Enduro bearings do it better....

The ceramic bearings have slipped into the BB of my road bike, which I know is a bit of a stretch to post here, but I thought that we could all benefit. Facing the BB is an excellent way to start things off, so the two external surfaces are parallel to one another, removing paint and metal until they are perfect. IceToolz make a very good bottom bracket facing tool, as well as head tube reamers and other frame tools, and they are very affordable too.


So once the faces are prepared, it means the cups can tighten down fully and not distort and cause the bearings to 'squash' and drag. If the cups deflect, it increases the drag on the bearings, something you wish to avoid of course. With the cups greased (metal on metal gets grease in my book!) and nice and firm, the cranks slipped back in and span. And span. And span. I didn't believe how little resistance they could actually have! Don't get me wrong, the seals put paid to perpetual motion quick smart, but they really do run on.

With the drive train all hooked up, the cranks do certainly turn over easier, and you know thats the truth as I paid for these things. On the bike for hell ride on saturday, the bike definitely felt smoother and easier to ride, almost like there was a change in the gearing. In my opinion, if you are racing, and racing hard, if you aren't ceramic, you are not on an equal footing. You could increase your training even more, or you could treat your bike to some quality goodness! Make sure you face that frame if you do it, as there is no point in half doing the job!!