What Are Ceramic Bearings Used For

It s in the professional peloton a place obsessed with marginal gains that ceramic bearings have become popular in the past couple of years.

What are ceramic bearings used for.

Hybrid bearings consist of ceramic rolling elements in steel races whilst all ceramic bearings have both races and rolling elements made from ceramic. Mrc hybrid ceramic ball bearings use a combination of traditional 52100 steel rings precision matched with silicon nitride ceramic balls. Full ceramic bearings are also non magnetic meaning they can be used in medical devices such as mri scanners or any application where there is a strong magnetic field. Unsealed ceramic bearings can be used to upgrade components that don t use cartridge type bearings like cup and cone hubs.

Grease lubricant is the most commonly used type of lubricant in the cycling industry because it provides consistent lubrication over a long period of time with little to no maintenance. In addition to being excellent electric insulators hybrid bearings have a higher speed capability and will provide longer service life than all steel bearings in most applications. However ceramic bearings do not perform well when lubricated with grease lubricant. Since these bearings are constructed from many materials they often operate in hybrid capacities.

We also build ceramic bearings i e bearings with ceramic races but they are not as common because they are less durable. And naturally where pros lead amateur racers and sportive cyclists follow.