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Unboxed & Weighed: BBinfinite’s smooth rolling ceramic derailleur pulley wheels

BBinfinite Delrin Ceramitech ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulley wheels actual weights and review
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BBinfinite Delrin Ceramitech ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulley wheels actual weights and review

BBinfinite’s second product, the Delrin derailleur pulley wheels with Ceramitech ceramic bearings, came out at the beginning of the month to complement their perfectly aligned bottom brackets and reduce friction at the rear of the bike. We just got our hands on a set for Shimano rear mechs to see if they spin as freely as advertised (hint: they do) and add anything to the ride…

BBinfinite Delrin Ceramitech ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulley wheels actual weights and review

BBinfinite Delrin Ceramitech ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulley wheels actual weights and review

The BBinfinite wheels for Shimano 10/11 speed weigh in at 25g for the pair. The stock Ultegra 11-speed wheels are a little lighter at 21g.

First impressions are very good. I gave them the same spin test that BBinfinite showed in their promo video and the results were the same. Based on comments on that post, I held the Shimano wheels as lightly as possible so as to not put any unnecessary pressure on them, but they still managed only a few revolutions. With the same spin force applied by my finger, the BBinfinites spun smoothly for 20 seconds or more. Truly impressive.

BBinfinite Delrin Ceramitech ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulley wheels actual weights and review

The pulleys have a top and bottom specific design, with slanted tooth profiles on the directional lower pulley and a directionless standard tooth profile on the upper.

BBinfinite Delrin Ceramitech ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulley wheels actual weights and review

On the bike, I’m still in need of a long ride to suss them out, but spinning the cranks in the stand and a short ride through the neighborhood suggest they do indeed have a noticeable impact on friction reduction. The drivetrain felt smooth and light. Enough to justify the $120 price tag? That depends. I’d upgrade to their BB first, and then keep the drivetrain clean and lightly lubed. But if you’re already doing all that, then taking a cue from the top pros and upgrading the derailleur pulleys is an easy way to cut hidden drag.

Now it’s time to put several hundred miles on them and see if they still spin as freely and how well the wheels wear…

BBinfinite.com

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Jim E
Jim E
8 years ago

The top pulley seems to have a noticeable tooth depth increase over the bottom or the stock Shimanos. Looks like it might help move the chain more quickly from cog to cog but also might require adjusting the b-limit screw. I’ll be interested to see if there are any shifting effects.

Greg
Greg
8 years ago
Reply to  Jim E

The most recent Shimano upper pulleys, especially 11speed 105, have very tall teeth. And practically no float.

Ron G.
Ron G.
8 years ago

A noticeable impact on friction reduction? No matter how much you may want that to be true, not matter how tightly you squeeze your eyes shut and wish upon a star, no, you can’t possibly feel that at the pedals.

Sir eddy.
Sir eddy.
8 years ago
Reply to  Ron G.

Well said Ron G!

Rixter
8 years ago
Reply to  Ron G.

Maybe when you’re an hour into that 15km climb, the little voice inside your head will be whispering, “thank goodness I have less friction”

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
8 years ago
Reply to  Rixter

Think of a 6mph headwind instead of a 5mph headwind. You won’t notice the difference but you’ll either ride a bit slower at the same power or ride the same speed with a bit more power. All without noticing;;

i
i
8 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

except its a 6mph headwind vs a 5.999999mph headwind. No you can’t feel it. No it doesn’t matter. Unless you are a pro who’s paid to say it does.

Robin
Robin
8 years ago
Reply to  i

I think you mean to say that it doesn’t matter for you. Note that exaggerating doesn’t make your point any stronger.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
8 years ago
Reply to  Rixter

You can’t feel it but you can’t feel a 6mph headwind vs. a 5mph headwind. There’s still a difference and your performance will suffer accordingly

\m/
\m/
8 years ago

$120…to rich for my blood. Which is a bummer bc I would like to try those.

bearCol
bearCol
8 years ago

If you are worried about friction in your pulley wheels you are either so good you are sponsored and get stuff for free, or are so weak pulley wheels won’t help. Either way, no one should be spending money on “low friction” wheels.

lak
lak
8 years ago

The responses on BR these days are getting worse, and worse. Holy s**t take it for what it is, it’s an improvement – not a cost effective one, but it is. As technology advances the gains in performance become harder to attain, at higher costs.

