Should You Buy Ceramic Bearings?

There are some things in life that never change, regardless of technologies and advancements. One such thing that remains the same, despite all of the technological advancements in mountain bike and road bike technology - is the fact that all of our bikes rely on ball bearings to operate. Mostly out of sight, a bike has bearings in almost all moving parts on the bike - hubs, headsets, bottom brackets, pedals and wheels all run on bearings - traditionally, these bearings are made from steel. As technology has advanced, bearings cannot be replaced - but the materials they are made from has changed.

The uptake of ceramic bearings has been driven by the professionals, and as we all know - wherever professional cycling goes, amateur cycling follows. Whilst standard bearings are made from stainless steel, ceramic bearings are made from ceramic silicon nitride. The biggest advantage, and reason for riders switching to ceramic bearings is a lower rolling resistance VS steel. Ceramic bearings are smoother than steel, leading to less friction - meaning that every pedal stroke is more efficient. Ceramic bearings are also around 30% harder than steel bearings, meaning that they are more durable, and cannot rust.

Increasingly, sealed ceramic bearings use both steel and ceramic ball bearings. Interestingly, some bike brands and component manufacturers have not adopted ceramic bearings at all, quoting that whilst efficiency gains can make a difference in industrial applications, with machines running at 20,000 rpm - any efficiency gains on a pedal bike, with a maximum rate of 300 rpm - there are almost no noticeable gains in efficiency. For these bike manufacturers, keeping cost down for the customer, is more important than negligible gains. This approach, means that for most people - steel bearings work just fine, with ceramic bearings only making sense for riders looking for incremental improvements, with plenty of budget for bike upgrades.