Why are ceramic balls better than steel balls?
First, ceramic balls are almost twice as hard as bearing steel. The harder the material, the less the bearing will deform. Additionally, the harder bearing material will be more durable which is why ceramic bearings are known for their durability. Ceramic bearings are also less dense and in theory will accelerate more quickly and dissipate heat more readily. These last two properties are not as important to cycling applications as ceramic bearings are often rated to over 10,000 rpm. Last but not least, ceramic bearings can generally be made more round than steel ones. The ceramic balls we use are Class 5 or better. The Class of a ball bearing refers to its sphericity in millionths of an inch. Thus, our bearings are round to 5 millionths of an inch and better in many cases. In comparison, the best bearings that come stock in Campagnolo Record or Shimano Dura-Ace is Class 25. That means our ceramic bearings are at least 5 times more round which results in less rolling resistance. So what
