http://www.zipp.com/HubsBearings/index.html

When I read through their descriptions they're "just" high precision steel bearings with a special grease.

edit:
I was on the site for the ZIPP 84/202 hubs
I'd say the Z3 have hybrid bearings.
http://www.zipp.com/HubsBearings/z_series.html

I guess i will be keeping my bearings.

and i was thinking of some type of performance increase.

The thought of hybrid ceramic bearings interests me. I was told that more manufacturers are starting to use them in hubs, but no names. Has anyone tried the Z-series Zipp hubs and can comment about the bearing life and smoothness?

_________________
Ride lightly!

acros headsets are available with ceramic-hybrids - just if someone wanted to know

btw 222€ and - as i was told by some guy from acros - you get one separate bearing additionally to those pressed into the headsetcups

Well, I have put SiNi ceramic balls in 6 or 7 Campy Eurus Wheels. I´ll be dammed if any of my customers would state that they can´t feel the difference!
They roll so much lighter, and the wear is decreased substantially!
You will need some special SKF grease, but the amuont of grease is very small (1/10th or 1/15th of the normally needed)
An other cool thing is that when the balls are installed, the Eurus sounds like a carbon tubular.
The price in Denmark is 85$ installed.

If I had some money at hand upgrading my bearing would be one of the performance improvements I'd make.
A lightweight seatpost has very performance impact.

Brian

Excuse my ignorance here, but is there any point at all to using a ceramic bearing for a bicycle hub application?

Am I wrong in thinking that they are commonly used in applications such as electric motors, etc, where there is a very high rate of rpm? A bicycle hub would never get close to the sort of rpm's in these aforementioned applications, so it seems like a big waste of money and time.

If you are to use ceramic bearings, would it also make sense to use a ceramic bearing race? That way, you could virtually eliminate lubration of any kind altogether. Ceramic bearings do not suffer from the micro-welding issues like those seen with regular steel balls, so that would be an advantage. But again, I cannot see any worthwhile advantages for such a bearing when applied to the bicycle.

Anyone?

I consider that nonsense. Drag of bearings on a road bike should be equivalent to 0.1% of all forces the rider has to overcome. Funny how expensive material seems to suspend a clear mind ...

P.S.: A well lubed chain has a degree of efficiency of around 99%. Those roller links are stoneage technology compared to a regular ball bearing.

I think the good doctor's statement helped to highlight the point I was trying to make...

Wouldn't that depend on the quality of your existing bearings?

IMO Mavic make very good hubs, but they also make heavy wheels?
Who else makes good/light hubs?

Brian

I have a pair of Lightweight wheels with ceramics balls in them. I can not feel any difference whatsoever!!!! and I absolutely do not believe if others can feel the difference between a high quality steel ball and a ceramic one. The ceramics might make a bit more noise if used without grease.
A complete set of ceramic balls (for hub and freehub) makes the wheel 15-20 grams lighter though, but sets you back close to USD 200.
BTW: I also have a set of ceramics bearing in my TA Ixis Titanium bottom bracket where I can not feel the difference, but it is 9 grams lighter than a steel bearing.

is it full ceramic? not only the balls? i have heard that the difference comes from a full ceramic setup, and not just the balls.

It is only balls. Dont think that it matters much though because the balls alone would also prevent any cold welding. Full ceramic is too expencive for me.....

what would be the cheapest full ceramic bearing setup? anyone see the prices coming down anytime soon?