Ceramic Vs Steel Bearings

The wear rate of ceramic ball bearings is significantly less than stainless steel especially when lubricated.

Ceramic vs steel bearings. Ceramic bearings vs steel. Five different parts go into building skateboard bearings and longboard bearings. Optimization is possible for the disparity that exists between these parts. I know that there has been a debate between steel and ceramic bearings for a while but i have wondered how it effects the esk8 world as well.

Most sealed ceramic bearings are actually hybrid ceramic bearings which combine a steel race with ceramic ball bearings. The first thing that strikes the eye when looking at bicycle bearings is the difference in price between steel bearings and hybrid ceramic bearings. Stainless steel bearings win the prize for load and speed ratings. Ceramic bearings vs steel bearings ceramic materials offer superior corrosion and heat resistance higher dimensional stability and lower density which facilitates high speed.

The concept behind a bearing is simple. 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. Can be solid or a coating on stainless steel balls. 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.

This is mostly due to the additional time spent to perfect a quality ceramic ball. The graph below shows a comparison between two steel bearings skf and ntn and a ceramic bearing enduro. The different elements balls retainers and closures can change a bit. 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.

Full ceramic bearings have races and balls that are made entirely of ceramic material and are superior to common steel bearings in many ways. This means lighter weight reels since the balls make up 50 75 of a bearings weight. Things don t slide or roll. If solid ceramic they re lighter than stainless steel by as much as 60.

Cost of purchase for ceramic and steel bearings.