Ceramic Bearings for SpeedPlay X1, X2 & ZE Pedals (Price is per pedal) Ceramic is the new Holy Grail! It's lighter, smoother, stiffer, harder, corrosion resistant, and electrically resistant. These fundamental characteristics allow for a wide range of performance enhancements in bearings. Ceramic bearings dissipate heat quickly, reducing friction and wear while maintaining a precision smooth surface. Today's leading edge ceramics are made with Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) and have characteristics similar to the heat absorbing, highly resilient tiles on the Space Shuttle. Benefits of Ceramic Bearings - Lightweight/Acceleration - Ceramic balls weigh less than steels balls which reduces centrifugal loading. Ceramic bearings can operate faster than conventional bearings. This means that the ball exerts less force outward against the outer race grove as the bearing spins. This reduction in outward force reduces the friction and rolling resistance. The lighter ball allows the bearing to rev up faster, and uses less energy to maintain it's speed.
- Less heat/Lower Friction - Ceramic Bearings do not heat up like standard bearings. Lower friction leads to less wear, less lubrication, less energy consumption, reduced vibration while extending bearing life.
- Smoother Surface - The ceramic ball has smoother surface properties than the steel ball. This means less friction between the ball and bearing races and less vibration giving you a faster spinning bearing and smoother ride.
- Stronger - Silicon nitride balls have a very high ball hardness that helps "Push" contaminates from the pathway.
- Corrosion Resistance - The Ceramic balls are impervious to oxidation, chemicals, and require essentially no lubricant.
Compressive Strength Test: Two 1/4" (6.35 mm) balls squeezed in vice with equal controlled force. The steel ball on the right side suffered significant injury, while the much harder ceramic ball on the left side is perfectly intact. 
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