Reduce friction for faster bike rides! Ceramic bearings offer significant energy-savings on this front.
But why do ceramic bearings stand out? Originally developed for high rpm industrial equipment, ceramic bearings are lighter, harder and smoother than their steel counterparts – all qualities which contribute to making these little gems so exceptional.
1. Corrosion Resistance
Ceramic bearings provide immense longevity benefits. If properly packaged, ceramics can outlive steel bearings five to ten times longer – plus, they don’t rust!
Ceramic bearings are ideal for high value applications such as laboratory equipment or medical scanners that must adhere to precise requirements, like lab equipment or medical scanners, that have precise needs. Standard stainless steels corrode when exposed to strong acidic or alkaline chemical solutions; on the contrary, ceramics remain completely inert without emitting any contaminants into the environment.
Most cyclists utilize hybrid ceramic bearings that combine the advantages of both materials by incorporating stainless steel races and rings with ceramic balls for optimal results. While cost-effective than full ceramic bearings, hybrid ceramic bearings still deliver reduced friction, heat resistance, toughness, long lifespan benefits as well.
2. High Temperature Resistance
Ceramic bearings provide an alternative to standard steel bearings in wet or chemically-corrosive environments, making them particularly relevant in medical devices where contamination of devices could have serious repercussions.
Hybrid ceramics with steel inner/outer races and ceramic balls provide insulation between steel rings to avoid contact that would cause corrosion, thus allowing them to run dry without additional lubrication requirements.
This allows for more energy-efficient and longer lasting bearings – an invaluable asset to those covering large distances on two wheels. Lower friction requires less energy for speed maintenance, thereby decreasing heat build-up and bearing wear-and-tear, heat build up, heat build-up, bearing degradation, as well as heat buildup caused by friction build up in general. Furthermore, ceramic material makes them nonmagnetic – something critical when dealing with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which demands non-magnetic systems.
3. High Stiffness
Stiff materials deform less under load and are easier to machine into precise dimensions, making ceramic components superior to steels in terms of Young’s modulus and torsional stiffness.
Ceramic bearings’ ability to operate lube free is also crucial in many applications, including medical equipment like MRI scanners where contamination could be life threatening. Standard steels could react with acids used in the solution to form particulates that pollute imaging images. Ceramics offer an alternative without this potential complication.
Hybrid and full ceramic bearings that operate without lubrication can operate at much higher speeds with reduced wear, less need for re-lubrication, lower operating temperatures, reduced coefficient of friction and save power over time. This enables hybrid/full ceramic bearings to save more power overall over time.
4. Low Coefficient of Friction
Ceramic bearings are highly hard and smooth, which explains why they produce less friction than their steel counterparts. Furthermore, ceramics require less lubrication while having superior thermal properties which help minimize heat generation at high speeds.
Standard bearings corrode and may become susceptible to galling, while ceramic bearings resist corrosion by not picking up contaminants from sources like the environment or contaminated lubrication. They’re also resistant to electrical arcing which makes them an excellent choice in environments requiring voltage isolation such as aircraft accessories and semiconductor/food processing equipment.
Paul Lew, founder of Edco wheels and an industry wheel dynamics expert, cautions riders not to opt for ceramic hybrid bearings as a weight saving measure on their cyclocross bikes and advises focusing on more cost-effective strategies such as investing in quality hubs and headsets rather than seeking incremental weight savings through ceramic bearings.
5. Lightweight
Ceramic bearings have been reported to be up to 80% lighter than steel and operate with three to ten times less friction, without needing lubrication. They also insulate steel races better and don’t corrode in response to water or hazardous chemicals as readily.
Ceramic microstructures exhibit strong atomic co-operation (shared electrons), providing desirable engineering properties. Unfortunately, due to energy requirements for producing ceramics as well as slow processes required for sintering powdered ceramic components sintering is more costly. Ceramics represent an upgraded upgrade option in terms of their production costs as well as manufacturing, packaging and shipping expenses; effectively making ceramics an upgrade upgrade choice.
