vio765 said:anyone read the VERY short paragraph in the the June edition of Bicycling about ceramics? page 136 at the bottom. "Their measurable benefit is small, but small isn't nothing." this is about what i expect. replacing hub bearing with cheap Grade 5 hybrids wont do anything IMHO. however, throw in Grade 3 FULL CERAMICS in the hubs, BB, pedals, and pulleys and we may have something; perhaps a few saved watts. this, again, isnt much. but in my area, our top 2-3 TT guys win or lose to each other by less than 30 seconds on a routine basis. i know that one of them has claimed that he has hit his genetic peak. im pretty sure the other two have too (or are very close). they all have the highest quality machines and parts. the only way for them to get faster is either wind tunnel testing, ceramics, altitude training, or EPO. i guess my point is that around here, a few watts from ceramics sounds worth the price. ok, you talk.
Well, 'worth it' is a big word. For some, no amount of dollar spending for equipment is too high. I think an important point is when you say the top 2-3 TT guys trade wins regularly. If one were to spend the big $ on full ceramics and the others did not the results would be...they would still trade wins. Lots goes into the 'equation' of cycling performance and the bike is a relatively small part of it. Ceramics 'may' help and may not. Human performance day to day is too variable to predict with any certainty. I think there are better places to spend the $hundreds than on ball bearings. Coach, massage therapist, training camp, dietician, things more focused on the rider.
Just my opinion.