The cheap ceramic jockey wheels I’ve used all have the same fatal design flaw. But what is it?

Replacing the standard jockey wheels on your rear derailleur with ones that use ceramic bearings, can reduce the friction produced by your bicycle drivetrain, allowing you to put more watts down onto the road, theoretically making you a faster cyclist.

Ceramic speed produce incredibly high quality ceramic bearings and bearing components for the bike industry. They are famous for their bottom brackets, pulleys, and jockey wheels, but their products are ludicrously expensive. HOWEVER a much cheaper option is available!

AliExpress and eBay are littered with thousands of cheap aluminium jockey wheels sporting ceramic bearings. I have bought a number of these in the past, in an effort to make my cheap Chinese carbon fibre road bike a little bit faster, but in my experience they all suffer with the same design flaw.

Most of the bearings used on a road bike will have seals on them to protect the bearings inside from grit and grime from the road. But all the cheaper ceramic jockey wheels I have used, include bearings that have no seals!

This is a major design flaw in my opinion, and in this episode, I will dive into the reasons behind this, compare them to other options, and what you should buy instead.

Got any questions or comments, stick them below 👇 and I'll try to get back to as many of you as I can!

Timestamps:
00:31 – Intro
01:49 – Ceramic Speed Products
03:13 – Jockey Wheels Analysis
04:50 – Design Flaw
06:49 – Ceramic vs Regular Jockey Wheels
08:08 – Conclusion

Useful Bearing Article:
https://rushsports.co.za/blogs/news/w...

Product links (Please note, I have no affiliation to any of the sellers linked below):
Cheap Ceramic Jockey Wheels: https://tinyurl.com/y8jc3yxl
Cheap Regular Jockey Wheels: https://tinyurl.com/ybvt2jbp

Intro roll:
Created by Dev Joshi - http://www.go2dev.co.uk

Music:
Birocratic (http://birocratic.lnk.to/allYL) - Fresh Healthy Perspectives
Lakey Inspired (  / lakeyinspired  ) - In My Dreams, The Process

About Trace Velo:
I love cycling, and I love getting pro cycling kit for less. If it’s cheap, from China, and made of carbon fibre, I’m interested!

Instagram:
  / tracevelo  

Email:
[email protected]

Please note:
All products demonstrated in this video have been purchased by me, and I have no affiliation to any of the sellers or vendors shown.

In addition, I am not a professionally trained bike mechanic. There can be risks associated with using products that are unbranded, untested, or come from sources where the provenance is unknown. Please talk to a qualified bike mechanic if you are in any doubt.
In essence, be careful, do your research, and cycle safe!!!