Ceramic Vs Steel Bearings

The different elements balls retainers and closures can change a bit.

Ceramic vs steel bearings.

Stainless steel bearings and full ceramic bearings are both corrosion resistant but the ceramic bearings have greater corrosion resistance. Cost of purchase for ceramic and steel bearings. The wear rate of ceramic ball bearings is significantly less than stainless steel especially when lubricated. The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings.

Most sealed ceramic bearings are actually hybrid ceramic bearings which combine a steel race with ceramic ball bearings. Ceramic is the perfect material for any application seeking to achieve higher rpm s reduce overall weight or for extremely harsh environments where high temperatures and corrosive substances are present. Five different parts go into building skateboard bearings and longboard bearings. July 19 2016 1 11am 1.

They will both also cope with higher temperatures than chrome steel but ceramic bearings also win here. The graph below shows a comparison between two steel bearings skf and ntn and a ceramic bearing enduro. Initially the enduro bearing has lower friction at around 600km of use the ceramic bearing has worn a track into the comparatively soft steel races and the bearing friction starts to increase dramatically. 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.

The concept behind a bearing is simple. Stainless steel bearings win the prize for load and speed ratings. This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball. Optimization is possible for the disparity that exists between these parts.

Ceramic bearings vs steel. If solid ceramic they re lighter than stainless steel by as much as 60. This means lighter weight reels since the balls make up 50 75 of a bearings weight. Things don t slide or roll.

Full ceramic bearings have races and balls that are made entirely of ceramic material and are superior to common steel bearings in many ways.