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Smart Cycling
Bike Shop,
Inc.
Making your
equipment work better.
Sometimes you find answers when
you were not looking for them. These answers are often called
surprises. This summer I started using the new FSA ceramic
outboard bearing bottom bracket on my Dura Ace cranks. I have
read and heard plenty of things about how great ceramic bearings
are. Some manufacturers make very high quality bearings, some
manufacturers less so. These ceramic bearing sets promise lots
of improvement. All ceramic bearings seem to be expensive.
Some equipment changes can leave
you wondering if there was a real performance improvement. In
this case I noticed the difference within the first ten feet of
pedaling. It was as if someone had taken all the resistance out
of my drive train. The ability to pedal smoothly improved
dramatically. I could go on about the many reasons why you would
want to use ceramic bearings, but I won’t. Instead what I
suggest you do is go to your bike shop and ask to compare an FSA
out board bearing set with the brand that you have on your bike
right now. Just hold the outside of the bearing assembly and
turn the bearing set with your finger. Try your own brand first
and then the FSA. You will see what I mean.
But there is more to this surprise
story than just a bottom bracket. I recently wrote an article
for
www.tdottriathlon.com about some FSA products I road tested.
After the article was posted on their website, I was contacted
by Ric Hjertberg, the Technology Manager for FSA. When I was
getting my USA Cycling Mechanical license, Ric was one of my
instructors. He is a very bright and friendly guy.
During our conversation he told me
about a few great tricks to save anything, especially wheels,
that have ball bearings in them. The idea is called Self Healing
Bearing Technology and he gave me a very simple example of how
it works. Imagine a brand new asphalt road; smooth and flat. Now
spread rocks, screws and nails all over the surface. Nobody
would want to ride down that road because they wouldn't want to
get a flat tire. However, if you drove down the road with a
steamroller, all the rocks, screws and nails would get driven
into the pavement. Once again you would have a nice flat, smooth
road. The rocks, screws and nails become part of the pavement.
The ball bearings in a pair
of wheels get exposed to all kinds of grit, moisture, dirt and
corrosion. Over time this damages the bearings and the race. It
causes the bearing race surface to be pitted and get ground
away. Once the bearing or race surface is pitted, everything is
garbage. Having your bearings turn into garbage is one thing.
Having the race of your beautiful Dura Ace hub turn into garbage
is another. Steel bearings have been known to do that to hubs.
Now imagine that the race surface
of your hub is the above mentioned asphalt road. The road grit,
dirt and moisture that gets into your hubs is like those rocks,
nails and screws. Ceramic bearings, when placed into the hub,
act like the steamroller that smashes the debris down into the
pavement. Ceramic bearings are much harder than a conventional
steel ball bearing. Ceramic bearings remain round when a steel
bearing would get pitted or lose its shape. This is the idea
behind self healing bearings. Putting a single ceramic bearing
into each set of bearings does the same thing. Even if grit or
corrosion gets into the bearing assembly, that one ceramic
bearing acts like a steamroller and buries the grit into the
surface of the race.
Check out the SKF website;
http://www.skf.com/portal/skf/home/industries?contentId=0.000336.000510.000624.000742.004102.001640
SKF is a world
leader in bearing technology and have been involved in the idea
of self healing bearings from the beginning. Another technology
company involved in the self healing bearing business is Boca
Bearings. Check out their website at
http://www.bocabearings.com/
The advantages
of using ceramic bearings is not just about improving the
rolling resistance of machinery. Products like high performance
wheels, bottom brackets and pedals can all have their life spans
extended just by adding a single ceramic bearing to each
assembly. To learn more about ceramic bearings, stop by and
visit us.
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Smart
Cycling Bike Shop, Inc.
1882 Johns Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
Telephone (847) 998-0200
Fax (847) 998-0201
smartcyclinginc@sbcglobal.net |