Changing over to ceramic bearings.

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

On 16 Sep 2006 10:48:17 -0700, "G8RRPH" wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

For what they sell those bearings for they should be able to do a bit of
research for you.

Ron

G8RRPH wrote:
I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings?

If you want specific info, it would help if you would offer some.

BTW... if you changed all your bearings over to ceramic you'd save a
small fraction of a percent in power. Is it worth the money and hassle
to you?

RonSonic wrote:
On 16 Sep 2006 10:48:17 -0700, "G8RRPH" wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

For what they sell those bearings for they should be able to do a bit of
research for you.

Replacing all the steel bearings on a bicycle with ceramic bearings
will increase the average riding speed by 0.0001487645676%!

--
Tom Sherman - Here, not there.
I am supporting cannibalism by eating more nuts.

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

It's not worth the effort. A properly adjusted and lubricated bearing
makes only a tiny addition to the rolling resistance of the bike and
rider in motion. A switch to ceramic will not increase your speed one
bit, nor will it make pedaling any easier.

But they will cost more.

Ted

--
Ted Bennett

I know of only one case - a guy blew out his FSA BB and decided to try
their ceramikc BB. It did not last nearly as long as the original...
(Sorry, no numbers to give you.)

G8RRPH wrote:
I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

On Sat, 16 Sep 2006 15:46:48 -0500, richard
wrote:

I know of only one case - a guy blew out his FSA BB and decided to try
their ceramikc BB. It did not last nearly as long as the original...
(Sorry, no numbers to give you.)

I thought long life was one of the features besides the slightly lower
friction. One article claimed that if you put just one or two ceramics
in with the steels, the ceramics because they are so hard, crush any
foreign particles into a fine dust, making the whole assembly last a
lot longer.


G8RRPH wrote:
I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

Tom Sherman writes:

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to
aftermarket ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to
get the properly sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I
used to change the bearing on my inline skates and skateboards
myself, so I think technically it should be pretty straight
forward. I have tried to find info on the web about what size the
bearings are in the bottom bracket, the guide and tension pulleys,
and of course the wheelsets, though I think I can figure those
out, it would be nice to see the specs in writing form the
manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view does not
give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

For what they sell those bearings for they should be able to do a
bit of research for you.

Replacing all the steel bearings on a bicycle with ceramic bearings
will increase the average riding speed by 0.0001487645676%!

.... while shortening the life of the bearing races as their stress
increases from a smaller contact patch with the harder bearing balls.

And, what is the purpose of this exercise?

Jobst Brandt

aka Jobst Brandt wrote:
Tom Sherman writes:

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to
aftermarket ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to
get the properly sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I
used to change the bearing on my inline skates and skateboards
myself, so I think technically it should be pretty straight
forward. I have tried to find info on the web about what size the
bearings are in the bottom bracket, the guide and tension pulleys,
and of course the wheelsets, though I think I can figure those
out, it would be nice to see the specs in writing form the
manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view does not
give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

For what they sell those bearings for they should be able to do a
bit of research for you.

Replacing all the steel bearings on a bicycle with ceramic bearings
will increase the average riding speed by 0.0001487645676%!

... while shortening the life of the bearing races as their stress
increases from a smaller contact patch with the harder bearing balls.

And, what is the purpose of this exercise?

To make a point by facetiously posting a fictional improvement with
implied accuracy to thirteen (13) decimal places.

I believe all my bicycles and trike have steel bearings, unless
Shimano, Phil Wood, Ritchey and Cane Creek have been using something
else.

The crappy stock wheel bearings in my push scooter are either steel or
"pot metal".

--
Tom Sherman - Here, not there.

On 16 Sep 2006 13:03:03 -0700, "Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman"
wrote:


RonSonic wrote:
On 16 Sep 2006 10:48:17 -0700, "G8RRPH" wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has retrofitted their bike to aftermarket
ceramic bearings? How hard would it be if one were to get the properly
sized sealed bearing to do this one their own? I used to change the
bearing on my inline skates and skateboards myself, so I think
technically it should be pretty straight forward. I have tried to find
info on the web about what size the bearings are in the bottom bracket,
the guide and tension pulleys, and of course the wheelsets, though I
think I can figure those out, it would be nice to see the specs in
writing form the manufacturer, and the Shimano website's exploded view
does not give this. any advice on if this is worth the effort, and any
info on bearing sizes would be greatly appreciated.

For what they sell those bearings for they should be able to do a bit of
research for you.

Replacing all the steel bearings on a bicycle with ceramic bearings
will increase the average riding speed by 0.0001487645676%!

I wouldn't have thought that much.

Ron