(deleted)

bearCol
bearCol
8 years ago
Reply to  lak

I’ll take it for what it is: a plastic pulley wheel with bearings. (deleted)

jlg
jlg
8 years ago
Reply to  bearCol

Making fun by bashing a product that you don’t even have try ?

lak
lak
8 years ago
Reply to  jlg

Sounds like a vast majority of people on forums, hiding behind anonymity…

bearCol
bearCol
8 years ago
Reply to  lak

Yeah, that’s part of the fun! The real kicker is I don’t even ride!

Allan
Allan
8 years ago
Reply to  lak

You are calling people over the internet (anonymously behind a keyboard) “f’n morons”. Hmm…..

lak
lak
8 years ago
Reply to  bearCol

(deleted)

zipp23
zipp23
8 years ago

120 is about half way up my budget for a complete bike…

Charlie
Charlie
8 years ago
Reply to  zipp23

These should be tested UNDER LOAD – free spinning without a chain doesn’t say anything.

anonymous
anonymous
8 years ago
Reply to  Charlie

You do realize once they’re on the bike, they’re under load right? Jockeys only ever see load from chain tension generated by the derailer, not pedaling.

Necromancer
8 years ago

For everyone that thinks these are ridiculously expensive, they are still cheaper than stock SRAM red pulleys.

Feldy
Feldy
8 years ago

Please test these pulleys vs stock with both a hub and crank based power meter. I’m sure there will be an offset between the power meters but the point would be to see a difference in that offset between the two pulleys. My guess is that the difference is lower than the precision of the power meters, but would be the way to try to quantify the performance advantage. I will help analyze the data for statistical significance if you want to do it.

Dave
Dave
8 years ago

“For everyone that thinks these are ridiculously expensive, they are still cheaper than stock SRAM red pulleys.”
That says less about the value of these pulleys than it does about SRAM’s absurd pricing. “A fool and his money…” really applies to both these and SRAM.

johnny
johnny
8 years ago

Anybody who is serious about performance and elite cycling does not really care about this. I am not bashing the product but as an elite DS, I do not give a second of my time on this (ooops I just did…).

Robin
Robin
8 years ago
Reply to  johnny

So are you speaking for the pros that used oversized pulleys, too? Have you inspected all the pro’s RD pulleys?

Chris S.
8 years ago

At $120 a set (that’s expensive) I see that there is less friction, but you didn’t mention anything about shifting? Historically most 3rd party pulley wheels will degrade your shifting a bit.

Adam W
Adam W
4 years ago

If you can afford the $120 price tag, do it because it makes you feel good and confident. For most amateurs, we may not need that nominal power improvement for our pace of riding. The same as why we pay for an eTap, its cool and makes the bike look clean with less cables.

Joseph Rasero
Joseph Rasero
7 months ago

So are these worth the now $145, granted BBinfinite commonly has a $20 promo going, thus really are only $5 more than when this article was released 7 years ago. The answer to that is no and yes. No these will not 2-3 watts like a OSPW granted BBinfinite also make an oversized version as well, but they are just as useful as ceramic bearings in your wheels in that they spin up freely and maintain speed incredibly well. Maybe it’s the passage of time since again this article came out 7 years ago and science behind ceramic bearings is more common knowledge, but to me I fully understand this isn’t going to save me “x” amount of watts but rather it’s a nice third party upgrade that one is cheaper than SRAM’s own ceramic pulley wheels and two these are from a US based manufacture which I trust. Also, unlike OSPW especially with longer cages wheres you have to disassemble the rear derailleur and possibly lengthen the chain, anyone can make this “upgrade” at home with just taking off the rear wheel and a torque wrench needed (4nm). In an age where cyclists buy $200 sunglasses, and $300 bibs, or $400 shoes, and there are $15K bikes, $125-$145 is a drop in the bucket for something that will change the feel of your bike granted it will not transform your bike.

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