There are some major differences in ceramic and steel bearings. Basically they come down to weight and smoothness.
The weight of the bearing limits the speed at which it can roll without developing too much heat and breaking down the lubrication. The majority of the weight of a sealed bearing is the races so using ceramic balls isn't going to change the weight of the bearing enough to discuss.
Ceramic bearings are roughly two orders of magnitude smoother or more round if you prefer.
However, on a bicycle there is neither weight nor bearing speed to allow any real measurable difference in rolling friction. The fastest turning components on a bike are bicycle wheel bearings and they presently last almost forever since modern sealed bearings don't bleed their lubricant out and allow the slight friction to wear them down over time. This means that unlike industrial high speed uses you really can't tell the difference between the two.
At one time ceramic bearings cost 1,000 times as much as steel bearings but these costs have been falling rapidly as various companies start tooling up to make them automatically.
The loadings on roller bearings on a bicycle that the material makes is so little difference that there is a question as to whether even the fastest pro on a time trial bike using ceramic bearings in every possible location could even be able to measure it.
Of course these pros would use ceramic for a TT bike because they could help when differences are in 100ths of a second. Who could say? The question is should you as Joe Average Rider going to ever make the now 2:1 costs of using ceramic worthwhile?
That should be your personal choice but it isn't going to show up in your Cat 1 performance.
The weight of the bearing limits the speed at which it can roll without developing too much heat and breaking down the lubrication. The majority of the weight of a sealed bearing is the races so using ceramic balls isn't going to change the weight of the bearing enough to discuss.
Ceramic bearings are roughly two orders of magnitude smoother or more round if you prefer.
However, on a bicycle there is neither weight nor bearing speed to allow any real measurable difference in rolling friction. The fastest turning components on a bike are bicycle wheel bearings and they presently last almost forever since modern sealed bearings don't bleed their lubricant out and allow the slight friction to wear them down over time. This means that unlike industrial high speed uses you really can't tell the difference between the two.
At one time ceramic bearings cost 1,000 times as much as steel bearings but these costs have been falling rapidly as various companies start tooling up to make them automatically.
The loadings on roller bearings on a bicycle that the material makes is so little difference that there is a question as to whether even the fastest pro on a time trial bike using ceramic bearings in every possible location could even be able to measure it.
Of course these pros would use ceramic for a TT bike because they could help when differences are in 100ths of a second. Who could say? The question is should you as Joe Average Rider going to ever make the now 2:1 costs of using ceramic worthwhile?
That should be your personal choice but it isn't going to show up in your Cat 1 performance.