Ceramic Bearings Vs Steel

The concept behind a bearing is simple.

Ceramic bearings vs steel.

Steel bearings are commodity items that are composed of hardened steel balls and a steel inner and outer race. The different elements balls retainers and closures can change a bit. They use ceramic balls and usually a steel inner and outer race. A ceramic bearing is also harder than steel bearings up to 30 which improves durability and they also don t rust so less maintenance should be required.

It takes weeks for a kogel ball to sit in a tumbler and be perfectly polished. Ceramic bearings vs steel. This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball. Ceramic bearings are in actual fact hybrid.

Ceramic bearings exist to help manage heat in high rpm applications. The ceramic balls are often silicon nitride or equivalent. They don t expand or deform when they contact each other hertzian stress as much as steel bearings when they get really hot. Ceramic bearings vs steel bearings ceramic materials offer superior corrosion and heat resistance higher dimensional stability and lower density which facilitates high speed.

Things don t slide or roll. Optimization is possible for the disparity that exists between these parts. The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings.