramic bearing may give a power loss saving but it is very small if it exists at all (1% or less) and there have been no proper independent test on this as far as I can tell.

A good quality steel bearing like INA/FAG or SKF work just as well. The standard token BB has steel bearing that are completely replaceable even the plastic cap come out without damage. so my advise would be buy one of these for alot less and when the bearings die replace them with a decent high end 6805 bearing and enjoy longer bearing life or buy another 7900 BB. There is a good reason why Shimano with all there R&D have not gone the ceramic bearing route - it offer no real world advantage. Most of the drag is in the seals so get bearings with 1 seal if that really bother you.

superbug1980

ok thats great, its made my mind up then. i will go with the hope stainless steel unit as the bearings are made by INA. I dont want to get another 7900 as been through two already, they work fine just dont last long.

the hope bb will go with hope pro 3's when i get my hanbuilt wheels done also :-)