Rotor ceramic PF4130 friction

[Bliksemsnel]

Hello, new to this forum.

I did a dry fit of my new bearings and crank last night on my current bike build. Before install I noticed the bearings seemed to have allot of resistance. Is this because they are new and require break in? Too much grease?

Spin test with crank only gave me about 1.5 revolutions. I watched the Ceramicspeed install video of their PF4130 and after install it spun quite freely with very little resistance. Hawk Racing also has a video showing 10-15 revolutions for their BB.

Any input is appreciated.






Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[sungod]

might be grease - how much is applied is really a matter of usage/choice

but 1.5 rev is not much, i pack my bearings full as they get exposed to a lot of wet rides and water in the bb shell, even then i get about 4 revs, over time it goes up as grease is lost

if you use oil or light grease, you get a lot more revs, that may explain the numbers in the demonstrations

have you checked the bearing seals? a crooked seal can add a lot of drag to a bearing

[Bliksemsnel]

Should I take off the seals and repack them myself with something lighter? These are Rotors ceramic with white grease in them.

They weren't cheap but not too terribly pricey either. When I spun them by hand they both felt sluggish compared to the FSA cups (new) that were in there when I bought the frame.

I'm at a loss here atm.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Bliksemsnel]

I spoke with Rotor and was informed that the PF4130 bearings have more drag than 24mm bearings due to the fact that they have double rows of bearings as opposed to the 24's having just one row. They also require more grease as a result.
The double rows are necessary because of the space needed to accommodate the 30mm spindles.

May have to look for an alternative. Maybe Ceramicspeed would be a better option. Not too many manufacturers of the PF4130.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Delorre]

Give it some time and see what it looks like after 1000 miles. A brand new ultegra or DA BB86 f.ex. has a lot of drag, but it gets smoother and smoother as the miles add up. After 5000 miles, mine spins as freely as my superrecord TI crankkset (ceramic from factory)

[SBirch]

My Rotor 4130 was the same. Span a bit more freely when it wore out about 3 months later...

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

[Bliksemsnel]

Give it some time and see what it looks like after 1000 miles. A brand new ultegra or DA BB86 f.ex. has a lot of drag, but it gets smoother and smoother as the miles add up. After 5000 miles, mine spins as freely as my superrecord TI crankkset (ceramic from factory)

Thanks [emoji106]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Omiar]

It does get a bit smoother, but the actual drag is insignificant. But the bearings are not very long lasting and too pricey for that in my opinion.

[Nefarious86]

41mm shell plus 30mm spindle = dead bearings regardless lol.

[Bliksemsnel]

What about Ceramicspeeds coated version with 4yr warranty? I already have the Rotor 3D+, so no going back now.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[wingguy]

Should be the best option. If (and it's a big if) they'd warranty bearings that failed inside the 4 or 6 year period you might even say they're decent value.

However, note that the warranty terms contain the catch-all 'not subject to normal wear and tear, or lack of maintenance'. So they're not really saying that their bearings will last for years at all...

[Bliksemsnel]

Thanks wingguy. I will definitely take that into consideration.

Thanks all for chiming in.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[nenadjev]

I bought yesterday the same combination Rotor pf4130 and Rotor 3D+. There is lot friction, I have no more than one revolution .
What is your experience after 7 months of use? Is there any improvement?

[Stueys]

I swapped my rotor BB out for a Cbear one. Resistance is significantly less, it's a great BB, well worth a try.

[nenadjev]

I swapped my rotor BB out for a Cbear one. Resistance is significantly less, it's a great BB, well worth a try.

Tks for answer, do you have some web link fot it?