Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Barnes
I know that top of the line professional bicycles use ceramic bearings. The general consensus is that they are worth it if you must keep up with the Joneses with a big budget but that there are generally a few better ways to spend money for regular folks.
Chris Barnes
Wagons of Steel
Stock 6621
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I got on this kick when I took apart my son's fancy looking bike purchased from Wal-Mart. I wanted to see if I could make it faster. So I looked at the bearings and I was going to put synthetic grease in crank. The bearings and cage looked like sand cast bearings and the cage was a folded over piece of junk. Then I went to a bike shop and saw what the more expensive bikes used. And we're talking the $350 kids bikes over the $79 Wal-Mart bikes; not the high end race bikes. Night and day difference. Now I know why I get on my Wal-Mart Mtn. bike I'm huffing and puffing in a few blocks but when I try the other guys $800 bikes it's enjoyable.
But yes, I'm sure $$ can be spent elsewhere for better gains and if it's not in the budget, then that takes care of that. But then again I see people spend $20K on an engine and cry like a baby over spending $2,000 to $3,000 on a clutch that will actually let the car perform like it should.