Ceramic Bearings
Actually, 4 watts is pretty decent. That'll be about 40 seconds over a 40k. They're the only upgrade I can think of that actually performs better at lower speeds, meaning while you only get the benefit of a disc or aero helmet if you're holding close to 25 mph through the flats, you can get the benefit of ceramic bearings at any speed.
As far as finding a decent price....probably not. There's no real cheap solution as there is for many other components, and even if there was, I wouldn't use them since the tolerances that make ceramic bearings what they are require expensive manufacturing processes that inherently drive the price up, so anything that's cheap is probably, well, cheap....and a waste of money since it won't do anything for you. And installation isn't cheap, either. They need to use a special bearing press, and you'll want to take it to someone who has done this before, since they can easily be maladjusted. Plus it's a lot of bearings...generally four in the front, six in the back, and a few more in the BB (I think....either way, it's a lot).
All that said, it's a great upgrade if you've already done everything else to your bike that you want to do and you are up to spending the money.
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-Matt
Not fast enough.
You can actually get ceramic bearings for $100 from Neuvation Cycling. http://neuvationcycling.com/parts_promos/parts_tools/parts_tools.html
Don't know if they fit wheels other than Neuvations, though.
thehitman
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain
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I had no idea that you could get Enduros that cheap. That's pretty much the bearing set you want. I'm pretty sure that they fit just about everything except Zipps.
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-Matt
Not fast enough.
Thanks Guys, Would they fit HED 3s? How do I find out?
Tri Gator - Thanks for putting a number on it.
I'm pretty sure Enduros fit everything except Zipps, but ask either HED customer service or your LBS to make sure.
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-Matt
Not fast enough.
while you only get the benefit of a disc or aero helmet if you're holding close to 25 mph through the flats, you can get the benefit of ceramic bearings at any speed.
I usually agree with you 100% bro, but not on this one.
That line of thinking used to make a lot of sense to me, but now I believe the "threshold of aero benefit" is much slower than that - like sub 20 mph.
It's clear that a faster rider's speed differential will be greater than a slower rider's, but a slow rider doesn't need to increase his/her speed as much as a fast rider in order to achieve the same or greater time savings in a TT (slow riders are out on the course longer, so any increase in speed adds up to more time saved).




I was wondering if anyone was running ceramic bearings. I have read they are worth around 4 watts, which isn't great, but if they are obtainable for a good price..why not?
Any good prices on them?