Ceramic Vs Steel Bottom Bracket

Which ones do you need.

Ceramic vs steel bottom bracket.

They use ceramic balls and usually a steel inner and outer race. Ceramic bottom brackets ceramic oversized derailleur pulleys tools and accessories ceramic bearings vs. Most sealed ceramic bearings are actually hybrid ceramic bearings which combine a steel race with ceramic ball bearings. While the first two items were more prevalent distinguishers between ceramic and steel bearings in the past today there are often comparably built steel versions of a given bearing assembly.

Ak posted by ard kessels. Quality hybrid ceramic bearings are better than steel bearings in a bicycle bottom bracket application because they have rounder balls for lower resistance better races for lower resistance and are grease efficient in low rpm low heat environments for lower resistance. Full ceramic bearings use ceramic races which can be lighter and provide the lowest friction but come at a durability cost. When analyzing the individual components that contribute to the total frictional losses of a bottom bracket the frictional losses due to the seals and lubricant is greater than the frictional losses.

Ceramic bearings are in actual fact hybrid. 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. Ceramic is not always better than steel. Steel bearings are commodity items that are composed of hardened steel balls and a steel inner and outer race.

Bottom bracket efficiency is based on the design and the quality of materials not necessarily on the type materials i e ceramic vs. Silicone nitride si3n4 grade 3 balls roll on black oxide races ground to a mirror finish after receiving magnetite and cryogenic treatments for hardness and longevity. For bottom bracket applications the maximum sustained rpm may be 130 explains lew. The ceramic balls are often silicon nitride or equivalent.